Kent Hospital Joins Worldwide Stroke Research

Kent Hospital Joins Worldwide Stroke Research

Kent Hospital will join 80 hospitals worldwide in a major clinical trial that seeks to help people suffering from a stroke. This highly sophisticated study will evaluate the effectiveness of the new clot-dissolving drug Desmoteplase that may provide positive benefits to patients who have recently suffered a stroke. The advantage of Desmoteplase is that it may provide benefits up to nine hours after the onset of stroke symptoms, substantially longer than the currently used clot-dissolving drug, tissue plasminogen activator (TPA).

Stopping the damage of stroke

Most strokes are caused by a blood clot that blocks the flow of blood to the brain, depriving it of oxygen. Desmoteplase helps dissolve the clot thereby opening the blood vessel to restore blood flow. The local hub of this international trial is The Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"This international multicenter ischemic stroke clinical trial evaluates the effectiveness of a new clot busting medication that can be given up to nine hours after the onset of stroke symptoms,” says Kent Hospital neurologist, Dr. S.M. Arshad Iqbal, MD. “We are excited about the potential of such treatment. If successful, a larger number of patients will be able to benefit, resulting in decreased disability from their stroke." 

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Kent's leadership

“Taking part in this trial is extremely important and beneficial to the many stroke patients we see every year at Kent Hospital,” says Sandra Coletta, president and CEO of Kent Hospital. “Our participation shows the leadership we take as distinctive, 24-hour stroke center, in seeking the latest treatments to significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability.  On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every three minutes; and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

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