For people with ischemic stroke, treatment with the clot-busting drug tenecteplase is associated with a slightly higher likelihood of an excellent recovery and reduced disability three months later than the drug alteplase, according to a meta-analysis published in the October 16, 2024, online issue of Neurology ® , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers found that the likelihood of good recovery was similar between the two treatments. Ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain and is the most common type of stroke.
Alteplase is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ischemic stroke.
Tenecteplase, a newer clot-busting drug, is approved for treatment of ischemic stroke in Europe but not in the U.S. It is approved in the U.
S. for treating clots blocking coronary arteries and is used off-label for ischemic stroke at some stroke centers. "When a person has an ischemic stroke, they may be treated with either tenecteplase or alteplase," said study author Georgios Tsivgoulis MD, PhD, MSc, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
"While treatment with either drug increases the chances of a good recovery after stroke, we found people who were given tenecteplase were more likely to have an excellent recovery." For the meta-analysis, researchers reviewed 11 studies that compared the safety and efficacy of treatment with tenec.
