Stroke :: Stenting brain arteries reduces risk of recurrent stroke

Using a mesh tube to hold open partly blocked brain arteries reduced stroke risk, possibly more than with drug therapy with aspirin or warfarin, researchers reported at the American Stroke Association?s International Stroke Conference 2007.

Previous studies showed that, despite treatment with blood thinners, patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (SAIS) had an 11 percent increased risk of ischemic stroke in the area near a blockage after one year and a 14 percent increased risk after two years.

In this study, researchers investigated long-term outcomes of intracranial stenting and explored the factors associated with subsequent stroke. Intracranial stenting is a non-surgical procedure. They used a mesh tube pre-mounted on a balloon to hold open a partially clogged artery in the form of primary stenting (without expanding with balloon).

?Commonly, the stenosis (medical term for artery narrowing) is 50 percent or more,? said Wei-Jian Jiang, M.D., lead author of the study at Beijing Tiantan Hospital in China. ?Intracranial atherosclerosis is an important cause of ischemic stroke that is more common among Asians, Hispanics and blacks.?


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