New stroke drug and smart ultrasound bring quiet revolutions in brain and baby care

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted the drug “Fast Track” status, which can speed up the development and review process for promising treatments.

- TDG NETWORK

Two very different pieces of research announced this week point in the same hopeful direction: better protection for the brain, whether after a stroke or before a baby is even born.

A SECOND CHANCE AFTER STROKE

When someone has a stroke caused by a blood clot, doctors race against the clock. Powerful “clot-busting” drugs and mechanical clot removal can limit brain damage, but they must be given within a few hours of the first symptoms. Many patients arrive too late and miss out on these treatments.

A mid-stage clinical trial of an experimental drug called scp776 aims to help that forgotten group. In a study of 119 patients who reached hospital around 12 hours after a stroke—well beyond standard treatment windows—those who received scp776 did better on key measures of recovery than those who gota placebo.