Acute Ischemic Stroke and Targeted Echogenic Liposomes

Hilary Ahman

Hilary Ahmen. Will ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis using targeted echogenic liposomes become the new and improved treatment for acute ischemic stroke? Acute ischemic stroke affects 50,000 Canadians every year. Current treatment uses intravenous injection of the thrombolytic drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to recanalize the occluded vessels but with limited success and high risk of creating intracranial hemorrhages. Researchers are now working on an in vitro ultrasound contrast treatment using tPA-loaded liposomes with hopes of potentially simultaneously diagnosing and more specifically treating the clot site. This technique has not yet been attempted in vivo and further research is needed to determine exact ultrasound parameters and lowest possible drug doses for effective stroke treatment.

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