UTMC takes part in stroke study

University of Toledo Medical Center takes part in massive worldwide stroke study

Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the country. Now a major study is underway to determine which medicine is best for treating stroke, to hopefully prevent people from having more than one.

University of Toledo Medical Center has enrolled 7 patients in this massive worldwide study to learn more about treating the number 3 killer in the United States.

"I didn't understand why my mouth was going numb and I didn't understand the symptoms either, at the time." Toledoan James Randall was having a stroke. It happened 3 years ago. Doctors at the emergency room say he got there just in time.

"Whatever happened to me, I wanted to know why it happened to me and also I wanted to know what I could do to prevent it from happening again," said James Randall.

So James got involved in the PROFESS drug trial. That stands for Prevention Regimen For Effectively Avoiding Second Strokes. It's the world's largest secondary stroke prevention trial.

Doctors know that if you've had one stroke, you're at increased risk for another stroke. The head of neurology at UTMC says of the 700 thousand or so strokes a year, about one third are people having a second or third stroke.

She says there's never been a head to head comparison of the two medicines used to treat stroke, until now.

They are Clopidogrel, or Plavix, and another drug called Aggrenox, which is a combination of aspirin and a drug called Dipyridamole.

"It might make a big difference for people if there's one that was clearly superior, that they would say well, I don't wanna be on this one. You know, I'd rather be on the other drug that works better," says Dr. Gretchen Tietjen.

James says he was lucky but he's not taking any chances. He's changed his eating habits, watching his blood pressure and cholesterol, and taking part in a drug trial, that could change the course of his treatment.

The doctor says the best scenario is to prevent stroke in the first place. Some things to think about are similar to preventing heart disease. Don't smoke. Lead a healthy lifestyle. Treat your diabetes if you have it. Lower your cholesterol and treat high blood pressure.

Results from the study are due in a couple of months.

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