A new stent made from platinum and titanium demonstrated "remarkably positive" results during clinical trials on stroke patients, researchers have said.

The stent, which offers a new way of opening blocked arteries in the brain, was performed on more than 140 patients at medical centres across the US.

"I really think this is going to be a game changer," said Wayne Clark, a co-author of the study and director of the Oregon Stroke Center at Oregon Health & Science University.

"These results showed that not only could we open up the blood vessel but we can help many more people recover fully from their strokes when this 'stent retriever' procedure is used."

Patients who were within eight hours of suffering an acute ischemic stroke had the stent procedure performed on them.

During this process, doctors use a catheter to guide the small stent from the groin area to the brain.

The stent, made of a platinum-titanium mesh and called the Solitaire Flow Restoration Device, is guided into the part of a patient's brain arteries where a blood clot has formed.

More people showed an "excellent neurological outcome" compared to the traditional retriever device – 56 per cent instead of 33 per cent.

Fewer people died from their strokes – 17 per cent with the new stent versus 38 per cent with the corkscrew device.

Source:

Study: Stroke victims recover much better after temporary stent procedure (03/02/12)

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