Biomedical Letters

Thrombolytic Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Erica Audrey Limbenga 1, Abdlay Marty Lopes de Carvalho 2, Feng Bai 1, Fu Ling Yan 1*

1 Department of neurology, The Affiliated Zhong Da Hospital of Southeast University, No. 87 Dingjiaqiao, Nanjing 210009, China

2 Department of cardiology, The Affiliated Zhong Da Hospital of Southeast University, No. 87 Dingjiaqiao, Nanjing 210009, China

Abstract

The discovery of thrombolytic agents goes back to the 1930s. The general action of thrombolytic agents is to convert plasminogen to plasmin, which degrade fibrin clots. Thrombolytic therapy has been emphasized in clinical practice for its rapid action, high efficacy and better outcome in a precise time window. For Acute Ischemic Stroke the time window for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is less than 3 hours of symptom onset and for the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS III) is between three to four and half hours from symptom onset. This review paper aims to give a systematic overview and to acknowledge the use of thrombolytic therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Keywords: Acute Ischemic Stroke, thrombolytic therapy, thrombolytic agents.

Received March 06, 2015 Revised April 15, 2015 Accepted April 30, 2015

*Correspondence: Fu Ling Yan Email: yanfuling@hotmail.com Phone: +8613913969