The health specialised journal Diario Médico has honoured as one of the “Best Ideas of the year” a research project on the effectiveness of alteplase (rt-PA) administration to treat intraventricular brain haemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke). The award ceremony took place on November 30 at Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, in Barcelona, during the Diario Médico gala “The Best Ideas of the Year”.

The awarded project is funded by the National Health Service of the United States and promoted by the north-American Johns Hopkins University. The international coordinator is Daniel Hanley, professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins’ and who has developed the technique. In Spain, the project is coordinated by the neurosurgeon of the Bellvitge University Hospital and IDIBELL researcher, Alberto Torres-Diaz.

The rt-PA is an intravenous drug indicated for ischemic strokes, which occur when any of the arteries that carry blood to the brain becomes blocked. The drug dissolves the clot and allows blood to re-circulate. Traditionally, it has been contraindicated the administration of thrombolytic drugs to patients with hemorrhagic stroke. However, it has been demonstrated that intra-ventricular cerebral haemorrhages could be treated with thrombolytic drugs through a catheter into the affected brain ventricle, because it can break up clots that form after the effusion. The technique reduces complications and improves the prognosis of patients.