Three patients had no change from their baseline scores and three patients deteriorated slightly. Six patients improved from one to eight points on the motor component of ESS with four patients improving six points or more. The changes in performance on the motor function of each of these scales accounted for the majority of improvement noted. A hemorrhagic stroke is a breaking, tearing or bursting in the wall of a blood vessel. Blood not only fails to deliver its nutrients, but it also causes direct physical damage.
Clotted blood takes up space in a closed system, increasing pressure on the brain.
In addition, the blood's weight presses on the brain cells beneath it. TPA is an approved form of therapy for acute ischemic stroke when given to appropriate patients within three hours of symptom onset. The major risk of treatment remains symptomatic intracranial bleeding, which occurs in six to seven percent of all patients treated. The Stroke Institute at UPMC plans to head a study examining the use of the measurement of blood flow to the brain to improve the safety of administration, enhance patient selection and predict outcome in those patients who are candidates for TPA treatment. It is anticipated that by accomplishing these goals the use of this important therapy will be increased.