Blood Test For Stroke

When faced with a patient who may be having a stroke, most doctors are faced with a dilemma. If the patient is having a stroke, rapid treatment delivered within the first couple of hours is critical in preventing further damage to the brain structures and the resulting disabilities that go along with this damage. But knowing what exactly is the right treatment is the problem.

Strokes are caused by an interruption of the circulatory system in the brain, caused either by a blot clot in one of the vessels supplying the tissues of the brain, or by bleeding in the brain. The choice of treatment for each of these is very different and if the cause of the stroke is misdiagnosed and treated with an incorrect treatment, further damage or even death can result. The majority of strokes (80 %) are caused by blood clots blocking one or more arteries of the brain, with the rest caused by bleeding.

Stroke (cerebral vascular accident) kills nearly a quarter of those who suffer from one and cause disability for most. There are very effective drugs "clot busters" for treating those strokes caused by clots that if given within a window of three hours from the beginning of the stroke can break up the clot and prevent much of the brain damage that occurs. These same drugs if given to patients having strokes caused by bleeding will cause more bleeding in the brain increasing the damage and possibly leading to the death of the patient. Quickly diagnosing the cause of the stroke is problematic for doctors and often leads to delays in treatment. Stroke is difficult to diagnose because of a wide variety of symptoms patients may present to the emergency room with. These symptoms can also be caused by other conditions not related to stroke.

Computerized Tomography or CT scans are very effective at diagnosing bleeds in the brain but much less effective at pinpointing clots. Daniel Laskowitz, a neurologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and consultant for diagnostic company Biosite, has been working with that company to develop a blood test for strokes caused by blood clots. Early results are showing that the test they have developed that detects a set of six brain proteins released into the blood that strongly indicate a stroke caused by clots. Results can be obtained within 15 minutes allowing treatment to begin well within the window of effectiveness.

A larger clinical trial is to be undertaken to verify the result of this research. If the tests are found to be effective, this test could be eventually done in every emergency room or ambulance when a patient presents with stroke symptoms.