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Most ischemic strokes are caused by an embolic or thrombotic occlusion of an intracranial artery. The immediate aims of acute stroke treatment are recanalization of the occluded artery and reperfusion of the ischemic brain region. Currently, intravenous thrombolysis that is administered within 4.5 hours after the onset of a stroke is the only proven treatment.1,2 However, recanalization rates within 24 hours after the administration of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) are low when the occlusion involves a large intracranial artery, with rates of 14% for internal carotid arteries and 55% for middle cerebral arteries.3 These low rates have prompted . . .
Marc I. Chimowitz (Fri,) studied this question.