Saturday, September 8, 2012

Combination of blood thinning drugs shown to be ineffective as stroke preventer

  You have to read the complete article because they refer to lacunar strokes. This is for your doctor to consider so if they don't ask about it tell them.

 http://www.healthcanal.com/brain-nerves/32026-Combination-blood-thinning-drugs-shown-ineffective-stroke-preventer.html

 

An international team led by a neurologist at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health has shown that a combination of aspirin and clopidogrel, both common blood thinners, does not prevent recurrence of a common type of stroke, and may even pose serious risks.
Combining aspirin and clopidogrel (known commercially as Plavix) was thought to hold promise in preventing recurring lacunar strokes – the death of brain cells caused by a narrowing of small blood vessels – by reducing the formation of clots in arteries supplying the brain.
Dr. Oscar Benavente, a UBC professor of neurology and research director of the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Health Program at Vancouver Coastal Health, sought to determine if a combination of clopidogrel and aspirin –another anti-clotting agent that is used to prevent strokes — would lower the recurrence of lacunar strokes more than aspirin alone. The study involved 3,020 patients from 82 sites in North America, Latin America, and Spain who were followed for several years.

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