A new study will determine whether medical or surgical treatment is better after a stroke.

It is still not clear how best to manage people who've had a stroke caused by a blood clot in one of the arteries serving the brain. That's why researchers at the University of Illinois have now launched a new research project. They want to see how medical treatment, with blood thinning drugs for example, compares with surgery.

They are recruiting people who have either had a small stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA, or mini-stroke, where symptoms resolve rapidly but patients at risk of full-blown stroke). Those who are assigned to surgery will receive a 'by-pass' procedure which will remove the blocked section of artery and will redirect blood flow around the blockage. All patients will be checked every three months to assess their condition. The results should reveal the best way for doctors to proceed in individual cases of stroke.

Source

University of Illinois, Chicago, 3rd July 2002