Edaravone therapy initiated immediately after cardioembolic stroke and its effects on functional recovery

Abstract

The present study analyzed the functional outcome of patients with cardioembolic stroke in relation to the length of time from disease onset to the start of treatment with edaravone. The study involved 51 con-secutive cases with proximal occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. All patients were admitted to our hospital during the four-year period from August 2001 to August 2005. The patients were divided into three groups according to the length of time from disease onset to the start of treatment ; Group A (within 3 hours, n=16), Group B (3-6 hours, n=16) and Group C (6-24 hours, n=19). Edaravone was administered for 7-14 days (60 mg/day). Inter-group comparisons of the functional outcome were performed using the Japan Stroke Scale (JSS), the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The degree of functional improvement evaluated at 28 days after disease onset using the JSS was correlated with the edaravone dosing period (r=-0.7602, p<0.001). In terms of the NIHSS and mRS scores on day 28, the percentage of cases showing improvement was higher in Group A than in Groups Band C (p<0.001). These findings suggest that functional recovery is more likely to be achieved if edaravone therapy is initiated immediately after cardioembolic stroke.