Greater function after stroke when blood clots removed from brain blood vessels

A technique that removes blood clots from large brain blood vessels reduced disability after stroke in a trial conducted in Catalonia, Spain, and co-led by an expert from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The results of the trial, known as REVASCAT, echo findings from other recent large studies that were stopped early when  the technique, called endovascular therapy or stent retriever thrombectomy, appeared to be highly effective, said co-principal investigator Tudor Jovin, M.D., associate professor of neurology and neurological surgery, and director of the UPMC Stroke Institute. Originally, the REVASCAT trial expected to enroll nearly 700 participants.