Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Stroke treatment is constrained by limited treatment windows and the clinical inefficacy of agents that showed preclinical promise. Yet animal and clinical data suggest considerable poststroke plasticity, which could allow treatment with recovery-modulating agents. Memantine is a well-tolerated N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor antagonist in common use for Alzheimer disease. ⋯ Our results suggest that memantine improves stroke outcomes in an apparently non-neuroprotective manner involving increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling, reduced reactive astrogliosis, and improved vascularization, associated with improved recovery of sensory and motor cortical function. The clinical availability and tolerability of memantine make it an attractive candidate for clinical translation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Modification of outcomes with aspirin or apixaban in relation to female and male sex in patients with atrial fibrillation: a secondary analysis of the AVERROES study.
The main objective of the present analysis was to assess the effect of treatment with aspirin compared with apixaban on ischemic stroke and major bleeding in women compared with men. Female patients with atrial fibrillation are at increased stroke risk compared with male patients, and the underlying reasons for higher risk are uncertain. ⋯ Female patients with atrial fibrillation had higher ischemic stroke rates compared with male patients, but the relative effects of apixaban compared with aspirin on both ischemic stroke and bleeding were similar in men and women.