Review Article

Endovascular (Intraarterial) Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke: Efficacy Not Supported by Clinical Trials

Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA, alteplase) provides a statistically and clinically significant improvement in clinical outcome for carefully selected patients with acute ischemic stroke when administered within 4.5 hours of onset; however, even within the 4.5-hour window, outcome is poor for some eligible patients, including those with occlusions of…