Kateřina Blejchařová, Daniel Václavík, Roman Herzig, Petr Kaňovský
Stroke is the second most frequent cause of death and the most frequent cause of disability in the elderly patients in the whole world. It is most frequently caused by the occlusion of the brain artery with consecutive hypoperfusion of the brain tissue. Early recanalization of the occluded vessel and the subsequent reperfusion of involved areas allow the restoration of brain functions. Intravenous (IVT) and intraarterial thrombolysis are standard recanalization methods. However, IVT has also some limitations – short time window within which can be used, risk of hemorrhagic complications, relatively low recanalization ratio. Thus, there is a search for new potential treatment methods, such as widening of the IVT therapeutic window, new thrombolytic agents, endovascular methods or the combination of intravenous and intraarterial approaches, that would allow to treat more patients. Content of the article summarizes potential reperfusion therapies including new procedures which are now in the phase of clinical studies.