Low-cost patch has been shown to increase the survival rate in strokes

Plaster revolutionizes the treatment of strokes
A stroke is generally a life-threatening event. However, researchers have now found out that a newly developed low-cost skin patch significantly improves the likelihood of surviving a stroke. This pavement could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The researchers from the British Heart Foundation and the University of Nottingham found in their study that a simple medical skin patch can massively improve the chances of survival after a stroke. The first preliminary results of their study, the doctors publish in a press release of the British Heart Foundation.

Strokes kill thousands of people in the world each year. Physicians have now developed a novel patch, which massively increases the probability of survival after a stroke by delivering drugs to the skin. (Image: Henrie / fotolia.com)

New plaster could halve the death rate
The newly developed plaster is very inexpensive but nevertheless extremely effective, explain the experts. The plaster is worn on the shoulder or the back. Thus, it provides the patients with a blood pressure-lowering drug. The drug can be absorbed through the skin, for example, while patients are hospitalized, the experts explain. Initial evaluations of the patch suggest that using the patch could potentially halve the rate of stroke death, the researchers say.

The new plaster allows treatment in a few minutes
In the UK alone, an estimated 40,000 people die each year from strokes. Thus, strokes are among the leading causes of premature death in the UK, say the doctors. Improving blood flow in the brains of stroke patients can dramatically improve survival and recovery, says British Heart Foundation researcher Professor Philip Bath of the University of Nottingham. The new plaster allows treatment in a few minutes. The previous tests with the patches are very promising, adds the author.

What causes a stroke??
Strokes are usually caused by a blocked or ruptured blood vessel. Such events often lead to severe brain damage. A quarter of the patients who survive a stroke then suffer from a permanent disability, explain the researchers.

Death rate has been reduced from 38 percent to 16 percent
The drug called glycerine trinitrate (GTN) in the patch lowers the blood pressure and opens the blood vessels. Thus, the damage can be reduced, which minutes and hours after a stroke is caused, say the authors. The investigation of 41 acute stroke patients with a GTN patch has shown that the mortality rate can be approximately halved by using the patch. The death rate was reduced from 38 percent to 16 percent, the authors explain.

The developed patch revolutionizes the treatment of strokes
If the patch is as effective as expected, it could revolutionize the treatment of stroke patients across the UK and the rest of the world, the researchers say. The newly developed patch is a big step in the advancement of the treatment of strokes. (As)