Solvent May Prevent Stroke from Brain Aneurysm

A clinical trial is testing the ability of a new spongy polymer to repair brain aneurysms and thereby prevent rupture and hemorrhagic stroke.

The trial involves 120 patients with brain aneurysms who will undergo a new procedure utilizing a solvent called dimethyl sulfoxide, derived from lignin, a compound found in woody plants. Doctors will use a catheter from the groin to a carotid artery in the brain to locate the aneurysm and inject the solvent into the sac. When the solvent comes in contact with blood or body fluids, it is designed to rapidly diffuse from the liquid, transforming it into a spongy, polymer mass that displaces the blood in the sac and seals off the defect.

Initially, two patients underwent the procedure at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU, Portland, USA) who were at risk of rupture from a brain aneurysm. Both were able to go home the next day, with no complications. The solvent method, called Onyx Liquid Embolic System, was developed by Micro Therapeutics, Inc. (Irvine, CA, USA; www.microtherapeutics.com), as an improvement over surgical clipping or coiling. Coiling patients have a 20% aneurysm recurrence rate.

"Coils can stick out, and sometimes you can't get the coil where you need it,” said Wayne M. Clark, M.D., professor of neurology at OHSU's School of Medicine. "Whether it's better than coiling, that's what the study is evaluating. It certainly looks very promising.”





Related Links:
Oregon H&S U.
Micro Therapeutics