An Aspirin A Day To Keep Stroke Away?

Doctors don't know how best to prevent stroke caused by clogged arteries in the brain -- a condition known as intracranial arterial stenosis.

To better evaluate two potential tactics for preventing this type of stroke in high-risk patients, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health has funded the Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease (WASID) study.

Emory University has been awarded more than $14 million from the institute to coordinate a five-year trial during which 806 patients will be evaluated at 50 sites in North America. The Clinical Coordinating Center will be based in the Department of Neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine, the Statistical Coordinating Center in the Department of Biostatistics at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University and the Pharmacy Coordinating Center at Emory University Hospital.

"This year we expect more than 700,000 Americans to experience a stroke, and of these, some 40,000 will sustain stroke caused by narrowing of the intracranial arteries," says WASID Principal Investigator Marc Chimowitz, M.B., ChB, associate professor and co-director of Emory Stroke Center in the Department of Neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine. "This type of stroke disproportionately affects minorities, including African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics.

"Our primary goal will be to compare the effectiveness of two different medications, warfarin or aspirin, for preventing stroke and vascular death in persons with intracranial stenosis," Dr. Chimowitz says.

Patients who have recently had a minor stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA, or "mini stroke"), who are eligible to participate and sign an informed consent, will be randomized to receive either aspirin or warfarin, and will be evaluated by s
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Contact: Sarah Goodwin
sgoodwi@emory.edu
404-727-3366
Emory University Health Sciences Center
31-Mar-1999