Towards improved thrombolysis in ischemic stroke exploring novel therapeutic targets

Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of death and permanent disability worldwide. Ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot that blocks the blood flow to the brain. Currently, only therapeutic agents (t-PA) can be used to pharmacologically lyse the blood clot. t-PA promotes the degradation of fibrin in the blood clot but due to several limitations, it can only be used in less than 10% of ischemic stroke patients. Furthermore, t-PA is only effective in less than half of patients who receive it. In recent years, we provided proof-of-concept for several novel therapeutic strategies that could overcome the limitations of t-PA and that could lead to more efficient and safe thrombolysis in ischemic stroke patients. In this research, the goal is to establish novel and efficient thrombolysis strategies that could be useful for ischemic stroke.