There is a gender inequality in response to emergency stroke treatment

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Men are more likely to benefit from tissue plasmingoen activator after a stroke, according to a review of treatment outcomes.
Previous research has suggested that women have worse outcomes after stroke than do men. In a new study, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center look at outcomes after treatment with the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). The study covered 333 people treated with tPA within three hours of stroke. Men were three times as likely as women to achieve functional independence at three months after treatment - even though fewer men than women actually survived for three months following treatment.

There may be potential biological reasons why women do not respond as well men to tPA. Also, the researchers believe this lack of response may be more common in postmenopausal women. This study also showed that those who had a stroke on the left side of the brain were more than twice as likely to have a good outcome at three months and to survive for three months after tPA treatment. More research is needed into why women do not respond as well as men to tPA - this study represents secondary findings from a study focused on another outcome. So further research is needed into why women don't benefit as much as men from tPA. Meanwhile, women should still seek prompt treatment for stroke symptoms - as tPA may still be effective in limiting the damage.

Source
Neurology 13th March 2007

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