Large Stroke Therapy Evaluation

Stroke represents the fourth leading cause of death in industrialized nations, after heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory disease. The overall burden of stroke will rise dramatically in the next 20 years due to an ageing population. Approximately one-quarter of the patients suffering a stroke die within one year after the initial event and stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability. Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) is a potentially devastating event, with a poor prognosis in the absence of timely revascularization. Whether in patients with large anterior circulation stroke, direct mechanical intervention is equally effective, superior or inferior to bridging thrombolysis remains a matter of debate. Thus, this procedure, is now the recommended standard of care for selective patients with LVO in the anterior circulation. When performed with newer generation devices (mainly stent retrievers), more stringent imaging selection criteria and more efficient workflow than in previous trials, significantly reduces disability rates after AIS caused by LVO in the anterior circulation. The STAIR (Stroke Treatment Academic Industry Roundtable) meeting aims to advance acute stroke therapy development through collaboration between academia, industry, and regulatory institutions. In pursuit of this goal and building on the available level I evidence of benefit from endovascular therapy (EVT) in large vessel occlusion stroke, STAIR IX consensus recommendations were developed that outline priorities for future research in EVT.