Uric acid therapy improves the outcomes of stroke patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator and mechanical thrombectomy

BackgroundNumerous neuroprotective drugs have failed to show benefit in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, making the search for new treatments imperative. Uric acid is an endogenous antioxidant making it a drug candidate to improve stroke outcomes.AimTo report the effects of uric acid therapy in stroke patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy.MethodsForty-five patients with proximal vessel occlusions enrolled in the URICO-ICTUS trial received intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator within 4.5 h after stroke onset and randomized to intravenous 1000 mg uric acid or placebo (NCT00860366). These patients also received mechanical thrombectomy because a brain computed tomogaphy angiography confirmed the lack of proximal recanalization at the end of systemic thrombolysis. The primary outcome was good functional outcome at 90 days (modified Rankin Score 0–2). Safety outcomes included mortality, symptomatic intracerebral bleeding, and gout attacks.ResultsThe rate o...