Paramedics can begin immediate treatment for stroke patients to improve chances of survival, according to a study presented Feb. 5 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Time is important when dealing with stroke. The longer the time that passes between stroke onset and treatment, the lesser the chance the patient can survive.

Like Us on Facebook

In the first study of its kind, UCLA physicians tested the benefits of early administration of magnesium sulfate to stroke patients. While the drug itself did not improve patient outcomes, the results demonstrated the possibility of early therapy in the ambulance.

The study shows it's feasible to provide treatments to stroke patients even before they arrive at a hospital. Medications can be given to stroke patients during the first minutes when they have the best chances of survival and avoid long-term neurological damage.

Study lead author Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of the UCLA Comprehensive Stroke Center and a neurology professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, said the finding has opened a new therapeutic window that could be used to test other compounds and deliver drugs to patients in the field.

Stroke, as an emergency condition, needs immediate response, Saver added. Every minute wasted without blood flow restoration causes the loss of two million nerve cells. When patients don't get protective drugs within two, three or four hours, irreversible brain damage could occur.

The randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study, dubbed Field Administration of Stroke Therapy-Magnesium (FAST-MAG), involved 1,700 patients. These patients were suspected of having had a stroke and were given magnesium sulfate by paramedics within two hours of stroke onset.

The most important finding of the study was that medication could be delivered within the time where there is the greatest amount of brain to save. The study could also represent a paradigm shift in the treatment of stroke and other neurological conditions.

TagsFAST-MAG, stroke, UCLA