Revolutionizing Treatment of Strokes

Sean Savitz, M.D

Associate Professor of Neurology

UT Health Science Center at Houston

About 85 percent of strokes are caused when a blood clot forms in an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Currently, the only FDA-approved treatment for ischemic strokes is a clot-busting drug known as tPA. However, tPA must be given within three hours of the first signs of stroke, and medical providers can’t administer the drug until a CT scan of the brain confirms the diagnosis.

Earlier this year, UTHSC-Houston, or UTHealth as they are now known, unveiled the country’s first Mobile Stroke Unit—equipped with a CT scanner—to shave as much as an hour off the time it takes for stroke patients to receive treatment. Quite simply, it could mean saving millions of brain cells.

These kinds of advances, along with Dr. Savitz' other significant contributions to the field of brain repair and recovery after stroke, may help prevent or reduce the debilitating disabilities caused by strokes.