Newswise — A recent clinical trial has revealed promising findings regarding the potential of a commonly used drug for patients with bleeding disorders. This drug could be utilized to mitigate the side effects associated with blood-thinning medications for individuals who have suffered a stroke.
A team of researchers from the University of Nottingham and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust conducted an assessment on the viability of Desmopressin for larger-scale trials. The objective was to determine its effectiveness in reducing mortality rates and disability among patients who have experienced intracerebral hemorrhage. The DASH trial, financially supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has published its results in The Lancet Neurology.
Every year, approximately 3 million individuals worldwide lose their lives to spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, for which there is currently no proven and effective drug treatment available. It has been estimated that two-thirds of survivors become dependent on others, and a quarter of patients were taking antiplatelet drugs when the incident occurred.
To investigate potential treatment options, a clinical trial was conducted involving patients from ten hospitals across the UK who had experienced intracerebral hemorrhage while using antiplatelet drugs. The participants were divided into two groups: one received Desmopressin, while the other received a placebo.
Dr. Michael Desborough from the Department of Clinical Hematology at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust stated, "Intracerebral hemorrhage in individuals taking antiplatelet drugs leads to a significant number of deaths each year. Unfortunately, there are currently no available treatments. The results of the DASH trial represent a crucial step towards determining whether Desmopressin can reduce the high risk of death or disability associated with intracerebral hemorrhage globally."
Professor Nikola Sprigg from the Stroke Trials Unit at the University of Nottingham added, "Understanding whether Desmopressin can decrease the mortality and disability rates following intracerebral hemorrhage is an important question to address. These findings highlight the necessity for a definitive, large-scale trial to determine whether Desmopressin improves outcomes for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage who are undergoing antiplatelet drug therapy."
A full copy of the paper ‘Desmopressin for patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage taking antiplatelet drugs (DASH): a UK-based, phase 2, randomised, placebo-controlled, multicentre feasibility trial’ doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00157-6, can be found here.
—Ends—
RSS