ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effect of transcranial ultrasound (US) on arterial recanalization in acute ischemic stroke patients.Methods Patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) main stem occlusion after 6 h were randomized into a target group receiving low-frequency,pulse-wave mode,transcranial US for 30 min or a control group.All were treated with intravenous urokinase for thrombolysis.Transcranial doppler sonography (TCD) was used to document vascular occlusion and confirm recanalization at 2 h and 24 h after treatment,and the patients were evaluated using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale ( NIHSS).Results Recanilization (complete or partial) after 2 hours was significantly higher in the US group (44.4％) compared with the control group ( 10.5％ ).Recanalization had occurred in 50％ of the US group 24 hours after treatment compared with 15.7％ of the controls.At 2 h after treatment,33.3％ of the US group and 5.5％ of the controls had improved at least 4 points on the NIHSS assessment.After 24 hours the figures were 44.4％ and 10.5％.After 3 months,11 subjects from US group (61.1％ ) had a modified Rankin score ≤2 compared with 4 subjects (21％) from the control group.Conclusions In acute ischemic stroke,transcranial US has positive effects on recanalization and neural function.