Experimental drug shows promise for stroke patients who miss the current medical treatment window
(This is an excerpt from the Health Rounds newsletter, where we report the latest medical research on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
By Nancy Lapid
Dec 3 (Reuters) – Stroke patients who cannot get to hospital quickly enough to qualify for conventional clot-dissolving treatments may soon have another option, according to results of a mid-stage trial.
Currently available thrombolytic drugs should be given within a few hours of the onset of symptoms. This narrow window can eliminate patients who did not seek or were unable to seek help immediately because they did not recognize their symptoms immediately, as well as patients who woke up with stroke symptoms that may have started hours earlier.
The experimental drug, developed by Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals and called scp776, blocks apoptosis, a process in which injured cells self-destruct.
The drug keeps injured cells alive by delivering a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, that activates cells’ natural repair pathways.
In 119 patients who presented to emergency departments an average of 12 hours after stroke onset and had no approved drug therapy, scp776 produced clinically meaningful improvements compared to placebo, researchers reported at the 2025 World Stroke Congress in Barcelona.
“It is very promising to see a therapy in the clinic that leverages the brain’s own healing mechanisms to improve stroke outcomes,” Silver Creek Chief Scientific Officer Kris Kuchenbecker said in a statement.
At hospital discharge or day 7 after symptom onset, patients receiving scp776 had an average score of 2.26 points higher on the 42-point NIH Stroke Scale than patients receiving scp776, but the difference was well below statistical significance.
At 90 days, the treatment resulted in a 15% increase in the relative proportion of patients achieving functional independence, the researchers reported.
The drug received FDA Fast Track designation for acute ischemic strokes caused by blockages in the arteries that carry blood to the brain. The Food and Drug Administration is awarding this designation to accelerate the development and review of treatments for serious conditions for which there is an unmet need.
“Scp776 uses the well-understood repair power of growth factors in a targeted manner, finally providing broad preclinical evidence of the therapeutic benefit of IGF-1,” said Kuchenbecker.
Artificial Intelligence Improves Screening for Fetal Heart Problems
Artificial intelligence software could improve fetal screening for congenital heart defects, according to the results of a new study.
Using a tool from the medical company BrightHeart, the researchers analyzed 200 fetal ultrasound scans obtained from women in the second trimester of pregnancy at 11 medical centers in two countries; of these, 100 had at least one suspicious finding.
Seven obstetrician-gynecologists and seven doctors who specialize in high-risk pregnancies reviewed each exam in random order, both with and without AI assistance, looking for findings that might indicate the presence of a serious heart defect.
Doctors detected more suspicious lesions faster with AI, according to a report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Overall, detection rates increased from 82% to over 97%; There was an 18% decrease in reading time and a 19% improvement in confidence scores.
Study co-leader Dr. from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Our study should stimulate and encourage future research on the ability of AI-powered software to improve detection rates (and) reduce variability and disparity in the detection of congenital heart defects globally,” Andrei Rebarber said in a statement.
“The future of prenatal diagnostic imaging is bright when AI software is used to aid physician interpretation.”
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
