Neurologic Remediation Post Ischemic Stroke: An Integrated Literature Review

To date, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is one of the only FDA approved treatments for patients presenting with symptomatic ischemic stroke. The narrow therapeutic window range of 3 – 4.5 hours poses a serious set-back in recovery and neurological remediation rates. This research will explore the following research questions: First, what current therapies are clinically proven most effective and used most commonly in increasing neurologic function post ischemic stroke? Second, what is the safest and most effective treatment to date for an ischemic stroke to reduce permanent neurological dysfunction? An integrative literature review was used to assess and report current stroke therapy effectiveness and possible alternative therapies in order to decrease the degree of irreversible neurological damage sustained from an ischemic stroke. There are multiple suggested treatment modalities, both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic that have shown promise in areas such as physically treating the occlusion and increasing neurologic function post stroke.