Mayo Acute Stroke Trial for Enhancing Recovery (MASTER)

• Percent of Participants With National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Score = 0 or 1 at Day 90 [ Time Frame: 90 days post-stroke ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a 15-item neurologic examination stroke scale used to evaluate the effect of acute cerebral infarction on the levels of consciousness, language, neglect, visual-field loss, extraocular movement, motor strength, ataxia, dysarthria, and sensory loss. A trained observer rates the patent's ability to answer questions and perform activities. Ratings for each item are scored with 3 to 5 grades with 0 as normal, and there is an allowance for untestable items. The range of scores is from 0 (normal) to 42 (profound effect of stroke on patient).
  
  

• Change in Mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Score at 90 Days Post-stroke [ Time Frame: baseline, 90 days post-stroke ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a 15-item neurologic examination stroke scale used to evaluate the effect of acute cerebral infarction on the levels of consciousness, language, neglect, visual-field loss, extraocular movement, motor strength, ataxia, dysarthria, and sensory loss. A trained observer rates the patent's ability to answer questions and perform activities. Ratings for each item are scored with 3 to 5 grades with 0 as normal, and there is an allowance for untestable items. The range of scores is from 0 (normal) to 42 (profound effect of stroke on patient).
  
  
• Change in Mean Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living Score at 90 Days Post-stroke [ Time Frame: baseline, 90 days post-stroke ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  The Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) measures functional disability by quantifying patient performance in 10 activities of daily life. These activities can be grouped according to self-care (feeding, grooming, bathing, dressing, bowel and bladder care, and toilet use) and mobility (ambulation, transfers, and stair climbing). 5-point increments are used in scoring, with a maximal score of 100 indicating that a patient is fully independent in physical functioning, and a lowest score of 0 representing a totally dependent bed-ridden state.
  
  
• Change in Mean Score on Mini Mental State Exam at 90 Days Post-stroke [ Time Frame: baseline, 90 days post-stroke ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) is a 30-point questionnaire test that is used to screen for cognitive impairment. The questionnaire samples functions including arithmetic, memory and orientation to time and place. Scores range from 0 to 30. Any score greater than or equal to 25 points is effectively normal (intact). Below this, scores can indicate severe (≤9 points), moderate (10-20 points) or mild (21-24 points) cognitive impairment.
  
  
• Change in Time to Complete Neuropsychological Trail Making Tests A and B at 90 Days Post-stroke [ Time Frame: baseline, 90 days post-stroke ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  The Trail-making test consists of two parts in which the subject is instructed to connect a set of 25 dots as fast as possible while still maintaining accuracy. It can provide information about visual search speed, scanning, speed of processing, mental flexibility, as well as executive functioning. There are two parts to the test: A, in which the targets are all numbers (1,2,3, etc.)and the test taker needs to connect them in sequential order, and B, in which the subject alternates between numbers and letters (1, A, 2, B, etc.).
  
  

We hypothesize that donepezil (5 mg per day, titrated up to 10 mg per day as tolerated) will enhance recovery following stroke by improving attention, learning and memory thereby enhancing rehabilitation. The null hypothesis is that the probability of a favorable outcome among post-stroke donepezil users is equal to that observed among similar participants in an existing National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) resource, the Phase III clinical trial of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) for acute ischemic stroke. The NINDS tPA stroke trial has been used as historical control data in pilot trials of reperfusion and neuroprotection.

The MASTER trial will be a multicenter, single-arm NINDS Recominant tPA trial-controlled, modified 2-stage adaptive clinical trial set in 2 tertiary care hospitals in the United States. Participants will be men and women with acute (< 24 hours of onset of symptoms) ischemic stroke. A favorable outcome will be defined as National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) values of 0 or 1 at 90 days post-stroke.