Efficacy Study of Combined Treatment With Uric Acid and rtPA in Acute Ischemic Stroke (Urico-Ictus)

Primary Outcome Measures:

• Proportion of patients achieving a mRS of 0 to 1 at 3 months after treatment, or 2 in those patients with a mRS 2 prior to the inclusion in the study [ Time Frame: 90 days after the inclusion. ]
  

Secondary Outcome Measures:

• Proportion of patients with NIHSS <2 at 2 hours after completing the experimental treatment. [ Time Frame: 2 hours after completing the experimental treatment ]
  
• Proportion of patients with NIHSS <1 at day 90. [ Time Frame: Day 90 ]
  
• Proportion of patients achieving a Barthel scale of 95 to 100 at day 90 [ Time Frame: Day 90 ]
  
• All-cause mortality within the first 90 days. [ Time Frame: Day 90 ]
  
• Final Infarction Volume measured by means of MRI or multimodal CT at 72 hours of onset (in specific centers) [ Time Frame: 72 hours ]
  
• Proportion of patients with an intracranial hemorrhage associated to a worsening of 4 points in the NIHSS within the first 36 hours of treatment. [ Time Frame: 36 hours. ]
  

Oxidative stress is a major contributor to brain damage in patients with ischemic stroke. Uric acid (UA) is an endogenous product derived from the metabolism of purins which in man is responsable of the 60% of the total antioxidant capacity of the organism. Recent experimental evidences gathered by our and other research groups have shown that the exogenous administration of UA is neuroprotective both in cortical and subcortical brain areas as the result of its antioxidant properties. In these studies, animals treated with UA disclosed smaller brain infarction after transient focal ischemia, both using the intraluminal model or after the injection of autologous clots. Moreover, our group first described greater neuroprotection in animals pretreated with rtPA (alteplase). Likewise, we have recently shown that the administration of UA was free of serious adverse effects in stroke patients receiving rtPA within 3 hours of stroke onset. Yet, preliminary data suggested that this intervention might translate into clinical benefits at 3 months follow-up. Based on these data, we aim to conduct a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial assessing the clinical efficacy of UA administration in acute ischemic stroke patients. Currently, rtPA is the only approved therapy for stroke patients within the first hours of clinical onset, and oxidative stress is thought particularly relevant following ischemia/reperfusion. Based on this ground, we aim to conduct this phase 3 clinical trial in ischemic stroke patients which are currently treated with rtPA within the 4'5 hour window.