NXY-059 for Acute Ischemic Stroke

NXY-059 is a free-radical-trapping agent that is neuroprotective in animal models of stroke. We tested whether it would reduce disability in humans after acute ischemic stroke.

We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 1722 patients with acute ischemic stroke who were randomly assigned to receive a 72-hour infusion of placebo or intravenous NXY-059 within 6 hours after the onset of the stroke. The primary outcome was disability at 90 days, as measured according to scores on the modified Rankin scale for disability (range, 0 to 5, with 0 indicating no residual symptoms and 5 indicating bedbound, requiring constant care).