Landmark Clinical Trial Shows Surgery and Stenting Equally Effective in Preventing Stroke

CINCINNATI—A major study of people at risk for stroke, conducted in part at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute at University Hospital, shows that two medical procedures designed to prevent future strokes are safe and effective overall.

Physicians will now have more options in tailoring treatments for their patients at risk for stroke. In the trial of 2,502 participants, carotid endarterectomy (CEA), a surgical procedure to clear blocked blood flow and considered the gold standard in preventive treatment, was compared to carotid artery stenting (CAS), a newer and less invasive procedure that involves threading a stent and expanding a small protective device in the artery to widen the blocked area and capture any dislodged plaque. The study appears May 26, 2010, in the online first edition of the New England Journal of Medicine