Surviving a stroke - and suffering the next one just a few days later. For many sufferers, this is a bitter reality. Of the 270,000 people who have a stroke in Germany every year, around one in three will have another. The first few days after a cerebral infarction are particularly dangerous. Doctors at Dresden University of Technology now want to change this and are testing a new therapy that prevents another stroke a short time later.
Prof. Timo Siepmann is leading the POTENTIAL study at the Department of Neurology at Dresden University Hospital. 2,100 patients will take part nationwide. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the project in the first phase with three million euros. The study has a total budget of 5.9 million euros.
Two drugs instead of one
A stroke usually occurs when a blood clot blocks a vessel in the brain. Doctors quickly reopen the vessel, either with medication or with a catheter. Patients are then given medication to prevent new clots from forming. These drugs inhibit the blood platelets, which would otherwise clump together.
In mild strokes, doctors already use two such drugs at the same time. "Our aim is to clarify whether patients with a minor stroke benefit from 21 days of increased platelet inhibition, especially after successful acute treatment," explains Siepmann. Whether this combination also helps after emergency treatment is still unclear.
Hope for better treatment
The Dresden researchers want to find out whether the double administration of medication reduces the risk of further strokes. At the same time, they are investigating whether this does not lead to too many dangerous bleeds. Prof. Hagen Huttner, Director of the Neurological University Hospital, says: "To do this, we need to find out whether the intensified therapy significantly reduces the risk of recurrent strokes without disproportionately increasing the risk of bleeding."
The study will start in February 2026. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups. One will receive both drugs - ASA and clopidogrel - for three weeks. The other will only receive ASA, as is common practice today. The doctors will use magnetic resonance imaging and clinical examinations to measure success. The results could change the treatment of strokes worldwide. "The coordination of this large-scale study underlines the pioneering role of Dresden University Medicine in stroke research," emphasizes Prof. Esther Troost, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden.
