This global study involving a team in Melbourne found people who had suffered a stroke responded better to certain medications, depending on their ethnicity and this finding could help set international guidelines for treating stroke patients.
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clot. The use of combined treatment - blood thinners and surgery - was the focus of an international study of 300 patients from New Zealand, Australia, China and Vietnam.
The study reaffirmed the best way to treat stroke is to use blood-thinning drugs and surgery.
The study also found that ethnicity can play a role in determining a person's response to treatment.
It found 55 percent of people treated only with surgery had a good outcome, compared with 61 percent who had blood-thinning medications as well.
But for Asian patients, the benefits of receiving both treatments are even more pronounced. 34 percent of Asian patients who underwent only this procedure had a good outcome, compared to 57 percent who underwent both treatments.
