International Stroke Conference (ISC) 2026

A cross-sectional analysis presented at ISC 2026 suggests that a decline in mobility is an earlier functional manifestation of covert cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) than cognitive impairment.

The Chinese medicinal combination chuanzhi tongluo, when added to standard medical therapy, helps improve the likelihood of achieving a good functional outcome without increasing the risk of intracranial haemorrhage in patients with disabling stroke without visible large or medium vessel occlusion, as shown in the CONCERN trial.

Results from the Oriental MeVo trial show that endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) within 24 hours of symptom onset significantly improves functional outcomes in individuals with medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) stroke and moderate-to-severe deficits.

In the secondary analysis of the TASTE trial, tenecteplase is associated with better clinical outcomes than alteplase in individuals with distal vessel occlusions (DVOs).

For patients with acute ischaemic stroke caused by a large-vessel occlusion, infusing alteplase into the artery after successful endovascular thrombectomy is beneficial, conferring functional gains and reducing persistent hypoperfusion, as shown in the phase III open-label CHOICE-2 trial.

In patients with acute ischaemic stroke, administration of loberamisal, a novel neuroprotective agent, within 48 hours of symptom onset improves functional outcomes, according to the LAIS* trial presented at ISC 2026.

The oral factor XIa (FXIa) inhibitor asundexian scores high for secondary prevention in patients with non-cardioembolic stroke or high-risk transient ischaemic attack (TIA) who are receiving standard antiplatelet therapy, having met its primary efficacy and safety endpoints in the phase III OCEANIC-STROKE trial.

The use of intra-arterial (IA) alteplase following a successful endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) improves 90-day functional outcome in patients with large-vessel occlusion (LVO) acute ischaemic stroke compared with EVT-alone, according to the CHOICE 2* trial presented at ISC 2026.