Cerebrolysin for Acute Ischemic Stroke

The review discusses existing evidence of benefits and risks of cerebrolysin--a mixture of low-molecular-weight peptides and amino acids derived from pigs' brain tissue with proposed neuroprotective and neurotrophic properties, for acute ischemic stroke. The review presents results of systematic search and analysis of randomised clinical trials comparing cerebrolysin with placebo in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Only one trial was selected as meeting quality criteria. No difference in death and adverse events between cerebrolysin and placebo was established. The authors conclude about insufficiency of evidence to evaluate the effect of cerebrolysin on survival and dependency in people with acute ischemic stroke.