Paramedics to administer stroke drug in new trial
Beginning March 16, paramedics in Toronto will administer a stroke drug, called NA-1, to eligible stroke victims as part of a new randomized control trial.
NA-1 has already been shown to reduce damage caused by stroke and to improve brain function for patients undergoing brain surgery.
The study, known as FRONTIER, will compare outcomes when paramedics give either NA-1 or placebo to patients while transporting patients to the closest stroke centre. Once in hospital, patients will receive standard care for strokes.
Individuals who suffer a stroke and receive emergency services support from Toronto Paramedic Services will be enrolled in the trial, if they meet eligibility criteria.
Participant’s consent is required before a product is delivered in most clinical trials. However, given the immediate nature of emergency stoke care, the consent process has been deferred by Health Canada and the Research Ethics Boards at the centres participating in this trial. Participants and families will be informed and asked for consent to continue in the study once the medical emergency has stabilized.
The trial will begin in Toronto and expand to other cities (including the Region of Peel) thereafter.
To learn more, please visit frontiertrial.ca or contact the Rescu at 1-888-707-3015.
Full media release
New drug trial puts possible stroke treatment in the hands of paramedics
TORONTO, March 13, 2015 – Paramedics in Toronto, Vancouver, Richmond and the Region of Peel in suburban Toronto will soon administer a stroke drug, called NA-1, to eligible stroke victims as part of a new 558-patient randomized control trial.
The trial will begin in Toronto on March 16 and expand to the other cities thereafter.
NA-1 has already been shown to reduce damage caused by stroke and to improve brain function for patients undergoing brain surgery.
The study, known as FRONTIER, will compare outcomes when paramedics give either NA-1 or placebo to patients while transporting patients to the closest stroke centre. Once in hospital, patients will receive standard care for strokes.
Canadians who suffer a stroke and receive emergency services support from Peel Regional Paramedic Services, BC Emergency Health Services or Toronto Paramedic Services will be enrolled in the trial, if they meet eligibility criteria.
The Toronto, Vancouver and Region of Peel stroke centres participating in FRONTIER are:
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Participant’s consent is required before a product is delivered in most clinical trials. However, given the immediate nature of emergency stoke care, the consent process has been deferred by Health Canada and the Research Ethics Boards at the centres participating in this trial. Participants and families will be informed and asked for consent to continue in the study once the medical emergency has stabilized.
Stroke is the most significant cause of neurological disability and death worldwide. It affects 62,000 Canadians and kills more than 11,000 annually.
The FRONTIER trial is supported by a Multi-Investigator Research Initiative grant from the Brain Canada Foundation and sponsored by NoNO Inc.
To learn more, please visit www.frontiertrial.ca or contact the Rescu at 1-888-707-3015.
Additional information on the trial is available at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02315443.
