EUROHYP-1 · European multicentre, randomised, phase III clinical trial of hypothermia plus best medical treatment versus best medical treatment alone for acute ischaemic stroke

The consortium led by UKER and EuroHYP, the European Stroke Research Network for Hypothermia, proposes a large, multicentre clinical trial which will assess mild hypothermia as a novel treatment for ischemic stroke.Stroke is the second cause of death world-wide and the second cause of lost disability-adjusted life years in high-income countries. Stroke incidence rises exponentially with age, so its social and economic burden will grow with the ageing of the European population. Current treatment options for the 80 to 85% of all strokes due to cerebral ischaemia - around. 900,000 events in Europe every year, or one every 40 seconds - are extremely limited.Systematic review of experimental studies suggests that hypothermia is the most promising intervention identified to date. Therapeutic cooling is effective in reducing ischaemic brain injury following cardiac arrest, and hypothermia is therefore considered by experts the most promising treatment for patients with acute ischaemic stroke, next to reperfusion strategies.The EuroHYP-1 trial is a pan-European, open, randomised, phase III clinical trial which will assess the benefit or harm of therapeutic cooling in 800 awake adult patients with acute ischaemic stroke. In addition to efficacy and safety, the economic impact of therapeutic hypothermia will be assessed, along with several sub-studies involving imaging, ultrasound, and biomarker methods.The investigators involved in the EuroHYP-1 consortium are leading European experts in statistical design and analysis, therapeutic hypothermia, imaging, health economics, ultrasound, biomarkers, and trial execution (implementation and monitoring). Moreover – in addition to these academic experts the consortium also involves European patient and family advocacy groups and small and medium-sized enterprises, and the joint endeavours of this extended team will ensure the successful enrolment of patients at fifty hospitals across 15 countries in Europe.