Occlusion of a supplying or intracranial cerebral artery is the most frequent cause of ischemic stroke. In vitro and in vivo studies in animal models demonstrated the efficacy of ultrasound waves – thrombotripsy – in accelerating recanalization of the occludedartery.Theauthors performed ultrasonic thrombotripsy in 30 patients with acute ischemic stroke, in whom occlusion of an intracranial artery had been demonstrated. In all patients, therapy was initiated within 6hours from the onset ofsymptoms. In 9 patients (30 %), a complete recanalization of the artery occurred within 60 minutes after the initiation of therapy, in 17 patients (57%), a partial recanalization occurred. After 24 hours, complete recanalization of the intracranial artery was detected in 29 patients (97 %). The authors noted 3 complications – 1 severe (intracerebral hemorrhage) and 2 mild (mild brain edema and a small hemorrhagic transformation of the ischemic focus). Thrombotripsy seems to be a promising method for treatment of patients with ischemic stroke. Multicentric studies are presently under way to confirm this effect.

        Key words: ultrasound, arterial recanalization, stroke treatment, ischemia, thrombolysis