Sex Differences in Metabolic Syndrome and Response to Thrombolysis

Fibrinolysis is impaired endogenously in metabolic syndrome, leading to elevated risk of ischemic stroke—and a worsened patient response to thrombolytic therapy (such as tissue-type plasminogen activator [tPA]) aimed at prompting clot lysis and treating acute ischemic stroke. Recent research has shown that metabolic syndrome increases the risk of stroke in women more than in men. But are women also less affected by thrombolytic therapy? Researchers from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona; University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela; and University of Valladolid, Valladolid, all in Spain, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile conducted a prospective study involving 75 men and 50 women who experienced acute ischemic stroke to find out.