Iron chelators for acute stroke.

BACKGROUND

Stroke is a serious public health problem that causes morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Iron chelators are potential neuroprotective drugs to treat patients with both hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the administration of iron chelators in patients with acute stroke.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (May 2012), the Chinese Stroke Trials Register (May 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1950 to May 2012), EMBASE (1980 to May 2012), Science Citation Index (1980 to May 2012) and three Chinese databases. In an effort to identify further published, unpublished and ongoing trials we searched ongoing trials registers, checked reference lists, and contacted authors and pharmaceutical companies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included published and unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of iron chelator versus no iron chelator or placebo for the treatment of acute stroke.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently screened search results to identify the full texts of potentially relevant studies for inclusion. From the results of the screened searches two review authors independently selected trials meeting the inclusion criteria, with no disagreement.

MAIN RESULTS

We found no completed RCTs eligible for inclusion in the review. We identified one ongoing RCT but no data were available.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

There is insufficient evidence to support or refute the use of iron chelators for the treatment of acute stroke. Further RCTs are required to assess the effect of iron chelators in people with acute stroke.