Overview
The purpose of the ALIAS trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of high-dose, intravenous human serum albumin. In animal laboratory studies it has been shown that it reduces the size of the infarction (amount of tissue death) in the brain and improves neurological function after a stroke and also decreases or eliminates the brain swelling that may occur; these effects may reduce or prevent the brain damage resulting from a stroke in humans.
ALIAS aimed to assess whether albumin given within five hours of the onset of acute ischemic stroke increased the proportion of patients with a favorable outcome. The findings showed no clinical benefit of 25% albumin in patients with ischemic stroke; however, they should not discourage further efforts to identify effective strategies to protect the ischemic brain, especially because of preclinical literature showing convincing proof-of-principle for the possibility of this outcome. For more detailed information about the the trial and findings click on the button below.
The Lancet