From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Sat Apr 12 2003 - 07:43:04 MDT
Robert J. Bradbury wrote,
> Experimental 'Coffee Cocktail' Tested As Way To Limit Stroke Damage
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/04/030411070831.htm
>
> If this turns out to be reproducible it would be something
> that every list member would want to inform their parents
> and friends and their primary care physicians as well as
> local emergency room physicians about. [The current "source"
> the American Heart Association is presumably fairly legitimate."
This therapy is not safe unless the patient is already receiving very strong
clot-busting drugs. My guess is that the clot-busting drugs cause further
leakage of blood vessels. The caffeine helps constrict blood vessels to
hold better but this also would worsen blood clotting and blockages without
clot-busting drugs. The alcohol might act as a secondary antioxidant for
any blood that is leaking into surrounding tissues. This is just a guess
because scientists don't know why this combination works when caffeine or
alcohol alone doesn't.
One drawback is that the treatment is probably bad for people with heart
disease, which may be a high percentage of stroke victims.
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, IAM, GSEC <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>
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