[Use of ticlopidine in patients with acute non-embolic cerebral infarcts]

Different dosages, varying from 250 to 500 mg/die, of ticlopidine per os have been employed in 46 patients (32 men and 14 women), average age 66, who had been admitted for acute non-embolic cerebral infarction. In the two clinical examinations, effected on average 5.4 and 18.3 days after the admission, significant alterations in 9 among the considered items have been noticed, i.e.: central deficit of the VIIth cranial nerve, motor function and gait impairment, Babinski's sign, loss of sensibility, dysarthria, visual field defect, cerebellar signs, motor and/or receptive dysphasia. A global improvement of these clinical signs has been noticed on average in 48.2% of the patients, while an exacerbation has occurred in 2.1% of the cases. None of the patients who have been considered in this study has decreased or has shown relapses of ischemic cerebral attacks during the observation. The treatment with ticlopidine has been discontinued in 3 cases (6.5%) for the occurrence of temporary adverse side-effects.