Acetyl-leucine in Post-stroke Ataxia

the investigators will conduct our double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial in Kafr-Elsheikh University in the time between 1st January 2026 to 1st July 2026.

the study will include 200 post-circulation AIS patients who will undergo randomization and divided into two groups; The (A) group, which consisted of 100 patients who administered (a 4 gram of acetyl-leucine per day) and the (B) group, which had 100 patients who administered a placebo during the first 24 hours of stroke onset and for 3 months.

Both groups received (open-label 300 mg loading dose aspirin and 300 mg loading clopidogrel during the first 24 hours of stroke onset, followed by 75 mg clopidogrel and 100 mg aspirin once daily from the 2nd to the 90th day.

The diagnosis of ischemic stroke was established through a detailed clinical history and examination and suitable brain imaging. All of the patients had CT of the brain and CT angiography (CTA) including the aortic arch through the circle of Willis before thrombolysis; the CT of the brain was performed on the 64-slice dual-source spiral CT scanner of Somatom definition by Siemens, and the supratentorial compartment scans were imaged with 5-8mm contiguous sections and the brain stem and cerebellum scans were imaged with 3-5mm slices, and we obtained eighteen images for each series. After thrombolysis, all of the patients underwent an MRI brain on a 1.5 T (Siemens Essenza) MR system, stroke protocol: T1W, T2W, fluid attenuation inversion recovery imaging (FLAIR), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), T2 Echo Gradient, and MRA brain & neck time of flight (TOF) if CTA was contraindicated; the investigators performed an additional brain CT scan after 24-36 hours to evaluate hemorrhagic transformation. (8), and considered hemorrhagic transformation symptomatic if the NIHSS score increased by 4 points or more. (9) The computed tomography (CT)/ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations were assessed in our study by two highly experienced professionals: a senior stroke physician and a senior radiologist.

the investigators identified posterior-circulation stroke (PCS) when ischemic occlusion affected basilar, posterior cerebral or vertebral arteries

Inclusion criteria

• the investigators included both males and females, aged between 18 and 80 years, who experienced their first-ever posterior-circulation ischaemic stroke and presented with gait ataxia and score at least 1 point on the items gait, stance, trunk or heel-shin-slide of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and 47 points or less on the Berg Balance Scale (BBS).
• All of our patients underwent randomisation during the first 24 hours of the symptoms' onset, and within the first 24 hours from the time at which the patient's condition was last reported to be normal for wake-up stroke patients.

Exclusion criteria

• the investigators excluded patients with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 5 or more, physical or mental conditions that would not allow safe participation in the study or would influence the assessment of outcomes (e.g., dementia, disturbed conscious level, severe aphasia, etc.).
• the investigators ruled out participants who suffered from neurological diseases associated with recurrent neurological deficits, such as (epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, head trauma followed by neurological deficit).
• the investigators excluded participants who underwent intravenous thrombolysis, carotid, cerebrovascular, or coronary revascularization during the first week of the trial to avoid clouding of efficacy and safety analysis.
• the investigators excluded patients who experienced recurrent ischemic stroke detected from their clinical data and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain findings. In addition, we excluded participants who experienced hypersensitivity to the study treatment
• the investigators excluded participants who experienced organ failure such as renal failure and liver cell failure, active malignancies, and patients with a known bleeding diathesis or coagulation disorder, a history of intracerebral hemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding within the past 6 months, or major surgery within 30 days before randomisation .

the investigators excluded pregnant and lactating women, patients with cerebral venous thrombosis, and patients with stroke associated with cardiac arrest.