NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) for stroke are likely to experience better functional outcomes than women, although the mortality among men is elevated, new research shows.

"Other studies have shown that women have worse functional outcomes after stroke; this shows that this is also true when women are treated with rtPA," lead author Dr. Mitchell S. V. Elkind said in a statement. "There are potential biological reasons why women may not respond as well as men to rtPA, including the possibility that women have higher levels of substances in the blood that can cause clots, as has been seen in women with heart disease."

The findings, which appear in the March 13th issue of Neurology, are based on a study of 333 patients who participated in the Glycine Antagonist in Neuroprotection (GAIN) for Patients with Acute Stroke Americas trial and were treated with rtPA within 3 hours of stroke onset.

At 3-month follow-up, the percentage of men with good functional outcomes was significantly greater than the percentage of women with such outcomes. Using the Barthel Index, 47.5% of men vs. 30.3% of women had good outcomes, and using the modified Rankin Score, the corresponding percentages were 32.2% and 23.4%.

On multivariate analysis, men were 2.12- to 3.28-times more likely to have a good functional outcome than women, Dr. Elkind, from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and colleagues note.

Other correlates of good functional outcomes included younger age, left brain stroke, decreased stroke severity, and a lack of complications or infections.

As noted, men did, however, experience increased mortality: men were 55% less likely to survive their stroke than women.

Still, the current findings are not meant to suggest that rtPA should be avoided in women.

"Women are definite candidates for treatment with rtPA, which is still our only approved medical treatment for acute ischemic stroke," Dr. Elkind stressed.