PLAT and ischemic stroke: In 1995, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Stroke Study Group reported that intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) produced an 11% to 13% absolute and a 30% to 50% relative improvement in complete or almost complete neurologic recovery in patients with acute ischemic stroke, albeit with a 6.4% risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage.1 The following year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of intravenous t-PA for treatment of patients with ischemic stroke within the first 3 hours of symptom onset.1