XILO-FIST, the Effect of Allopurinol on the Brain Heart and Blood Pressure After Stroke

Summary

Recurrent stroke and cognitive decline are common after ischaemic stroke. Allopurinol, a drug usually used to treat gout, has been shown to reduce heart ischaemia, heart size, and arterial stiffness and to relax brain blood vessels and may reduce the blood pressure. All of these properties may be associated with a lower risk of second stroke and cognitive decline. We now aim to explore whether allopurinol will reduce further damage to the brain (called white matter hyper-intensities) after stroke and also whether it reduces heart size and blood pressure after stroke. We will conduct a multi-centre randomised, double-blind placebo controlled study to investigate whether two years allopurinol 300 mg twice per day (BD) improves these 3 outcomes, which are inextricably linked to risk of recurrence and cognitive decline after ischaemic stroke.

Timeline

Start

2014-05

Primary completion

2021-02

Completion

2021-02

Publications

• Dawson J, Robertson M, Dickie DA, Bath P, Forbes K, Quinn T, Broomfield NM, Dani K, Doney A, Houston G, Lees KR, Muir KW, Struthers A, Walters M, Barber M, Bhalla A, Cameron A, Dyker A, Guyler P, Hassan A, Kearney MT, Keegan B, Lakshmanan S, Macleod MJ, Randall M, Shaw L, Subramanian G, Werring D, McConnachie A. Xanthine oxidase inhibition and white matter hyperintensity progression following ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack (XILO-FIST): a multicentre, double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Feb 16;57:101863. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101863. eCollection 2023 Mar.
• Dawson J, Broomfield N, Dani K, Dickie DA, Doney A, Forbes K, Houston G, Kean S, Lees K, McConnachie A, Muir KW, Quinn T, Struthers A, Walters M. Xanthine oxidase inhibition for the improvement of long-term outcomes following ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack (XILO-FIST) - Protocol for a randomised double blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Eur Stroke J. 2018 Sep;3(3):281-290. doi: 10.1177/2396987318771426. Epub 2018 Apr 18.

Drugs

Indications