Study warns commonly prescribed anti-nausea drug may triple the risk of a stroke

The drugs, known as antidopaminergic antiemetics, are commonly prescribed to treat nausea due to conditions like migraines, or sickness resulting from cancer care.

However, a recent study of over 30,000 people prescribed three types of the drugs suggested users may have between a 2.5 and 3.5 times increased risk of an ischaemic stroke, the most common type which occur when a blood clot blocks the flow of oxygen and blood to the brain.

The study authors suggested the drugs may be influencing the flow of blood in the brain and thereby increasing stroke risk.

Previous studies had found a link between antipsychotic medications, which work in a similar way, and stroke risk so the researchers wanted to explore if anti-nausea drugs may have the same effect.

Three types of medication were studied, domperidone, metopimazine and metoclopramide.

The increased risk of stroke was observed across all three medications, with the highest in metopimazine with 3.6 times increased risk, and metoclopramide, with a 3.5 times increased risk.

Anne Bénard-Laribière, lead author of the study, said “The higher risk found for drugs crossing the blood-brain barrier suggests a potential central effect, possibly through an action on cerebral blood flow.”

She did, however, add that further research was needed to determine the precise reason for the increased stroke risk.

In excess of 100,000 strokes occur each year in the UK, about one every five minutes, and around 35,000 of those are fatal.  Ischaemic stroke accounts for 80 per cent of strokes, with the remainder being hemorrhagic.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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