Interview with Prof. Clay Johnston
SOCTRATES Platform Presentation (2016)
How was your experience presenting at ESOC?
The ESOC was still a young meeting then, but it was clear that it would become dominant. It was very well-organized and also well-attended by people from across the globe. I also appreciated the collegiality of the leadership and attendees. Barcelona was also a nice backdrop!
Any important secondary analyses or other trials on this topic since your presentation at ESOC?
Oh, man, yes. SOCRATES was a negative trial but just barely. We knew ticagrelor was a good drug, so we turned around quickly and designed THALES. That established ticagrelor-aspirin as an option for early stroke prevention after stroke and TIA. CHANCE-2 followed. There were multiple secondary analyses from SOCRATES that helped justify further trials, but the real impact came from the trials.
What is the key message to stroke physicians?
Use dual antiplatelet therapy as soon as possible after mild-mod ischemic stroke or TIA. There’s a place there for ticagrelor-aspirin, particularly in populations in which clopidogrel is not consistently converted to its active form.
