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Long Term Application of Artemether Improved Language and Cognitive Deficit of Chronic Ischemic Stroke Patient: A Case Report

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Open Access
Article Type Case Report
Subject Medicine Group
OCLC JBRES Record
Tangming Peng#, Yongxu Chen, Jun Cai, Marta Silva, Qing Wang, Haibo Zhang, Jun Liu, Shuai Li* and Wenhua Zheng
Issue: Volume7-Issue6
Pages: 1-6
Received: 2026-03-19
Accepted: 2026-06-11
Published: 2026-06-12

Abstract

Stroke is the first cause of death and disability among adults with limited treatment approaches. According to the Wolfe’s survey, the five-year recurrence risk of ischemic stroke ranges from 15% to 40%. Given the rapidly growing number of ischemic stroke patients, it is urgent to develop more effective therapies for this disease. Artemether, the first line anti-malarial drugs, used in clinic for decades. It is safe, economic and concentrated in the brain after application. Our recent finding of the neuroprotective effect of artemether suggested its potential application in brain disorder including stroke patients, but no any information is available about its application in stroke in clinic at present. We report here, at the first time, a case of a cerebral ischemic stroke patient with lacunar infarction, successfully treated with artemether. A 78-year-old right-handed man presented with progressive cognitive decline, memory loss, motor paralysis and dysphagia, resulting from an ischemic cerebral stroke several years ago (year 2008). In 2011 the patient presented a score of 16 points in the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NISHSS) and over the years, his neurological deficits aggravated (NISHSS 32, February 2018). Chronic ischemic stroke was diagnosed based on his clinical symptoms, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Transcranial Doppler (TCD) results. In July 2018, the patient was treated with a daily dose of artemether 80 mg for three months, after this, he was being able to speak some words, and then a maintenance dose of 20 mg/day was given to this patient. In October 2018, he presents a score of 18 in the NIHSS and being able to speak a whole sentence clearly, to talk with others and to walk slowly supported by the arm. Moreover, MRI showed a slightly improvement of IS and G showed CT follow-up without occlusion of trunk artery. This case indicates that artemether may have a therapeutic potential in chronic ischemic stroke patient.

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© 2026 Peng T, et al. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 Creative CommonsAttribution

How to cite this article

Peng T, Chen Y, Cai J, Silva M, Wang Q, Zhang H, Liu J, Li S, Zheng W. Long Term Application of Artemether Improved Language and Cognitive Defi cit of Chronic Ischemic Stroke Patient: A Case Report. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2026 June 12; 7(6): 6. Doi: 10.37872/jbres2306

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