Safety and Efficacy of Remote Ischemic Conditioning for Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage is a major cause of disability and mortality among different types of stroke, and few effective treatment options are available. Therefore, it is essential to develop new approaches to improve the prognosis of these patients. Recently, remote ischemic conditioning (RIC), a method that involves inducing multiple brief episodes of ischemia and reperfusion in the limbs, has been indicated to exert neuroprotective effects in experimental stroke. The underlying neuroprotective mechanism triggered by RIC induces gene expression, alters pathways, promotes neurogenesis and blood vessel development, reduces oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis, and inhibits proinflammatory signals. Previously, several clinical trials have shown that single or repeated RIC treatments for cerebrovascular diseases are feasible and safe. Therefore, we hypothesize that RIC could improve functional outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. We design this prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RIC in treating intracerebral hemorrhage.