Successful intravenous thrombolysis for acute stroke in a child.

We report an 8-year-old white girl with no previous medical history who developed sudden onset right hemiplegia, left gaze preference, and global aphasia. An acute left middle cerebral artery stroke syndrome was diagnosed. She was treated with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, 2 hours after the onset of symptoms. A magnetic resonance image demonstrated an acute left middle cerebral artery stroke, and a magnetic resonance angiography showed a patent left middle cerebral artery. At discharge, she was able to speak normally and walk without support. She was also able to raise the right arm up to the level of the shoulder and showed increased motility of the hand and fingers. No treatment-related complications happened. To the best of our knowledge, this is, so far, the youngest child successfully treated with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke.