Synopsis

Every minute, someone in France or Germany suffers a stroke. On a global scale, this therapeutic emergency claims almost 15 million victims a year, half of whom will suffer long-term disabilities - hemiplegia, language, vision or motor disorders. In 80% of cases, it's a "cerebral infarction", caused by a blood clot in the brain, resulting in the asphyxiation and death of thousands of neurons within minutes. More rarely, the cause is a cerebral haemorrhage - a hypothesis that doctors need to rule out before starting emergency treatment. Every minute counts, especially as the effects of the drug - alteplase - can be catastrophic if administered too late. Research is underway to widen the current therapeutic window, exploring the use of antibodies, hypothermia and neuronal stem cells. The film tells the story of a 25-year-old student's struggle to regain the life he knew before his stroke.

Video on demand