A new approach to treating ruptured aneurysms in the brain is superior to surgery, according to an international study published in a journal called The Lancet.

Researchers at 44 medical centers (including University of Iowa Health Care) participated in the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT). The study showed that using coils--called embolization--results in better outcomes for patients.

John C. Chaloupka, M.D., director of interventional neuroradiology at UI Hospitals and Clinics, is an internationally recognized expert in the endovascular treatment of brain aneurysms.

"The ISAT results provide a very important, albeit preliminary step, in changing the basic management paradigms of intracranial aneurysms, which will eventually transition endovascular techniques into a first-line or primary treatment modality," he said.