People with history of stroke or diabetes given clot-busting drugs have less disability conditions than those who did not, according to a study.

"The use of these drugs, called thrombolytic therapy, can limit damage and disability due to blood clots," said study author Kennedy R. Lees, MD, of the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Researchers gathered data from around 23,000 people who received clot-busting therapy and around 6,000 people who did not. They measured how well people who suffered a stroke were able to function after 90 days from both groups. Measurements were given from a scale of zero to six, zero representing no symptoms, three representing moderate disability and six indicating death. In the study 19 percent had history of diabetes and 17 percent had previous strokes.

The study found 43 percent of people with diabetes who received the clot-busting therapy had disability score of two or less. For stroke patients who had previous stroke and received clot-busting therapy 48 percent scored a two or less, compared to 35 percent of patients with previous stroke who did not receive therapy.

"Better outcomes with therapy show that people with prior stroke or diabetes should not be excluded from receiving thrombolytic therapy," said Lees.

The study was published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.