Mar 28, 2018
Published first on ScienceDaily
A new device worn like a visor can detect emergent large-vessel occlusion in patients with suspected stroke with 92 percent accuracy, report clinical investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Mount Sinai, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and elsewhere in an article published online on March 6, 2018, in the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery. Patients with large-vessel occlusions can then be routed to a Comprehensive Stroke Center with endovascular capabilities. In contrast, a standard physical examination achieved only 40 to 89 percent accuracy in identifying patients with large-vessel occlusion who could benefit from endovascular therapy. (more…)
Mar 28, 2018
Published first on ScienceDaily
An anti-inflammatory drug given to patients in the early stages of a stroke has been shown by researchers at The University of Manchester and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust to reduce harmful inflammation.
The drug, Kineret©, licenced for treating rheumatoid arthritis, was given as a small injection just under the skin without giving the patients any identifiable adverse reactions.
It is one of biologic agents transforming treatment in a range of illnesses. The protein Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is part of the body’s defences and naturally produced to combat a range of illnesses. However, scientists at the University of Manchester have previously shown IL-1 increases inflammation and brain injury following a stroke. (more…)
Mar 23, 2018
The Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018 – 2030
A challenge for policy makers and a framework for tackling the rising burden of stroke in Europe
Leaders of the European stroke community met today in Munich to develop the ESO / SAFE Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018-2030, including leading academics, stroke survivors and caregivers, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and representatives from stroke organisations and the World Health Organisation. It creates an aspirational framework to drive healthcare policy, research priorities, local stroke management and patient-focussed care to meet the need demonstrated in the ESO / SAFE Burden of Stroke report, with €45 billion direct and indirect healthcare costs each year, a 34% increase in strokes by the year 2035 due to the ageing population, and huge variations in the level of stroke care available across Europe. (more…)
Mar 19, 2018
A new multi-million Euro initiative funded by the European Commission has been set up to help prevent stroke in patients with existing conditions.
The €6.9m project is aimed at patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition which causes irregular and abnormally fast heartbeat, who have previously had a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain (termed intracerebral haemorrhage or ICH). The Prevention of Stroke in intracerebral hemorrhage survivor with Atrial Fibrillation (PRESTIGE-AF) brings together scientists and clinicians across Europe with the goal of reducing the risk of further stroke in this group of patients. (more…)
Mar 13, 2018
Published first on ScienceDaily
A landmark international study of DNA samples from 520,000 individuals worldwide — including 67,000 affected individuals — identified 22 new genetic risk factors for stroke. Sudha Seshadri, M.D., of UT Health San Antonio, is senior co-author of this largest genetic study of stroke to date. Nature Genetics published the results online March 12 2018.
Previously, only 10 genetic risk factors had been identified for stroke.
Dr. Seshadri, founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio and holder of the university’s Robert Barker Distinguished University Chair, said the identification of genetic regions that are strongly correlated to stroke will increase potential targets for stroke drug development. (more…)
