Ischemic Stroke News and Research

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FDA clears device to remove blood clots from the brain in patients experiencing an ischemic stroke

An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked by a blood clot which can impair brain function and cause severe disability or death. Of the 700,000 annual strokes in the US, approximately 83 percent (or 581,000) are ischemic. The Merci Retriever is a novel therapy that removes clots, restores blood flow and offers hope for ischemic stroke patients with no other options.

16 Aug 2004

Red wine is much better for you than gin

Red wine contains many complex compounds including polyphenols, which are absent from gin. They found that drinking red wine had a much greater effect in lowering levels in the bloodstream of so-called “anti-inflammatory” substances that are risk factors in the development of heart disease and stroke.

12 Aug 2004

Mexican-Americans have a far higher chance of suffering a stroke than non-Hispanic whites

And, according to a second study published today by the same team, the difference doesn't appear to be related to Mexican-Americans' higher incidence of diabetes, which had been thought to raise their risk of a certain type of stroke.

9 Aug 2004

Studies find stroke strikes poor on Mondays in Finland and fewer deaths from bleeding strokes in Sweden

Ischemic stroke takes a holiday on Sunday but returns with a vengeance on Monday, particularly in the elderly who are poor and less educated, according to a Finnish study.

23 Jul 2004

Stroke severity is the predominant predictor of discharge destination

An article in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology reports that increasing stroke severity, as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, increases the likelihood that stroke patients who are treated with the rt-PA clot-dissolving drug will be discharged to rehabilitation or nursing homes, rather than to their own homes.

20 Jul 2004

Red and processed meats, sweets and desserts may increase risk of stroke

“Western” diets consisting of red and processed meats, refined grains, sweets and desserts may be associated with a greater risk of stroke

2 Jul 2004

First strokes now bone health, moderate alcohol consumption good for women

Moderate drinking seems to keep brittle bones at bay in women, a new study of identical twins suggests.

1 Jul 2004

750,000 Americans will have a stroke or brain attack this year

Today researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine reported findings that suggest that not all stroke patients have equal access to the only Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved acute ischemic stroke treatment.

25 Jun 2004

Twice as many children are suffering strokes than was previously believed

“We’re seeing double the numbers of stroke in general,” says Dr. Gabrielle deVeber, who will be chairing a session on Stroke in Children and Young Adults today at the 5th World Stroke Congress in Vancouver, B.C. “That’s for both ischemic stroke (blood flow in the brain interrupted by a clot) and haemorrhagic (bleeding into the brain from a ruptured blood vessel).

23 Jun 2004

Aggressive treatment of brain blood clots can produce a good outcome for many stroke patients

In the study, published in a recent issue of the journal Neurosurgery, 50 percent of stroke patients had little or no neurological disability one to three months after clot-dissolving medication was delivered directly to the site of the blockages, compared to 39 percent of patients with similarly good outcomes documented in a large national trial of intravenous (IV) drug treatment for stroke.

21 Jun 2004

Untreated transient ischemic attacks put 21,000 Canadians at increased risk of death, stroke or heart attack

The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation warns that untreated transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are putting nearly 21,000 Canadians at increased risk of death, stroke or heart attack.

9 Jun 2004

Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, might reduce the risk of ischemic stroke

Sufficient blood levels of carotenoids, a family of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, might reduce the risk of ischemic stroke, according to a study published today in the rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Jun 2004

Innovative type of brain scan can determine where blockages of blood to the brain lie

It's a no-brainer that the brain needs a constant supply of blood to keep it going. But some medical conditions can block or reduce that life-giving flow. Whether it's a stroke, a clogged artery or a brain tumor, any situation where blood can't get to the whole brain can lead to death or permanent disability.

2 Jun 2004

American Heart reports on acute ischemic stroke and increased risk of bleeding in the brain

High blood levels of a cell-regulating protein in patients with acute ischemic stroke can identify those with an increased risk of bleeding in the brain, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

27 May 2004

New medical device indentifies abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation

A new device identified abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation in one of 18 stroke patients in whom two standard tests failed to detect the irregularity, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

20 May 2004

Women who have migraines with aura have a more than 50 percent increased risk of total stroke and 70 percent increase of ischemic stroke

Women who have migraines with aura have a more than 50 percent increased risk of total stroke and 70 percent increase of ischemic stroke compared to those without migraines, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting

27 Apr 2004

Drug's ability to reverse acute ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke patients who arrive at the hospital too late to receive currently available treatment options might someday have a new treatment option. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the only site in Chicago to participate in a phase III trial of abciximab (ReoPro - Centocor/Eli Lilly and Company), which seeks to determine the drug's ability to improve neurological function and minimize disability in patients who present with an acute ischemic stroke.

13 Apr 2004

Stenting for Stroke Prevention is More Effective Than Surgery in Keeping Blood Vessels Open

Research presented in a six-hour symposium on carotid artery disease at the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology showed carotid artery stenting to be safe and effective for highrisk patients. Currently, the standard of care for stroke prevention in patients with moderate to severely blocked carotid arteries is carotid endarterectomy surgery. The ARCHeR trials treated patients who were high-risk surgical candidates with carotid artery stenting with and without embolic protection, a device to capture debris that may break off during the procedure.

25 Mar 2004

Nickel-Titanium Clot-buster reverses vessel damage

A novel corkscrew-like device that mechanically removes clots from the brain has shown promise in recanalizing occluded vessels and reversing damage caused by ischemic stroke, according to researchers at the 29th International Stroke Conference.

20 Mar 2004