Stroke News and Research

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A stroke is a medical emergency. Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke. The more common kind, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. "Mini-strokes" or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), occur when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted.

Opioid prescribing for disabled Medicare beneficiaries related to county-level economic factors

For non-elderly Americans on disability, local prescribing of opioid pain medications is significantly related to county-level economic factors like unemployment and income level, reports a study in the January issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.

28 Dec 2017

New AAN guideline: Exercising twice a week may improve memory in people with MCI

Exercising twice a week may improve thinking ability and memory in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a guideline released by the American Academy of Neurology.

27 Dec 2017

Multidisciplinary approach may improve outcomes in young women with ischemic stroke

A multidisciplinary approach aimed at providing emergency physicians with a foundation of knowledge regarding ischemic stroke in young women and addressing the unique challenges in the evaluation and diagnosis of ischemic stroke in young women may improve outcomes for patients served in the ED.

27 Dec 2017

Sickle cell patients, families and doctors face a ‘fight for everything’

The day before his 30th birthday, Marqus Valentine was in a panic. "I was so scared for midnight to come rolling around because subconsciously I was like, 'This is it. Tomorrow’s my last day on Earth,'" he said.

27 Dec 2017

Study provides ‘big picture’ of cognitive flexibility

A healthy brain can quickly switch its focus from the large shapes to the individual parts that make up the bigger pictures.

22 Dec 2017

Research provides better understanding of how the brain identifies voices

We regularly find ourselves in situations in which we talk to others. We talk to friends in a different way than we do to strangers. One important skill for this is not just understanding what the other person is saying but also recognizing who is talking.

22 Dec 2017

Experts highlight need to better address neurosexuality care for patients with neurodisabilities

For people with brain disorders, whether from injury or disease, rehabilitation is a complex process. Neurosexuality is an emerging area of study and practice that focuses on the relationships between brain and sexual function in individuals with and without neurological disorders.

21 Dec 2017

Daily serving of green, leafy vegetables may be linked to slower brain aging

Eating about one serving per day of green, leafy vegetables may be linked to a slower rate of brain aging, according to a study published in the December 20, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Dec 2017

The long goodbye: Coping with sadness and grief before a loved one dies

For years before her death at age 96, Nancy Lundebjerg's mother underwent a long, slow decline. Arthritis made it hard for Margaret Lundebjerg to get around. After two hip surgeries, she needed a walker when she was out and about.

21 Dec 2017

Constriction of blood vessels during mental stress more likely to affect women

In women with heart disease, constriction of peripheral vessels during mental stress affects the heart circulation more than men's, potentially raising women's risk of heart-related events and death, according to new research in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal.

21 Dec 2017

Substituting animal proteins with plant proteins could reduce main cholesterol markers, study suggests

Substituting one to two servings of animal proteins with plant proteins every day could lead to a small reduction in the three main cholesterol markers for cardiovascular disease prevention, a new study suggests.

21 Dec 2017

Doing more harm than good? Epidemic of screening burdens nation’s older patients

Elena Altemus is 89 and has dementia. She often forgets her children's names, and sometimes can't recall whether she lives in Maryland or Italy.

20 Dec 2017

Unmarried heart disease patients have higher risk of death

Compared to married heart disease patients, being unmarried was associated with a higher risk of dying, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

20 Dec 2017

When nursing homes push out poor and disabled patients

Anita Willis says the social worker offered her a painful choice: She could either leave the San Jose, Calif., nursing home where she'd spent a month recovering from a stroke — or come up with $336 a day to stay on.

20 Dec 2017

Use of smoking cessation drug may put people at higher risk for cardiovascular events

Varenicline, one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for helping people quit smoking, may put them at higher risk for a cardiovascular event, according to new research published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

20 Dec 2017

Rating scales can indicate discharge destination for stroke patients

Stroke survivors with higher scores on widely used outcome measures are more likely to be discharged home from the hospital, while those with lower scores are more likely to go to a rehabilitation or nursing care facility, reports a paper in the January issue of The Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy.

18 Dec 2017

New guide provides evidence-based overview of key sleep challenges faced by women

Though sleep is essential to health and wellbeing, the unique barriers faced by women in maintaining good sleep health are often misunderstood or overlooked, according to a new resource "Women & Sleep: A Guide for Better Health" developed by the Society for Women's Health Research Interdisciplinary Network on Sleep.

18 Dec 2017

Children who experience abuse, adversity more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases in adulthood

Children and teens who are abused, witness violence, are bullied or face other adversities are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases in adulthood, according to a new scientific statement by the American Heart Association published in the Association's journal Circulation.

18 Dec 2017

Excessive copper in diabetes impedes ability to make new blood vessels

It's a metal we worry thieves will steal from our air conditioners or power lines, but inside our bodies too much copper can result in a much larger loss.

18 Dec 2017

Kaiser Permanente delivers clot-busting drugs to stroke patients more than twice as fast as national rates

Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California are delivering clot-busting medication to new stroke patients more than twice as fast as the national average. This follows the regionwide adoption of an integrated telemedicine program, according to new research published Dec. 15 in the journal Stroke.

15 Dec 2017

Stroke News and Research

Further Reading

Opioid prescribing for disabled Medicare beneficiaries related to county-level economic factors

New AAN guideline: Exercising twice a week may improve memory in people with MCI

Multidisciplinary approach may improve outcomes in young women with ischemic stroke

Sickle cell patients, families and doctors face a ‘fight for everything’

Study provides ‘big picture’ of cognitive flexibility

Research provides better understanding of how the brain identifies voices

Experts highlight need to better address neurosexuality care for patients with neurodisabilities

Daily serving of green, leafy vegetables may be linked to slower brain aging

The long goodbye: Coping with sadness and grief before a loved one dies

Constriction of blood vessels during mental stress more likely to affect women

Substituting animal proteins with plant proteins could reduce main cholesterol markers, study suggests

Doing more harm than good? Epidemic of screening burdens nation’s older patients

Unmarried heart disease patients have higher risk of death

When nursing homes push out poor and disabled patients

Use of smoking cessation drug may put people at higher risk for cardiovascular events

Rating scales can indicate discharge destination for stroke patients

New guide provides evidence-based overview of key sleep challenges faced by women

Children who experience abuse, adversity more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases in adulthood

Excessive copper in diabetes impedes ability to make new blood vessels

Kaiser Permanente delivers clot-busting drugs to stroke patients more than twice as fast as national rates

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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