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.

Right carbohydrate intake linked to healthy aging

Most people know that a diet high in fiber helps to keep us "regular." Now Australian researchers have uncovered a surprising benefit of this often-undervalued dietary component.

2 Jun 2016

Buck researchers identify new, potential drug targets for sporadic PD

Research at the Buck Institute shows the same mechanisms that lead to neuronal cell death in mice genetically fated to develop Parkinson's disease (PD) are involved in the much more common sporadic form of the age-related, neurodegenerative disorder that robs people of the ability to move normally.

2 Jun 2016

Study shows women with migraine history have rapid decline in estrogen levels

Researchers have long known that sex hormones such as estrogen play a role in migraine. But there's been little research on how that works. Do women with migraine have higher estrogen levels in general? Higher levels at the peak of the monthly cycle?

2 Jun 2016

Just one stroke risk factor signals anticoagulation need in AF

The risk of stroke or systemic embolism is significantly increased in atrial fibrillation patients with just one risk factor apart from gender, say researchers.

2 Jun 2016

Researchers call for more accurate renal assessment in stroke patients

Unrecognised renal insufficiency is common among patients with acute stroke and is associated with a significantly increased risk of in-hospital mortality or severe disability at discharge, say researchers.

2 Jun 2016

Duke scientists discover new small-molecule drugs to treat chronic pain

A research team at Duke University has discovered a potential new class of small-molecule drugs that simultaneously block two sought-after targets in the treatment of pain.

1 Jun 2016

Women less likely to receive good anticoagulant therapy for AF-related stroke, say researchers

Female atrial fibrillation patients are less likely than their male counterparts to receive blood thinning therapies to prevent stroke, say University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researchers.

1 Jun 2016

Toxic substance acrolein may play role in preventing fibrillation linked to Alzheimer's disease

Scientists from RIKEN in Japan have discovered that acrolein—a toxic substance produced in cells during times of oxidative stress—in fact may play a role in preventing the process of fibrillation, an abnormal clumping of peptides that has been associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neural diseases.

1 Jun 2016

Migraine increases vascular disease risk in women

Women with migraine have a 50% increased risk of major cardiovascular disease, suggests a cohort study of Nurses' Health Study II participants.

1 Jun 2016

Implanted neuroprosthesis for multi-joint control can improve mobility among stroke survivors

A surgically implanted neuroprosthesis—programmed to stimulate coordinated activity of hip, knee, and ankle muscles—has led to substantial improvement in walking speed and distance in a patient with limited mobility after a stroke, according to a single-patient study in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists.

1 Jun 2016

Antihypertensive adherence may only partly explain BP variability

Study findings strengthen the suggestion that visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure is at least partly accounted for by patients' adherence or otherwise to their antihypertensive medication.

1 Jun 2016

Neurological problems can impair sexuality

Neurological disorders can impair sexuality on a much more massive scale than frequently assumed, leaving loss of desire, erection problems and infertility in their wake.

31 May 2016

Need for standardised guidelines to fight Alzheimer's disease

Some 47 million people worldwide suffer from some form of dementia. Scientists are working feverishly to find a cure for the most common form, Alzheimer's. At the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Prof Gunhild Waldemar issued an appeal for researchers to work together and draw up standardised guidelines for early identification and treatment of the disease.

31 May 2016

Children with strong family history of type 2 diabetes or CVD prone to have high cholesterol levels

A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes shows that children with a strong family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or type 2 diabetes were found to have cholesterol levels significantly higher than children with no family history of those conditions.

31 May 2016

Experts discuss new therapy options for stroke treatment at EAN Congress

There are more well-founded therapy options for the treatment of strokes than ever before. Care has to be reorganised before these innovations are actually used on patients. At the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, experts are discussing just how to do that successfully - from guidelines for the use of thrombectomy procedures all the way to the structure and expansion of stroke care units.

30 May 2016

Study finds no increased risk of stroke for football fans

Being excited for your team, rooting them on and suffering vicariously with them are the grand emotions that wash over spectators of football matches. If this increases the risk of stroke remains to be elucidated, as the number of strokes that occur on days with major matches is not significantly higher than on days when no football is played.

30 May 2016

Trial results underestimate anticoagulant bleeding risk

A study in The BMJ demonstrates that estimates of major bleeding risk in patients taking anticoagulants in clinical trials are unlikely to reflect the reality of clinical practice.

28 May 2016

UTHealth's Mobile Stroke Unit fights stroke through research, technology and patient care

About 800,000 strokes occur in America each year; that's about one every 40 seconds. Houston resident Joe Carrabba experienced one of them.

28 May 2016

New, simpler way for encapsulation-free controlled protein release

A U of T Engineering team has designed a simpler way to keep therapeutic proteins where they are needed for long periods of time. The discovery is a potential game-changer for the treatment of chronic illnesses or injuries that often require multiple injections or daily pills.

28 May 2016

Small drug-like molecule that alters perception of food may hold key to extending human healthspan

Researchers at the Buck Institute have shown a new effect on aging via a small drug-like molecule that alters the perception of food in the nematode C. elegans. Publishing in Aging Cell, researchers "tricked" the worm's metabolism into a state of caloric restriction, extending the animal's lifespan by 50 percent.

27 May 2016