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.

Parkinson's disease risk greater in those exposed to trichloroethylene

A novel study in twins found that exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE)—a hazardous organic contaminant found in soil, groundwater, and air—is significantly associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Possibility of developing this neurodegenerative disease is also linked to perchloroethylene (PERC) and carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) exposure according to the study appearing today in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.

14 Nov 2011

Flexible brain implant could treat epileptic seizures

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a flexible brain implant that could one day be used to treat epileptic seizures. In animal studies, the researchers used the device - a type of electrode array that conforms to the brain's surface - to take an unprecedented look at the brain activity underlying seizures.

14 Nov 2011

UCLA School of Nursing faculty members to present at AHA 2011

A failing heart's effect on the short-term memory. The impact of telephone interventions on behaviors in Latinos. Depression and heart disease. Risk factors contributing to premature coronary atherosclerosis in premenopausal women. These are just a few of the research findings that will be presented by faculty members of the UCLA School of Nursing at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions, being held November 12 - 16 in Orlando, FL.

14 Nov 2011

Professional tooth scaling associated with fewer heart attacks, strokes

Professional tooth scaling was associated with fewer heart attacks and strokes in a study from Taiwan presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011.

14 Nov 2011

Renowned cardiologist wins TCT 2011 Geoffrey O. Hartzler Master Clinical Operator Award

Horst Sievert, MD, PhD, a renowned interventional cardiologist, was presented the TCT 2011 Geoffrey O. Hartzler Master Clinical Operator Award in a ceremony held today during the 23rd annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

14 Nov 2011

Maintaining normal blood glucose levels prevents long-term kidney complications

Maintaining good glucose control early in the course of type 1 diabetes could lessen the long-term risk of kidney disease, as measured by a common test of kidney function.

14 Nov 2011

New stem cell technique hopes to replace damaged cells in Parkinson's

Australian scientists have developed a new technique using stem cells, in the hope to replace damaged cells in Parkinson's disease. The technique could be developed for application in other degenerative conditions.

13 Nov 2011

Salt – is it bad for the heart? Debate continues

Salt or high sodium intake in diet has drawn attention of researchers for a while now. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a day-long hearing today, discussing strategies to help Americans cut the salt from their diets as a latest attempt to curb sodium in the American diet.

13 Nov 2011

Dramatic rise in obesity, fatty liver disease increases need for transplants

The dramatic rise in obesity is leading to more fatty liver disease in the United States, increasing the need for more transplants at a time when there already is a severe shortage of donated organs.

11 Nov 2011

Classical DCs associated with protection against atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis, commonly referred to as "hardening of the arteries," is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. The cause of atherosclerosis is not well understood but, for some time, chronic inflammatory immune responses have been implicated in driving disease pathology. Now, a new study, published online on November 10th by Cell Press from the journal Immunity, identifies a type of immune cell that is not associated with promoting disease, but with protection against atherosclerosis.

11 Nov 2011

SNI receives NINDS grant to conduct clinical research studies on brain disorders

Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) has been selected by the National Institutes of Health as the Pacific Northwest member of a national consortium of 25 neuroscience centers that will conduct clinical research studies on a variety of brain-related diseases.

10 Nov 2011

Stroke warning signs need more urgent attention

Patients who suffer stroke-like attacks can have mortality rates 20 per cent higher than the general population, new research finds, leading to calls for better stroke prevention strategies for those who experience a transient ischemic attack (TIA).

10 Nov 2011

Accumetrics VerifyNow test shows patients with high PRU exhibit higher stent thrombosis

Accumetrics, Inc., developer of the VerifyNow System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care system for measuring platelet reactivity to multiple antiplatelet agents, today announced that patients with high platelet reactivity, i.e. high PRU values as measured by the Accumetrics VerifyNow P2Y12 Test, exhibited an approximately four times higher rate of stent thrombosis than patients without high platelet reactivity, as seen in the ADAPT-DES registry.

10 Nov 2011

GHSU expert to again coordinate two national diabetes initiatives

Two national efforts supporting diabetes research will again be coordinated by a Georgia Health Sciences University bioinformatics expert.

10 Nov 2011

Patients with Parkinson's may have increased risk of leg motor restlessness

People with Parkinson's disease may be more likely to have a movement disorder called leg motor restlessness, but not true restless legs syndrome as previous studies have suggested, according to a study published in the November 9, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Nov 2011

Carotid artery stenting could treat severe disease lesions

Patients who are not candidates for traditional surgery for severe carotid artery disease lesions could be treated with carotid artery stenting, according to results of a small feasibility study by cardiologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

9 Nov 2011

EI-IC bypass surgery does not lower risk of stroke recurrence in patients with TIA

A surgical procedure aimed at bypassing a blocked artery that supplies blood to the brain did not lower the subsequent stroke rate after 2 years in people who previously had a minor stroke, compared to those who did not have the surgery.

9 Nov 2011

AMRI reports $50.2 million total revenue for third quarter 2011

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9 Nov 2011

Kessler Foundation neuropsychologists receive National Multiple Sclerosis Society grants

Two neuropsychologists at Kessler Foundation Research Center were awarded more than $100,000 in grants by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, received $63,000 to conduct a pilot study, "Speed of Processing Training for Improving Processing Speed in Persons with MS".

8 Nov 2011

UM launches campaign on medication adherence in Baltimore

Months before U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, came to Baltimore on Nov. 2 to officially launch the city's leg of a three-year national campaign to raise awareness about medication adherence, pharmacy students had already taken up the challenge, said Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD, CGP, associate professor of pharmacy practice and science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

8 Nov 2011