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.

Proton pump inhibitors does not lead to higher rates of pneumonia

Previous studies that have associated the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) - which include popular anti-heartburn medications like Prilosec and Nexium - with an increased incidence of pneumonia may not have found a true cause-and-effect relationship.

2 Oct 2012

Toronto Rehab, Calgary Stroke Program receive Distinction status from Accreditation Canada

The Calgary Stroke Program continues to be one of the top stroke programs in Canada and today received a second "Stroke Services Distinction" award from Accreditation Canada. It remains the only comprehensive stroke program in the country with this status.

2 Oct 2012

Anemia now confirmed as risk factor for illness and even death following cardiac surgery

Anemia is now confirmed as a risk factor for illness and even death following cardiac surgery, according to a study published in the October 2012 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

2 Oct 2012

Incidence of esophageal, stomach cancers increased in AIDS

The risk for esophageal and stomach carcinomas, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphomas, is significantly increased in people with AIDS, although the incidence of lymphomas has decreased, the results of a US and UK study reveal.

1 Oct 2012

Pediatric lower respiratory illness continues after hospital discharge

One-third of children hospitalized with severe lower respiratory illness have chronic moist cough a year after discharge, research shows.

1 Oct 2012

Autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis halted in mice

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a gene-based therapy to stop the rodent equivalent of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis by specifically targeting the destructive immune response the disorder triggers in the body.

1 Oct 2012

PLATO: Causes of lower mortality with ticagrelor identified

The mortality reduction with ticagrelor versus clopidogrel is due to fewer deaths from cardiovascular, bleeding, and infection complications, say researchers.

1 Oct 2012

Nova Scotia's stroke strategy improves care for three rural health districts

Stroke patients in rural Nova Scotia receive better treatment and are less likely to end up in long-term care facilities than they were before the province's stroke strategy was rolled out in 2008, according to a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

1 Oct 2012

Emergency medicine residency programs need more formal stroke training

Medical residents training to work in the emergency department need more formal stroke training, says a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress, noting that, as the first point of contact in stroke care, they see nearly 100 per cent of stroke patients taken to hospital.

1 Oct 2012

Most people completely unaware of aphasia

Most people are completely unaware of one of stroke's most common, debilitating but invisible impairments, according to the first awareness survey of its kind in Canada released today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

1 Oct 2012

Home delivery of stroke rehabilitation improves care, eliminates waiting lists and saves costs

Home delivery of stroke rehabilitation improves care, eliminates waiting lists for treatment and saves hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in hospital costs, according to a quality improvement project presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

1 Oct 2012

Cafeteria diet increases risk of stroke or death at a younger age

The fat- and sugar-rich Western diet leads to a lifetime of health problems, dramatically increasing the risk of stroke or death at a younger age, according to a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

1 Oct 2012

Death rates after surgery: an interview with Dr Rupert Pearse

There are very few published estimates describing the number of deaths following surgery at a national level and none at an international level.

1 Oct 2012

Exercise can improve overall brain function following stroke

Just six months of exercise can improve memory, language, thinking and judgment problems by almost 50 per cent, says a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

1 Oct 2012

Common RNA pathway links frontotemporal lobar dementia with ALS

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that a common pathway links them.

1 Oct 2012

Rehabilitation robots help identify and customize post-stroke therapy

When it comes to stroke rehabilitation, it takes a dedicated team to help a person regain as much independence as possible: physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, recreation therapists, caregivers and others. Now, a University of Calgary research team has added a robot to help identify and customize post-stroke therapy.

1 Oct 2012

Women with early menopause more likely to develop heart attack or stroke

Women who experience early menopause are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than women whose menopause occurs at a later age, according to a new study by Melissa Wellons, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine in the Vanderbilt Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism.

29 Sep 2012

Mediaplanet releases first edition of ‘Personalized Health’ in USA Today

On September 28, 2012, Mediaplanet released its first edition of "Personalized Health," in USA Today, a 16-page publication trumpeting the arrival of personalized health and medicine.

29 Sep 2012

Lessons on the journey to commercialisation

One of the Asia Pacific region’s best known biotech leaders, Dr Greg Collier, says successful commercialisation of a new drug or therapy takes, “discipline, a strong set of nerves and a stroke of luck.”

28 Sep 2012

Loyola offers corrective surgeries for adults with strabismus

Since she was a child, Katie Szymczak has had eyes that wandered. Her right eye, which was the worst, would look up and to the side, rather than straight ahead. Her husband affectionately called them "googly eyes." But other people could be mean. "They would say to me, 'What's wrong with your eyes, why aren't you looking at me?'" Szymczak said. "It really hurt a lot."

28 Sep 2012