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.

Study links better midlife vascular health to nearly 13 more dementia-free years

A long-term study of 12,409 adults found that a greater burden of diabetes, hypertension, and current smoking in midlife was associated with substantially fewer years lived free of dementia. Adults with none of these risk factors had about 30.1 dementia-free years from age 55, compared with 17.5 years among those with all three, a difference of nearly 13 years.

10 Aug 2026

Nicotine gum may make smokeless tobacco withdrawal easier to manage

A randomized trial found that 2 mg nicotine gum controlled craving, anxiety, and sleep problems more effectively than behavioral counselling during smokeless tobacco cessation. Although abstinence rates were numerically higher with nicotine gum, the differences were not statistically significant, highlighting the need for larger studies.

6 Aug 2026

Multi-omics research uncovers new therapeutic targets for Fabry disease

A comprehensive review is shedding new light on Fabry disease, a rare inherited disorder that can progressively damage multiple organs and significantly affect quality of life.

6 Aug 2026

Healthy midlife habits linked to longer dementia-free years

Having normal blood pressure, no diabetes, and not smoking from age 48 to 68, are associated with nearly 13 additional years on average of dementia-free life, a new study shows.

6 Aug 2026

GLP-1 drug tirzepatide associated with lower risk of major cardiovascular events

Adding the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro) to standard care for patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease is associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

5 Aug 2026

Study reveals treatment gaps for atypical Alzheimer's disease patients

Many people with less common forms of Alzheimer's disease may not qualify for newer anti-amyloid treatments designed to slow the disease, according to a study published August 5, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Aug 2026

Global surveys reveal little progress in tobacco risk awareness over two decades

Across 46 countries, adults who smoked showed high awareness that tobacco causes lung cancer but substantially lower knowledge of cardiovascular and secondhand smoke harms. Knowledge changed little overall across two decades, supporting stronger health warnings, mass media campaigns and enforced smoke-free policies.

5 Aug 2026

Physical activity linked to lower stroke and death risk in adults with atrial fibrillation

Being physically active was linked to a lower risk of stroke and death for adults with atrial fibrillation, or AFib, according to new, independent research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

5 Aug 2026

New 3D brain tissue model accelerates Alzheimer's drug development

How can Alzheimer's research be made faster, better, and more effective? After decades of intensive research worldwide and despite recent therapeutic advances, scientists have not managed to fully arrest the progress of the disease.

4 Aug 2026

Gestational diabetes cases surge across England, raising health concerns

One in eight mothers in England is now diagnosed with gestational diabetes, with diagnoses rising by 60 per cent in just five years, according to a major study.

3 Aug 2026

Prediction model can estimate heart disease risk in women earlier in life

McGill University researchers have developed a new tool to identify heart disease risk in women earlier in life.

3 Aug 2026

Genetic variants interact to increase early-onset atrial fibrillation risk

An estimated 10 million Americans have atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

31 Jul 2026

URI professor wins $1.5M grant to study cerebral amyloid angiopathy

A $1.5M grant has been awarded to William Van Nostrand, co-executive director of the University of Rhode Island's George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and professor of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in the URI College of Pharmacy, to study cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a disease prevalent in the elderly population and commonly found in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

31 Jul 2026

Study reveals widening inequality in leisure-time physical activity

A ten-year study of residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, revealed that leisure-time physical activity is highly unequal and that the gap between social strata is widening.

30 Jul 2026

ALS risk varies significantly across U.S. military service branches

Compared to Army veterans, men who are veterans of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard have higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and men who are Marine veterans have lower rates, according to a new study published July 29, 2026, in Neurology®, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Jul 2026

Early-life sugar restriction may reduce dementia risk later

Consuming less sugar in utero before birth and during the first one to two years of life was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia later in life, according to a study published July 29, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Jul 2026

Premature menopause linked to higher risk of developing hypertension

Women who reach menopause before age 40 face a meaningfully higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those who go through menopause after age 45, according to a new study of more than 107,000 women.

29 Jul 2026

AI model accurately predicts how effectively the heart pumps blood

Cardiovascular disease is becoming increasingly common in young people aged 20 to 29, according to the World Health Organization, due to the rise in metabolic conditions such as obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes among young populations worldwide.

29 Jul 2026

New study reveals massive gap in American blood pressure care

Nearly 23 million Americans with blood pressure 130/80 mm Hg or higher may be eligible for blood-pressure-lowering medications based on the 2025 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline, according to new, independent research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Heart Association.

29 Jul 2026

Remdesivir protects kidney and heart health in transplant recipients

Adults with kidney transplants who were treated for COVID-19 with the antiviral remdesivir within a week of COVID-19 diagnosis and who received at least three consecutive days of therapy were less likely than kidney transplant recipients who did not receive the antiviral to experience cardiovascular or kidney problems up to a year later, according to findings from a target trial emulation study that published in JAMA Network Open.

28 Jul 2026