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.

Post-stroke patients experience phantom limb sensations: Report

After the loss of a limb, most patients experience the feeling of a phantom limb - the vivid illusion that the amputated arm or leg is still present. Damage to the nervous system, such as stroke, may cause similar illusions in weakened limbs, whereby an arm or leg may feel as if it is in a completely different position or may even feel as if it is moving when it is not. Cases of phantom limbs in non-amputees have previously been considered rare events, but a new study published in the October 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex reports that more than half of patients recovering from stroke may in fact experience phantom limb sensations.

27 Sep 2010

Amgen announces voluntary recall of certain lots of EPOGEN and PROCRIT

Amgen announced today that certain lots of EPOGEN® and PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) vials are being voluntarily recalled from specialty distributors, wholesalers, pharmacies and healthcare providers as a precaution. The product that is being recalled may contain extremely thin glass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible in most cases. The lamellae result from the interaction of the formulation with glass vials over the shelf life of the product.

24 Sep 2010

World Heart Federation calls on employers and employees to take responsibility for workplace wellness

Despite the vast majority (91%) of workers believing that it is their employer's responsibility to create a healthy working environment, nearly a third (32%) of employees feels their workplace actually hinders their ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, according to new independent research commissioned by the World Heart Federation and conducted by Opinion Health.

24 Sep 2010

MTHFD1L gene may increase risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have identified a gene that appears to increase a person's risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of the disease. The gene, abbreviated as MTHFD1L, is on chromosome six, and was identified in a genome-wide association study.

24 Sep 2010

Malnutrition, inflammation complicate blood cholesterol readings in CKD patients

To understand the health effects of high cholesterol levels, doctors first need to assess malnutrition and inflammation status in their chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

24 Sep 2010

UC San Diego receives grant to study hypoxia susceptibility

Gabriel G. Haddad, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego has received a $10 million grant from the National Institute of Health's Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

24 Sep 2010

Takeda underscores commitment to ACTOS following FDA and EMA announcements for rosiglitazone

Following today’s announcements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for rosiglitazone in the U.S. and Europe, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Europe Limited underscore the company’s commitment to ACTOS® (pioglitazone HCl) and ACTOS-containing medications, and to the millions of people living with type 2 diabetes.

24 Sep 2010

TAVI procedure reduces mortality rate in patients with aortic stenosis

Just released data from a clinical trial shows promise for a new minimally invasive treatment option for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are too sick for traditional forms of open-heart surgery. As compared to standard medical therapy, the new procedure, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), significantly reduced mortality rates in patients who received the new valve.

24 Sep 2010

Breast cancer incidence drops, linked to decline in HRT use

A new Canadian study shows that a significant drop in breast cancer incidence among post-menopausal women from 2002 to 2004 coincided with a sharp drop in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use during the same period. This is the first study to show the link between HRT use and breast cancer among Canadian women.

24 Sep 2010

Antipsychotics slightly raise risk for blood clots

Antipsychotics or medications that are used to treat psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are reported to raise the risk of dangerous blood clots.

23 Sep 2010

Athersys presents MultiStem phase I study results at TCT Conference

Athersys, Inc. announced at its presentation at the Transvascular Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference held in Washington, D.C., updated results from its phase I clinical trial of MultiStem, its allogeneic cell therapy product, administered to individuals following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

23 Sep 2010

TAVI procedure effective in patients unsuitable for surgical valve replacement: Study

One-year data from the PARTNER clinical trial, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrate that transcatheter aortic-valve implantation, compared with standard therapy, resulted in significantly lower rates of death among patients who cannot undergo surgery for aortic stenosis. The results will be presented tomorrow as a Late Breaking Trial at the 22nd annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium.

23 Sep 2010

New study signals hope for treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease

A new study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists signals hope for treatment of a neurodegenerative disease and a new model for understanding the mechanism at work in other more common neurodegenerative disorders.

23 Sep 2010

Implantation of new bioprosthetic-tissue valve in patients with severe aortic stenosis saves lives

Implantation of a new bioprosthetic-tissue valve into the hearts of patients who have severe aortic stenosis and are too sick or too old for open-heart surgery has been found to both save lives and improve the quality of those lives, according to a new multicenter study, to be published online at 2 p.m. Pacific time today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Sep 2010

FDA approves Gilenya capsules for reducing MS relapses

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Gilenya capsules (fingolimod) to reduce relapses and delay disability progression in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

22 Sep 2010

Vascular Disease Foundation honors UCSD professor with President's Award for Vision

The Vascular Disease Foundation has awarded Michael Criqui, MD, MPH, professor and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, one of its highest honors, the President's Award for Vision. The award was presented at the VDF's annual meeting in Alexandria, Virginia on September 20.

22 Sep 2010

JHS conference focuses on future research directions to eliminate health disparities

The tenth anniversary of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) will be observed on Sept. 23-24 in Jackson, Mississippi. The JHS is the largest study in history to investigate genetic factors that affect high blood pressure, heart and lung disease, stroke, diabetes, and other important diseases in African-Americans.

22 Sep 2010

Novartis' SOM230 reduces cortisol levels in Cushing's disease patients

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the results of a Phase III study of SOM230 (pasireotide) showed a reduction in cortisol levels in patients with Cushing's disease, a condition in which a benign (non-cancerous) pituitary tumor causes the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol and can be fatal. Results will be presented at the 14th Congress of the European Neuroendocrine Association (ENEA).

22 Sep 2010

Catheter ablation benefits atrial fibrillation patients younger than 45

Patients under age 45 had fewer major complications than older patients and comparable improvement after a medical procedure to treat irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, in a study reported in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, an American Heart Association journal.

22 Sep 2010

QR Pharma and MUSC receive $220,000 SBIR grant to study Posiphen in AD transgenic mice

QR Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company committed to developing therapeutics with novel approaches for the treatment of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) announced today that they received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase I grant in the amount of $220,000 to study Posiphen® and its metabolites in cell culture and in transgenic Alzheimer mice.

22 Sep 2010

Stroke News and Research

Further Reading

Post-stroke patients experience phantom limb sensations: Report

Amgen announces voluntary recall of certain lots of EPOGEN and PROCRIT

World Heart Federation calls on employers and employees to take responsibility for workplace wellness

MTHFD1L gene may increase risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Malnutrition, inflammation complicate blood cholesterol readings in CKD patients

UC San Diego receives grant to study hypoxia susceptibility

Takeda underscores commitment to ACTOS following FDA and EMA announcements for rosiglitazone

TAVI procedure reduces mortality rate in patients with aortic stenosis

Breast cancer incidence drops, linked to decline in HRT use

Antipsychotics slightly raise risk for blood clots

Athersys presents MultiStem phase I study results at TCT Conference

TAVI procedure effective in patients unsuitable for surgical valve replacement: Study

New study signals hope for treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease

Implantation of new bioprosthetic-tissue valve in patients with severe aortic stenosis saves lives

FDA approves Gilenya capsules for reducing MS relapses

Vascular Disease Foundation honors UCSD professor with President's Award for Vision

JHS conference focuses on future research directions to eliminate health disparities

Novartis' SOM230 reduces cortisol levels in Cushing's disease patients

Catheter ablation benefits atrial fibrillation patients younger than 45

QR Pharma and MUSC receive $220,000 SBIR grant to study Posiphen in AD transgenic mice

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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