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.

FDA approves Livalo (pitavastatin), a new cholesterol-lowering drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the 4 milligram maximum dose of Livalo (pitavastatin), a drug intended to improve blood cholesterol levels in persons with elevated or abnormal blood cholesterol levels.

3 Aug 2009

MSU receives $1.5 million grant to help educate more Hispanics in neurosciences

A $1.5 million federal grant will help Michigan State University increase the number of Hispanic doctoral students trained in the neurosciences.

3 Aug 2009

Long-term brain damage after bypass surgery - more evidence puts blame on heart disease

Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.

3 Aug 2009

Anti-growth factor drugs raise hope and concern for treatment of children's eye diseases

A new class of antibody drugs may provide a powerful new tool for the treatment of eye diseases in children, but specialists need to be alert for the possibility of serious side effects, according to an editorial in the August Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus), published by Elsevier.

3 Aug 2009

Mortality rates higher in hepatitis C virus carriers

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and to which there is currently no vaccine available. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3% of the world's population, approximately 170 million people, are infected with HCV and it is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, end stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation.

31 Jul 2009

New chemical imaging technique could help in the fight against atherosclerosis

A new chemical imaging technique could one day help in the fight against atherosclerosis, suggests research published in the August 2009 edition of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

31 Jul 2009

‘Cheering-up’ Britain

Today, British psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman (University of Hertfordshire) invites the public to take part in an ambitious five-day experiment that aims to boost the UK's happiness.

31 Jul 2009

Plenty of dairy foods in childhood may mean a longer life

Milk is an excellent source of calcium and the children who ate plenty of dairy foods such as milk and cheese appeared to be protected against stroke and other causes of death, even though dairy products often contain fats and cholesterol which fur up the arteries and high consumption of dairy products did not raise the heart disease risk.

28 Jul 2009

Hypertension may lead to ‘silent’ strokes

"Silent" strokes, which are strokes that don't result in any noticeable symptoms but cause brain damage, are common in people over 60, and especially in those with high blood pressure, according to a study published in the July 28, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Jul 2009

Study of pulmonary hypertension treatment in sickle cell patients stopped by NHLBI

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial testing a drug treatment for pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle cell disease nearly one year early due to safety concerns.

28 Jul 2009

Repeated stress signals made in cells with metabolism-associated disease encourage the growth of invading bacteria

Mitochondrial diseases disrupt the power generating machinery within cells and increase a person's susceptibility to bacterial infection, particularly in the lungs or respiratory tract.

28 Jul 2009

Effect of sunlight exposure on cognitive function among depressed and non-depressed participants

A lack of sunlight is associated with reduced cognitive function among depressed people. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health used weather data from NASA satellites to measure sunlight exposure across the United States and linked this information to the prevalence of cognitive impairment in depressed people.

27 Jul 2009

Intensive glucose control halves complications of longstanding type 1 diabetes

Near-normal control of glucose beginning as soon as possible after diagnosis would greatly improve the long-term prognosis of type 1 diabetes, concludes a study published in the July 27, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, which updates information about the clinical course of type 1 diabetes.

27 Jul 2009

Diets high in calcium and dairy products in childhood may lower mortality

Suggestive evidence points to the possibility that children who have a diet high in calcium and who consume dairy products may have a lower mortality rate than those who don't, according to a study by researchers in Bristol and Brisbane, published in the journal Heart.

27 Jul 2009

Improving patients' attention after a stroke could help them recover their motor skills

Scientists in New Zealand say after a stroke improving patients' attention could help them to recover their motor skills.

27 Jul 2009

Improving impaired attention may help patients recover from stroke

It may be possible to improve impaired attention after stroke - which could aid recovery - according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

26 Jul 2009

Researchers identify women at risk of gaining excessive weight with Depo-Provera

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have identified women who are likely to gain weight while using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, more commonly known as Depo-Provera or the birth control shot. These findings dispel the myth that all women who use DMPA will gain weight and will help physicians to counsel patients appropriately.

24 Jul 2009

Regular moderate alcohol intake has cognitive benefits in seniors

A glass of wine here, a nightcap there - new research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine suggests that moderate alcohol intake offers long-term cognitive protection and reduces the risk of dementia in older adults. The study is being presented at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD), in Vienna on July 13.

23 Jul 2009

Some blood pressure drugs may help protect against dementia, study shows

A particular class of medication used to treat high blood pressure could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function, according to a newly published study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

23 Jul 2009

National stroke quality improvement program passes the million mark

The American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program reached a major milestone last week, as participating hospitals entered the one millionth stroke patient record into the program's database.

22 Jul 2009