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.

Added salt in our diets is unnecessary and contributes to health problems

Added salt in our diets is unnecessary and contributes to health problems such as hypertension and strokes, write Dr. Ken Flegel and Dr. Peter Magner and the CMAJ editorial team http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg263.pdf.

2 Feb 2009

New insights into growth factor's role in brain development

New research sheds light on a neural growth factor called proBDNF, finding that it is present and potentially active during the perinatal period when the brain's circuitry and memory-encoding regions are being refined.

2 Feb 2009

Brain cells called astrocytes, not neurons, lull the brain to sleep

Brain cells called astrocytes help to cause the urge to sleep that comes with prolonged wakefulness, according to a study in mice, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

2 Feb 2009

Physical therapists test mechanical arm to help patients recover from stroke, traumatic brain injury

Physical therapists at UT Southwestern Medical Center are evaluating a new mechanical arm that allows people recovering from neurological injuries such as strokes and traumatic brain injury to enter a virtual world where they can repeatedly practice movements needed to regain arm strength and movement.

2 Feb 2009

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

Top hospitals have 27 percent lower mortality: Annual HealthGrades study

Medicare patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide across the most common Medicare diagnoses and procedures are 27 percent less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

29 Jan 2009

Researchers identify a cell type that limits brain damage after a stroke

A research team including Serge Rivest of University Laval's Faculty of Medicine has demonstrated the existence of a type of cells that limits brain damage after a stroke.

29 Jan 2009

FDA warns consumers not to take Venom HYPERDRIVE 3.0

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to take Venom HYPERDRIVE 3.0, a product sold as a dietary supplement and containing sibutramine.

29 Jan 2009

Study compares exercise regimens for obese older adults

Sedentary, obese older adults appear to improve their functional abilities and reduce insulin resistance through a combination of resistance and aerobic exercises, according to a report in the January 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

27 Jan 2009

Statins may treat cerebral cavernous malformation

In a finding that could save thousands of lives a year, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that a blood vessel disorder leading to unpredictable, sometimes fatal, hemorrhagic strokes, seizures, paralysis or other problems is treatable with the same statin drugs that millions of people take to control high cholesterol.

27 Jan 2009

Diabetes epidemic shows no signs of abating

In the United States, nearly 13 percent of adults age 20 and older have diabetes, but 40 percent of them have not been diagnosed, according to epidemiologists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose study includes newly available data from an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT).

27 Jan 2009

Inflammation worsens danger due to atherosclerosis

Current research suggests that inflammation increases the risk of plaque rupture in atherosclerosis.

23 Jan 2009

Slices of living human brain tissue are helping scientists identify new stroke therapies

Slices of living human brain tissue are helping scientists learn which drugs can block the waves of death that engulf and engorge brain cells following a stroke.

21 Jan 2009

Impaired kidney function raises risk of heart problems in the elderly

A study published next week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine suggests that elderly people with damaged kidneys are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart failure and stroke, and other causes of mortality.

21 Jan 2009

Measurement of kidney function in children with kidney disease improved

A formula used to measure kidney function in children with chronic kidney disease has been revised to make it more precise, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

21 Jan 2009

Stents can be placed in the brain to treat a stroke as it's occurring

Stents can be placed in the brain to treat a stroke as it's occurring, suggests preliminary data being presented at the 21st Annual International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy (ISET).

19 Jan 2009

Stroke telemedicine assessed

Stroke telemedicine is a lifesaving practice that deserves further advancement, Mayo researchers write in the January 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

19 Jan 2009

Mild brain stimulation may enhance motor skills in traumatic brain injury, stroke

People who received a mild electrical current to a motor control area of the brain were significantly better able to learn and perform a complex motor task than those in control groups.

19 Jan 2009

Study looks at hospital at-home programs

For select patients, hospital at home treatment produces similar outcomes to inpatient care at similar or lower costs, found a study by researchers from the United Kingdom and Italy to be published in CMAJ.

19 Jan 2009

Two out of three Canadians not aware of peripheral arterial disease

Two out of three Canadians are not aware of peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D.), a common vascular disease that affects as many as 800,000 Canadians, according to a study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

19 Jan 2009