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.

Developing depression after a heart attack increases one’s risk of death or readmission

Science has found many links between depression and other serious medical illnesses, such as cancer, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. For example, people who develop depression following a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or chest pain (angina) have an elevated risk of cardiac death or hospital readmission over the following year.

22 Oct 2008

Discovery of genetic switch critical for cell survival in Hypoxia

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a critical metabolic "switch" in fruit flies that helps oxygen-deprived cells survive. "A transcriptional suppressor, called hairy, is crucial for reducing the mismatch between supply and demand of oxygen," said Dan Zhou, first author on the study, published October 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

21 Oct 2008

Beta-blockers raise the risk of a heart attack after surgery

A new study has found that for some patients undergoing surgery, beta-blockers before and around the time of the operation increases their risk of heart attack and death.

21 Oct 2008

Junk food responsible for 35% of the world's heart attacks

New research by Canadian scientists says junk food causes a third of all heart attacks and it is diets heavy in fried foods, salty snacks and meat which are the culprits.

21 Oct 2008

Genes that control cell death may play role in age-related hearing loss

Several genes that play a role in how our body's cells normally auto-destruct may play a role in age-related hearing loss, according to research published online in the journal Apoptosis - a journal devoted to the topic of cell suicide, or programmed cell death.

19 Oct 2008

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor may predict schizophrenia relapse

A factor that helps optimize brain formation and function may also provide clues about whether patients suffering with schizophrenia are headed toward relapse, researchers say.

16 Oct 2008

Artificial brain-muscle connections used to restore movement to paralyzed limbs

Researchers in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have demonstrated for the first time that a direct artificial connection from the brain to muscles can restore voluntary movement in monkeys whose arms have been temporarily anesthetized. The results may have promising implications for the quarter of a million Americans affected by spinal cord injuries and thousands of others with paralyzing neurological diseases, although clinical applications are years away.

15 Oct 2008

Alcohol linked to brain shrinkage

According to the latest research drinking alcohol shrinks the brain and the more alcohol an individual drinks, the smaller his or her total brain volume will be.

15 Oct 2008

People with severe obstructive sleep apnea often have poor diets

A study in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that unrelated to obesity, people with severe SDBs consume a more unhealthy diet, which may be a factor contributing to greater cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. These findings were most evident among women.

15 Oct 2008

Vioxx heart risks confirmed in long-term study

The study, an analysis of people who took the arthritis drug carried out by Dr. Robert Bresalier of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, has found Vioxx doubles the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

14 Oct 2008

New devices used to reduce arterial occlusions, provide cardiac support

Research results highlighting three new devices used to reduce blockages in peripheral and coronary arteries and to provide cardiac support will be presented at the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF).

12 Oct 2008

Ginkgo biloba may prevent brain cell damage after a stroke

Working with genetically engineered mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that daily doses of a standardized extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree can prevent or reduce brain damage after an induced stroke.

12 Oct 2008

Painkillers found to reduce breast cancer risk

According to an international study the regular use of popular painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen reduces the risk of breast cancer.

12 Oct 2008

Cheap 'Polypill' deals with heart disease and stroke

The 'Polypill' is a single pill which combines a range of drugs that protect against heart disease and stroke and was first considered a number of years ago as a cost effective way to significantly reduce the death toll from cardiovascular disease. But progress has been hampered by the reluctance of pharmaceutical companies to embark on a project involving inexpensive drugs which offered little financial incentive.

7 Oct 2008

People with diabetes lose more than money

It is not about money. No amount of money will give back my limb" said a 65 years old woman with diabetes (name withheld on request) who underwent limb amputation at the Gandhi Memorial & Associated Hospitals (GM & AH).

7 Oct 2008

New technology promises tests for diseases such as cancer in 15 minutes

Scientists at Leeds University in the UK say soon, testing for diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, could take as little as 15 minutes and could be as simple as using a pregnancy testing kit.

1 Oct 2008

Danish study provides new information on hormone replacement therapy and the risk of heart attacks

It's not what you take but the way that you take it that can produce different results in women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to new research on the association between HRT and heart attacks, published online in Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal today.

30 Sep 2008

Warfarin linked to increased bleeding in brain

A new study shows that people who take the commonly used blood thinning drug warfarin may have larger amounts of bleeding in the brain and increased risk of death if they suffer a hemorrhagic stroke. The study is published in the September 30, 2008, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Sep 2008

New York City blacks more likely than other races to have high blood pressure, report finds

New York City blacks have the highest rate of high blood pressure of any racial or ethnic group in the city, according to a report released on Wednesday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Staten Island Advance reports.

29 Sep 2008

Oversize waistlines are a potent risk factor for heart disease in women

A heart expert at Johns Hopkins is calling for all women with a waistline measuring more than 35 inches to get an annual check-up and detailed risk assessment for heart problems because excess abdominal fat, even in the mildly obese and overweight, leads more than a third of women to underestimate their lifetime risk of having a heart attack, stroke or chest pain (angina).

24 Sep 2008