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.

Depression hastens decline in cancer patients

Depression causes patients with advanced cancer to die sooner than they should, say scientists at the University of Liverpool.

4 Aug 2008

Anti-reflux surgery - research may lead to changes in treatment recommendations

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have found that the reflux and swallowing problems that are common symptoms in patients with Rett syndrome and other neurological impairments, may be caused by a different mechanism than they are in healthy individuals. The finding leaves researchers to wonder if these patients truly benefit from anti-reflux surgery commonly performed in these children.

4 Aug 2008

Chronic exposure to estrogen impairs some cognitive functions

University of Illinois researchers report this week that chronic exposure to estradiol, the main estrogen in the body, diminishes some cognitive functions. Rats exposed to a steady dose of estradiol were impaired on tasks involving working memory and response inhibition, the researchers found.

3 Aug 2008

Telemedicine could have a profound impact on the treatment of stroke patients throughout the world

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center say that their first-of-its-kind study of a telemedicine program which transports stroke specialists via computer desktop or even laptop to the patient's bedside, using highly sophisticated video, audio and Internet technology, could have an immediate and profound impact on the treatment of stroke patients throughout the world.

3 Aug 2008

Sleep apnea associated with increased risk of death

Sleep-disordered breathing (also known as sleep apnea) is associated with an increased risk of death, according to new results from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort, an 18-year observational study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

3 Aug 2008

Newly identified risk factor for cardiovascular disease may lead to new treatments

Low levels of naturally occurring antibodies may represent an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke in men. This discovery, published in the academic journal Atherosclerosis, has now led to attempts to develop an immunization against cardiovascular disease.

31 Jul 2008

Excess fat around the heart may be worse than high BMI for heart attacks

When it comes to risk for a heart attack, having excess fat around the heart may be worse than having a high body mass index or a thick waist, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues reporting in the August issue of the journal Obesity.

31 Jul 2008

Shocking deaths of six people with learning disabilities details unnecessary suffering at the hands of the NHS

An inquiry into the deaths of six patients with learning disabilities while being treated by the National Health Service (NHS) has revealed shocking details.

30 Jul 2008

Estrogen treatments may sharpen mental performance in some women

Estrogen treatments may sharpen mental performance in women with certain medical conditions, but University of Florida researchers suggest that recharging a naturally occurring estrogen receptor in the brain may also clear cognitive cobwebs.

29 Jul 2008

Statins reduce the risk of dementia by half

People at high risk for dementia who took cholesterol-lowering statins are half as likely to develop dementia as those who do not take statins, a new study shows.

28 Jul 2008

Most adults in U.S. will be overweight or obese by 2030

Most adults in the U.S. will be overweight or obese by 2030, with related health care spending projected to be as much as $956.9 billion, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Their results are published in the July 2008 online issue of Obesity.

28 Jul 2008

Viagra and Levitra ED drugs shown to allow more chemo to reach brain tumors

In a study using laboratory animals, researchers found that medications commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction opened a mechanism called the blood-brain tumor barrier and increased delivery of cancer-fighting drugs to malignant brain tumors.

28 Jul 2008

Exercise shown to slow down Alzheimer's progress

According to a new study, patients with the early signs of Alzheimer's disease had less deterioration in the areas of the brain which control memory, if they exercised regularly.

28 Jul 2008

Amgen announces positive results for Denosumab postmenopausal osteoporosis trial

Amgen has announced findings from the pivotal fracture trial evaluating its RANK Ligand inhibitor, denosumab, in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

27 Jul 2008

Researchers find key mechanism of cell damage in aging and disease

Researchers have taken a first snapshot of how a class of highly reactive molecules inflicts cellular damage as part of aging, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and Alzheimer's disease to name a few. According to a study published today in the journal Cell, researchers have discovered a tool that can monitor related damage and determine the degree to which antioxidant drugs effectively combat disease.

24 Jul 2008

New study finds working age adults with major chronic conditions grew 25 percent over 10 years

As the number of working-age adults who have major chronic conditions grew between 1997 and 2006, those without health coverage in this group experienced substantial erosion in access to health care, according to a new study by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers published today as a Health Affairs Web Exclusive.

22 Jul 2008

Too much sleep increases the risk of stroke in older women

Researchers in the United States have found that for older women too much or too little sleep increases their risk of a stroke.

21 Jul 2008

Sleep patterns and ischemic risk in postmenopausal women

Postmenopausal women who regularly sleep more than nine hours a night may have an increased risk of ischemic stroke, researchers reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Jul 2008

New ultrasound imaging system spots early evidence of peripheral arterial disease

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have devised an ultrasound imaging technique that picks up subtle early evidence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) that current conventional tests miss.

17 Jul 2008

25.6 percent of U.S. adults obese in 2007

The proportion of U.S. adults who self report they are obese increased nearly 2 percent between 2005 and 2007, according to a report in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). An estimated 25.6 percent of U.S. adults reported being obese in 2007 compared to 23.9 percent in 2005, an increase of 1.7 percent.

17 Jul 2008