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.

Brain lesion scan appearance shows increased multiple sclerosis activity during spring and summer

New research shows that multiple sclerosis (MS) activity can increase during spring and summer months. The research is published in the August 31, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

31 Aug 2010

Increasing trend seen in hospital admissions due to atrial fibrillation

A growing epidemic of the world's most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.

31 Aug 2010

Peripheral arterial disease increases cardiovascular disease risk: Study

Most patients don't suspect a thing, and yet they are seriously ill: hardening of the arteries - peripheral arterial disease PAD - doubles the risk of premature death and serious cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.

31 Aug 2010

Data suggests BIMA improves coronary artery bypass graft efficiency

Recent trial data indicate that coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery remains the most effective intervention for patients with severe coronary artery disease (CAD).

31 Aug 2010

Hospital admissions in Australia due to atrial fibrillation triples

A growing epidemic of the world's most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.

31 Aug 2010

African-Americans at higher risk of developing stent thrombosis

African-American race is a distinct risk factor for developing life-threatening blood clots after receiving a drug-coated stent, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

31 Aug 2010

J-LANCELOT trial finds E5555 may reduce MACE without increasing serious bleeding events

Aspirin and thienopyridine antiplatelet therapy (such as clopidogrel) are standard care in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and even in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) after coronary intervention with stent. However, effective antiplatelet agents are needed which do not increase the risk of bleeding.

31 Aug 2010

Patients with atherothrombosis are at increased risk of ischemic events: Study

Clinical descriptors can assist clinicians in identifying patients with various stages of atherothrombosis (abnormal fatty deposits in an artery) who are at high-risk of future cardiovascular events, according to a study that will appear in the September 22 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Stockholm.

30 Aug 2010

Selective lowering of heart rate reduces risk of death and hospitalization: Study

The results of a major international study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Stockholm and published simultaneously in The Lancet show, for the first time, that selectively lowering heart rate with a novel medication, ivabradine, significantly reduces risk of death and hospitalization for patients with heart failure. This also resolves a longstanding debate about whether lowering heart rate itself can actually lower the risk of heart disease progression.

30 Aug 2010

Latest achievements in brain research and treatment for mental disorders

Mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, addiction and schizophrenia are the core challenge of most health care systems around the world. In the EU alone, each year 27% of the total adult population - this corresponds to 83 Million citizens - suffer from mental disorders. Depression alone affects almost 20 million ranking in the EU as the most disabling disorder of all diseases.

30 Aug 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim announces sub-analysis result of RE-LY trial

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced results from a pre-specified, retrospective, un-blinded sub-analysis of the RE-LY trial the largest atrial fibrillation outcomes trial ever conducted were published in The Lancet.

30 Aug 2010

New research contradicts previous reports on blood-thinner clopidogrel

New findings by McMaster University researchers contradict earlier reports that people with a certain genetic make-up don't benefit from the blood-thinner clopidogrel, also known as Plavix.

30 Aug 2010

New campaign to create awareness on atrial fibrillation related strokes

Mission 1 Million Getting to the Heart of Stroke launches today announcing a worldwide effort to help prevent as many as 1 million atrial fibrillation (AF) related strokes through increased awareness and understanding.

30 Aug 2010

Study reveals impact of genetic make-up on response to oral antiplatelet treatment ticagrelor

A new genetic substudy of PLATO showed that the effects on a combined primary endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke seen in Acute Coronary Syndromes patients who received the investigational oral antiplatelet treatment, ticagrelor (BRILINTA), were maintained, whether or not they had the genetic variability that has been previously shown to affect a patient's response to clopidogrel.

30 Aug 2010

GWAS finds new genetic link between Parkinson's disease and inflammation

A hunt throughout the human genome for variants associated with common, late-onset Parkinson's disease has revealed a new genetic link that implicates the immune system and offers new targets for drug development.

30 Aug 2010

FDA approves Novartis' Tekamlo for treatment of high blood pressure

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Tekamlo™ (aliskiren and amlodipine) tablets, a single-pill for the treatment of high blood pressure combining the only approved direct renin inhibitor, Tekturna® (aliskiren), with the widely used calcium channel blocker amlodipine. Tekamlo is approved as initial therapy for patients who are likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals, and as replacement therapy for patients whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled with either aliskiren or amlodipine alone.

27 Aug 2010

World's tallest man undergoes Gamma Knife surgery

Much of Sultan Kosen's eight feet, two-inch stature rose up in an 17-year period starting at age 10, when the benign tumor in his brain's pituitary gland highjacked the organ, causing it to secrete massive amounts of growth hormone, making Mr. Kosen's body grow fast and grow without ceasing. He will need to wait several months to find out if his Gamma Knife® surgery last Thursday at the University of Virginia (UVA, Charlottesville, Va.) has inactivated the tumor and he has reached his final height, but his physicians are optimistic.

27 Aug 2010

Athera Biotechnologies, Electra-Box Diagnostica sign distribution agreement for 'CVDefine' kit

Athera Biotechnologies and Electra-Box Diagnostica, announced today that they have signed an agreement for distribution of "CVDefine" kit. CVDefine measures a new biomarker in blood, a specific anti-body, that has been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Athera Biotechnologies is part of the Karolinska Development portfolio.

27 Aug 2010

New York State permits Genelex Corporation's DNA Drug Sensitivity Tests

The New York State Department of Health has licensed Genelex Corporation's DNA Drug Sensitivity Tests for use by doctors in the state. The issued Clinical Laboratory Permit is for DNA testing of three enzymes, the cytochrome P450s, that process more than 50 percent of the most commonly prescribed medicines.

27 Aug 2010

Researchers find two high-fat diets reduce absence epilepsy in children

Two high-fat diets the classic ketogenic and a modified version of the Atkins can reduce and, in some cases, completely eliminate seizures in children with a common seizure disorder known as absence epilepsy, say researchers from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

27 Aug 2010