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.

Researchers working on the development of drugs to limit neuronal death

Neurons die en masse when the spinal cord is injured or when a person suffers a stroke. Researchers of the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, and of Aarhus University, Denmark, have unraveled the molecular mechanism which causes the death not only of damaged neurons, but also of healthy nerve cells.

16 Oct 2007

Homocysteine appears to be play a part in retinal damage and vision loss

Homocysteine, an amino acid believed to contribute to heart attack, stroke and dementia, likely also is a player in retinal damage and vision loss, researchers say.

16 Oct 2007

Sharp declines in hospital death rates in 2004

Sharp declines in the hospital death rates of patients from heart attack and five other leading conditions meant that an estimated 136,000 who would have died had they been hospitalized a decade earlier survived their stays in 2004, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

16 Oct 2007

Improving working memory by computerized strategy in ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a state of serious impairments in both learning ability and social functioning, is one of many labels for one of the most prevalent conditions in child psychiatry, and, undoubtedly, the most controversial, which partly persists into adulthood.

15 Oct 2007

Six years advance warning of Alzheimer's

One of the most distressing aspects of Alzheimer's disease is the difficulty in determining whether mild memory problems are the beginning of an inevitable mental decline.

15 Oct 2007

Simple blood test 90% accurate in predicting Alzheimer's

A new blood test which has been developed by scientists in California may enable doctors to predict just who is likely to develop the the degenerative brain disease Alzheimer's.

15 Oct 2007

Research shows how stem cells decide to become either skeletal or smooth muscle

Researchers have discovered a key protein that controls how stem cells "choose" to become either skeletal muscle cells that move limbs, or smooth muscle cells that support blood vessels, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

11 Oct 2007

Trial of repeated antibiotic therapy for Lyme diseases

Findings from the first placebo-controlled study of chronic cognitive impairment after treated Lyme disease (also known as chronic Lyme encephalopathy) demonstrate that patients report moderate cognitive impairment, physical dysfunction comparable to patients with congestive heart failure, and fatigue comparable to patients with multiple sclerosis.

10 Oct 2007

Quick action after a minor stroke reduces the risk of a major stroke

According to two studies by British and French researchers quick action following a minor stroke reduces the chance of a major stroke later on.

9 Oct 2007

New thoracic imaging protocol

University of Cincinnati (UC) radiologists have developed a new technique for capturing images of chest veins that eases diagnosis of venous diseases.

9 Oct 2007

Adding nitric oxide to blood in blood banks may preserve life giving properties

Researchers in the United States say one of the reasons why many patients do not do well after blood transfusions is because donated blood rapidly loses some of its life-saving properties.

8 Oct 2007

Lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with chronic kidney disease from further strokes

New research, published in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology by The George Institute for International Health in Sydney, has found that lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with Chronic Kidney Disease from further strokes or heart attacks.

8 Oct 2007

Good dental care, not antibiotics best for preventing dental-related heart problems

Since the 1950s, the American Heart Association (AHA) has urged a sizable group of people to take antibiotics before having dental work or other procedures that might flood the bloodstream with bacteria.

4 Oct 2007

Donepezil no better than placebo to treat behavioural symptoms of Alzheimer's

New research has found that donepezil (known commercially as Aricept©) is no more effective than a placebo at tackling the agitation which often accompanies Alzheimer's disease.

4 Oct 2007

Big bucks for cooling therapy trial for children with brain injuries

An investment of $11.5 million is being made into a clinical trial to examine a therapy for children with brain injuries.

3 Oct 2007

Low levels of good cholesterol risk for heart disease

According to the latest research reducing the amount of "bad cholesterol" (LDL - low density lipoprotein cholesterol) in the blood is incidental if the proper amount of "good cholesterol" (HDL - high density lipoprotein cholesterol) is not present.

3 Oct 2007

Common chronic diseases cost U.S. economy $1 trillion

In a groundbreaking study released y by the Milken Institute, the annual economic impact on the U.S. economy of the most common chronic diseases is calculated to be more than $1 trillion, which could balloon to nearly $6 trillion by the middle of the century.

3 Oct 2007

Panic attacks may increase risk of heart attack or stroke in older women

Older women who experience at least one full-blown panic attack may have an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke and an increased risk of death in the next five years, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Oct 2007

Antibiotic Minocycline shows potential as stroke treatment

People treated with the drug minocycline within six to 24 hours after a stroke had significantly fewer disabilities, according to a study published in the October 2, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Oct 2007

Mini-strokes linked to uric acid levels

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that high-normal uric acid (UA) levels may cause barely detectable mini strokes that potentially contribute to mental decline in aging adults.

2 Oct 2007