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.

Lowering a patient's temperature could aid standard stroke treatment

University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists have developed a model that could help physicians combine current clot-busting medication with below-normal body temperatures (hypothermia) to improve the treatment of ischemic stroke patients.

18 May 2007

Celecoxib offers promise for premature babies

Scientists have found evidence that the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib, a common pain reliever used to treat arthritis, may offer a new way to reduce the risk of the most common cause of brain damage in babies born prematurely.

18 May 2007

Stroke prevalence varies across U.S.

Stroke prevalence varies widely from state to state, with some states and U.S. territories having more than double the stroke prevalence of others, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

18 May 2007

Link between extreme sleep disorder and onset of parkinsonism or dementia

Mayo Clinic researchers and a group of international collaborators have discovered a correlation between an extreme form of sleep disorder and eventual onset of parkinsonism or dementia.

17 May 2007

Pycnogenol natural pine bark extract reduces heart failure

A study to be published in an upcoming edition of the journal of Cardiovascular Toxicology reveals Pycnogenol natural pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, helps prevent damage that high blood pressure causes to the heart.

17 May 2007

Merits and risks of postmenopausal hormone therapy

The study was categorized as a primary prevention trial for coronary heart disease, although the fact that mean age at recruitment was 63 years was not given enough importance at that time. WHI investigators concluded that hormone therapy (HT) was not cardioprotective, and, in fact, its riskbenefit ratio did not favor the use of postmenopausal hormones for prevention of chronic diseases.

17 May 2007

Cronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major and increasing global health epidemic

Cronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major and increasing global health epidemic that has received insufficient attention from the health-care profession, governments, and the pharmaceutical industry, argues Professor Peter Barnes, one of the world's leading experts on lung disease.

16 May 2007

Online heart disease education program helps patients

Patients who used the American Heart Association's online heart disease education program were more aware of treatment options than other patients, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

16 May 2007

Single-tablet combination of atorvastatin and amlodipine for high blood pressure effective

Adults with high blood pressure and additional risk factors for heart disease may benefit more from taking one tablet rather than two, if their current treatment combines the lipid-lowering medication atorvastatin with the blood pressure-lowering medication amlodipine, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

16 May 2007

Middle-aged men and women with a history of migraine and other headaches are more likely to have retinopathy

Twenty-two percent of the participants had a history of migraine or other headaches. Those with a history of headaches were slightly younger, more likely to be female, and more likely to be white than those without a history of headaches.

16 May 2007

Natural antibodies and tissue injury

Lack of blood flow to the intestines during surgery, to the heart during a heart attack or to the brain during a stroke can cause damage to the organ involved.

15 May 2007

Just 10 minutes of exercise each day helps inactive overweight women

Researchers in the U.S. say that just 10 minutes of exercise a day can help even the most inactive overweight women.

15 May 2007

Broccoli best for you when steamed - not boiled

Scientists in Britain are warning that many cooks are in danger of drastically reducing the disease-busting compounds in vegetables such as broccoli by boiling them in water.

15 May 2007

New blood pressure drug derived from sea creature promises to save millions of lives

Scientists in Britain say they have developed a new vaccine for people suffering from hypertension; they say the vaccine will control blood pressure and has the potential to save millions of lives.

15 May 2007

A major factor has been overlooked in the way bleeding stroke patients' survival is calculated

Each year, tens of thousands of people receive a dreaded diagnosis: intracerebral hemorrhage, or a "bleeding stroke."

15 May 2007

Daily Aspirin reduces colon cancer risk by 74 percent

Researchers in Britain say an aspirin a day taken over a 10 year period can reduce the risk of colon cancer by as much as 74 percent.

14 May 2007

Evidence that dementia can be successfully stalled

A University of Sydney academic is part of a team whose research could profoundly change the way we look at and treat dementia.

11 May 2007

Simple procedural change may reduce cardiac arrests outside pediatric ICUs

A simple procedural change may significantly reduce cardiopulmonary arrests outside a pediatric hospital's intensive care unit, according to a study reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

11 May 2007

Percutaneous aortic valve replacement safe

Catheter techniques are expanding into new territory, successfully aiding in the replacement of narrowed, calcified aortic valves in patients too sick to withstand open-chest surgery.

11 May 2007

Patients with 'bleeding' strokes less likely to receive medications and counseling to prevent recurrent strokes

Patients with a hemorrhagic ("bleeding") stroke are significantly less likely to receive medications and counseling to prevent recurrent strokes compared to patients with an ischemic (clot-caused) stroke, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

11 May 2007