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.

Minority women less aware of heart disease than white women

U.S. minority women are less aware than white women of their risk for heart problems and stroke, although they are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Journal of Women's Health, Reuters reports.

7 Feb 2007

Risk of developing diabetes increasingly involved in decisions regarding HRT

Although doctors for years have "talked about the health effects of hormones on bones, breasts and women's hearts," diabetes has not been "part of the debate" until last week, when the North American Menopause Society in a revised position statement said that women taking hormone replacement therapy appear to be less likely to develop the disease, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Feb 2007

Severely mentally ill have increased risk of death from coronary heart disease and stroke

A large British study indicates that individuals with severe mental illnesses are significantly more likely to die from coronary heart disease and stroke, but not cancer, than those without mental illnesses, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

6 Feb 2007

Stents benefit people at high risk of stroke due to blocked blood vessels in the brain

For the study, researchers in Beijing evaluated 213 people who had received a stent, which is an expandable wire form used to open up a narrowing or totally obstructed blood vessel.

6 Feb 2007

TV + teenagers = high blood pressure

Teenagers who spend a lot of time planted in front of the TV are more likely to have higher blood pressure, regardless of whether they are overweight.

5 Feb 2007

Apolipoprotein E gene raises newborns' cerebral palsy risk

Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene associated with heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease in adults, can also increase the likelihood that brain-injured newborns will develop cerebral palsy, researchers at Children's Memorial Research Center have discovered.

5 Feb 2007

Binge eating more widespread than anorexia and bulimia

Researchers at Harvard University Medical School have found as a result of a national survey that binge eating is far more common than anorexia and bulimia.

1 Feb 2007

Calpain-mediated mGluR1-alpha truncation

Tricking a key enzyme can soothe over-excited receptors in the brain, say neuroscientists, calling this a possible strategy against stroke, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

31 Jan 2007

FDA approves Neuren's phase 3 Glypromate trial

Neuren Pharmaceuticals has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its investigational new drug application (IND) and authorised the Company to proceed with its Phase 3 trial to prevent cognitive impairment following major cardiac surgery using Glypromate.

30 Jan 2007

Stroke risk for sickle cell children with early complications

Children with sickle cell disease who experienced major complications such as pain and lung disease early in life are at no greater risk for stroke or death during later childhood, new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows.

30 Jan 2007

Magnetic resonance angiography of supraaortic arteries

A novel type of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) angiography is highly accurate in identifying blockages in the arteries that carry blood to the brain, according to a study in the February issue of Radiology.

30 Jan 2007

Startling results from first study of HIV dementia on the Africa

An international study led by Johns Hopkins suggests that the rate of HIV-associated dementia is so high in sub-Saharan Africa that HIV dementia along with Alzheimer's disease and dementia from strokes may be among the most common forms of dementia in the world.

30 Jan 2007

Stroke treatment helps victims recover brain function

A small but significant study in the U.S. has found that a treatment which was designed to clear blocked carotid arteries and prevent stroke has also improved brain function.

29 Jan 2007

Multiple sclerosis far more common than previously thought

A new review of hundreds of research articles has shown that the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) is far higher than previously thought amongst the U.S. population.

29 Jan 2007

Gene produces springy protein keeping nerve cells flexible

If you bend a knee or an elbow, the nerves in your limbs stretch but do not break. A University of Utah study suggests why: A gene produces a springy protein that keeps nerve cells flexible. When the gene was disabled in tiny nematode worms, their nerve cells literally broke.

29 Jan 2007

Number of Parkinson's sufferers will double in next 25 years

The study highlights the significant challenge facing countries with rapidly growing economies, particularly in Asia, many of which are ill prepared to meet this impending public health threat.

29 Jan 2007

North American Menopause Society releases guidelines saying HRT beneficial for younger women

The North American Menopause Society on Thursday released a revised position statement that said the benefits of short-term hormone replacement therapy for treatment of menopausal women likely outweigh the risks for younger women, the Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2007

Linemen more than twice as likely as other players to have metabolic syndrome

After retirement, National Football League (NFL) linemen - generally the heaviest players - are more than twice as likely as other players to have a syndrome that puts them at risk for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases

28 Jan 2007

Magnetic resonance imaging better than computed tomography for the detection of acute stroke

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is better than the more commonly used computed tomography (CT) for the detection of acute stroke, according to an Article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

28 Jan 2007

New prognostic instrument improves prediction of stroke risk after TIA

The existing prognostic scores for early-risk stroke prediction after transient ischaemic attack (TIA have been validated and refined to develop a unified score that is more predictive than previous methods, according to an Article published in this week's issue of The Lancet.

28 Jan 2007