Archive for July, 2009
Effects of an Anterior Ankle-Foot Orthosis on Postural Stability in Stroke Patients with Hemiplegia
The problem of maintaining the posture of a hemiplegic stroke patient remains a challenging one. This study ( Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2008;87) is aiming to evaluate the effects of an anterior leaflet ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) on postural stability in stroke patients with hemiplegia. Twenty-one stroke patients with hemiplegia resulting from new-onset stroke and [...]
Carotid Atheromatous Disease in Pakistan
Epidemiology of the risk factors for stroke is an important issue in planning for the future prevention strategy for cerebrovascular diseases. Limited data exist on the frequency and outcome of carotid artery disease in Pakistan. A recent prospective, descriptive study was conducted among 3 large teaching hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan (Stroke. 2009;40: 708) . Patients [...]
Surgical decompression for space-occupying cerebral infarction: Hamlet Trial
The prognosis for the patients with space-occupying hemispheric infarctions is poor with case fatality rates of up to 80%. In a pooled analysis of randomised trials, surgical decompression within 48 h of stroke onset reduced case fatality and improved functional outcome; however, the effect of surgery after longer intervals is unknown. The aim of HAMLET [...]
Graduated compression stockings and risk of venous thrombosis following Stroke: CLOTS TRIAL1
Stroke care teams all over the world were looking with interest to the results of Clots Trial 1. It has been reported in medical literature that graduated compression stockings GCS might help in reducing the risk of the deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and the risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) in surgical patients. This notion led [...]
Cilostazole ( Antipalteletes) in stroke prevention: A meta analysis of clinical trails
Cilostazol is an antiplatelet agent that inhibits phosphodiesterase III in platelets and vascular endothelium. Many RCTs have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of cilostazol, but the data were limited. A research team from Tokyo Women’s Medical University in Japan conducted a meta-analysis of these RCTs to verify the effects of cilostazol on ischaemic and haemorrhagic [...]
A genome-wide genotyping study in patients with ischaemic stroke
Despite evidence of a genetic role in stroke, the identification of common genetic risk factors for this devastating disorder remains problematic. The researchers aimed to identify any common genetic variability exerting a moderate to large effect on risk of ischaemic stroke, and to generate publicly available genome-wide genotype data to facilitate others doing the same [...]
Early decompressive surgery in malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery
Malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is associated with an 80% mortality rate. Non-randomised studies have suggested that decompressive surgery reduces this mortality without increasing the number of severely disabled survivors. To obtain sufficient data as soon as possible to reliably estimate the effects of decompressive surgery, results from three European randomised controlled [...]
Reduced Poststroke Mortality in Patients With Stroke and AF Treated With Anticoagulants
The preventive effect of anticoagulation in patients with stroke and atrial fibrillation (AF) is documented only in trials of minor stroke. Although anticoagulation reduced stroke recurrence, those trials did not demonstrate an influence of anticoagulation on survival. A nationwide registry that was started in 2001 with the aim of registering all hospitalized stroke patients in [...]
Viprinex for the Treatment of Ischaemic Stroke
Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. (NTI) announced last month the presentation of new analysis of data from prior clinical trials of ancrod and updates on the clinical development of their investigational drug, Viprinex(TM) (ancrod), for the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke at the American Stroke Associations’ International Stroke Conference 2007. Viprinex is a definbrinogenating agent derived from [...]
Younger Stroke Survivors Have Reduced Access to Physician Care and Medications
More than 5 million US stroke survivors require comprehensive care for risk factor modification and secondary prevention. The objective of this study (Arch Neurol. 2007; 64:37-42) is to assess age-related differences in access to physician care and medications among stroke survivors (aged 45-64 years vs 65 years). The study was a US population-based survey. The [...]
