All Entries in the "News" Category
New developments in hyperacute stroke management
RECANALISE study: combined intravenous—endovascular approach results in better clinical outcome The main challenge in thrmbolysing the eligible stroke patient is the speed of recanalisation and the site of the occlusion. ‘Lancet Neurology’ in its September 09 issue published the results of the RECANALISE study which is aiming to ascertain the effect of a combined IV—endovascular [...]
Chinese Medicine for stroke patients
There are many centers worldwide practicing Chinese medicine for different diseases. It makes the stroke patient wonders whether this type of medicine is useful for functional recovery post stroke? This review which was published recently (stroke 2009;40: 2797) by the a team from Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese in china and a team from Italy [...]
Glaucoma and the Risk of Stroke
Glaucoma is an eye disease which can affect the optic nerve and lead to visual disturbances. Raised intraocular pressure can be a significant risk factor for developing glaucoma. Although open-angle glaucoma (OAG) is associated with some of the risk factors of stroke development, there is still no published study addressing whether OAG increases the risk [...]
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 [...]
