Stroke

Researchers discover molecule that causes secondary stroke

Scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have discovered the cause of a deadly type of secondary stroke known as cerebral vasospasm. A constriction of the blood vessels in the brain, cerebral vasospasm usually occurs three to 10 days following a massive brain bleed known as hemorrhagic stroke. Sixty percent of patients who survive the initial stroke develop vasos...

Mystery Blood Vessel Disorder Implicated In 'Mini' Strokes

Physicians have long been puzzled by a condition called intracranial arterial dolichoectasia, in which the larger arteries of the brain become elongated and misshapen. Typically, it has been considered a complication of atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"), and not directly life-threatening. However, there is recent evidence that people with dolichoectasia are more likely to have aortic...

Molecular cabal contributes to stroke damage

In the neural train wreck that is stroke, the cutoff of oxygen kills brain cells through a buildup of acid, as well as by overexciting receptors on the surface of brain cells. Now, researchers exploring the detailed mechanism of this excitotoxicity and acidotoxicity have discovered how an insidious chain of molecular events contributes to its damage. In an article in the November 23, 2005, issue...

Stroke treatment a step closer after trial

A potential new treatment for stroke has taken a major step forward following promising results from the first clinical trial. The team, led by Professor Nancy Rothwell and Dr Pippa Tyrrell, have now reported the r...

Blocking the nerve receptor EP1 in mouse models reduces brain damage caused by stroke

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered how to block a molecular switch that triggers brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen during a stroke. The Hopkins study, conducted on mice, is believed to be the first to demonstrate that a protein on the surface of nerve cells called the EP1 receptor is the switch, and that a specific compound, known as ONO-8713, turns it off. The finding...

Limiting the damage in stroke

Scientists at the Universities of Heidelberg and Ulm and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, have discovered that a specific signal within brain cells may determine whether they live or die after a stroke. Their study, published online (November 13) by Nature Medicine, strongly suggests that new therapies for victims of strokes could be developed by...

Cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke

An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard ?a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims. Researchers at the University of South Florida found that human umbilical cord blood cells administered to rats two days following a stroke greatly curbed the brain's inflammatory response,...

'Bad' enzymes may wear white hats after stroke

Enzymes that can harm the brain immediately after a stroke may actually be beneficial days later, according to new research. Insights from the study could change the way stroke is treated, extending the window for effective treatment from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. The results may suggest new ideas for drug development. Working with rats, a team from the Harvard Medical Schoo...

Stem cell transplants improve recovery in animal models for stroke, cerebral palsy

A single dose of adult donor stem cells given to animals that have neurological damage similar to that experienced by adults with a stroke or newborns with cerebral palsy can significantly enhance recovery from these types of injuries, researchers say. Using a commonly utilized animal model for stroke, researchers administered a dose of 200,000-400,000 human stem cells into the brain of an...

Internal body clock dictates timing of different types of stroke

The internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, seems to influence the timing of different types of stroke, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. These patients' data had been...

New compound reduces stroke damage

A group of German scientists has synthesized a new compound that dramatically decreases the damage to neurons in rats demonstrating stroke symptoms. The research appears as the "Paper of the Week" in the May 26 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and...

Acidity in the brain could hold the key to stroke treatment

Development of a new technique for detecting brain damage caused by stroke has been boosted up by a £1m grant to scientists at The University of Manchester. Professor Gareth Morris of the School of Chemistry and Professor Risto Kauppinen of the University of Birmingham are to lead the development of a new non-invasive technique which measures acidity (pH) in the brain. A stroke is caused w...

UBC researchers find stroke death channel

New therapies for stroke patients may soon be possible, thanks to a discovery made by a team of University of British Columbia neuroscience researchers who have found a new stroke death channel ?the conduit through which key chemicals are lost from brain cells during stroke, causing the cell death that disables stroke victims. The findings were published recently in Science and will be th...

Incidence of stroke decreases over last 50 years

The incidence of stroke in the U.S. over the past 50 years has declined, although the severity of stroke has not, according to a study in the December 27 issue of JAMA. Stroke continues to be a major public health concern, with more than 750,000 new strokes occurring each year in the United States. It is the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer and the leading neuro...

High hourly air pollution levels more than double stroke risk

High hourly levels of air pollution, more than double the risk of one type of stroke, suggests research published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The researchers assessed data on stroke de...

Brain protein improves stroke symptoms in rats, even when injected after 3 days

A protein naturally occurring in the brain improves recovery from stroke when injected up to three days after the onset of the stroke, and could be used as an effective stroke drug. A study in rats published today in the open access journal BMC Biology shows that an injection of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF), whose function in the brain is to control the formation of neurons and c...

New research shows big improvement in survival after stroke

A new research report by The George Institute for International Health, in collaboration with Auckland City Hospital and The University of Auckland, has revealed a 40% decline in the number of deaths after stroke in the total population of Auckland, New Zealand over the past 25 years. The study attributes the improved survival rate to health care factors associated with an increase in hospital a...

Stroke symptoms common among general population

As many as 18 percent of adults who have no history of stroke report having had at least one symptom of stroke, according to results of a large national study published in the October 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Using brain imaging to screen individuals without a history of stroke reveals that many have had an undiagnosed or silent stroke, a...

First Quantum Grant to fund stem cell repair of damage from stroke

The National Institutes of Health has named researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Rice University in Houston as the first and only recipients of the inaugural Quantum Grant for their international research initiative to regenerate damaged brain cells and blood vessels for the treatment of stroke. The three-year, $2.9 million grant, funded by the National Institute of Biomedic...

It's in your head: The brain's own globin defends you from shock and stroke

The next generation of treatments for shock or stroke could be based on a protein that is already in our heads ?neuroglobin. In a review article to be published in the November issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists from University of Rome describe this protein, which may be the key to unlocking new therapies to minimize brain damage and improve recoveries for patients. The Italian researc...

Tracing broken wiring in stroke patients

Researchers have used a technique to trace the functional disruption in brain circuitry that causes stroke patients to show a lack of awareness or response to the side of the body opposite to the side of the stroke lesion in the brain. The researchers said their findings shed new light on the neurological details of this "spatial neglect." Their findings also demonstrate the value of the magnetic...

Robotic therapy helps restore hand use after stroke

A robotic therapy device may help people regain strength and normal use of affected hands long after a stroke, according to a University of California, Irvine study. Stroke patients with impaired hand use reported improved ability to grasp and release objects after therapy sessions using the Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device (HOWARD). Each patient had at least moderate residual weakne...

How the brain's backup system compensates for stroke

Researchers have pinpointed in humans how a "backup" brain region springs into action to compensate for disruption of a primary functional area, as happens during stroke. Their finding offers new insight into how the brains of stroke victims can quickly reorganize to enable the beginning of recovery of movement. Jacinta O'Shea and colleagues at the University of Oxford reported their findi...

Risk of stroke doubles if diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes

For this study, the researchers entered 12,27...

Stroke study sheds light on left-right brain divide

Research into the effects of strokes has furthered our understanding of the different roles of the left and right sides of our brains. A study led by the University of Exeter has highlighted differences in the ability of people to perform basic tasks, depending on whether the left or right sides of their brains have been damaged by a stroke. The research identified the role of the right side o...