http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For years, the mantra of neurologists treating stroke victims has been "time equals brain." That's because getting a patient to the emergency room quickly to receive a drug that dissolves the stroke-causing blood clot can make a significant difference in how much brain tissue is saved or lost. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-treatment-crucial.html Cardiology Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:19:23 EST news290852355 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center are studying ways to prevent the devastating injuries to the body caused by stroke, a leading cause of serious long-term disability. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-averting-devastating-effects.html Neuroscience Thu, 30 May 2013 07:40:02 EST news289116725 A new study from the University of Cincinnati has found that, when delivered via ultrasound, the natural enzyme plasmin is more effective at dissolving stroke-causing clots than the standard of care, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-plasmindelivered-bubblemore-effective-tpa-clots.html Cardiology Wed, 15 May 2013 15:34:17 EST news287850844 Stroke patients are three times more likely to receive clot-busting medication if treated at a certified stroke center, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-certified-centers-clot-busting-drugs.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:00:06 EST news283522772 (Medical Xpress)—When someone has a stroke, time equals brain. The longer a stroke is left untreated, the more brain tissue is lost. Since the only proven treatment—a clot-busting drug—works in less than half of patients, stroke physicians had high hopes for a mechanical device that could travel through the blocked blood vessel to retrieve or break up the clot, restoring blood flow to the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-devices-meds-recovery-clot-caused.html Cardiology Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:50:01 EST news282469258 (Medical Xpress)—A limited time window to administer therapy for ischemic stroke means every second counts. Now doctors may be able to slow down the hands of time in this critical time frame by using hypothermia - cooling the body to halt reperfusion injury of brain tissue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-cooling-treatment-acute-ischemic-preliminary.html Cardiology Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:50:01 EST news280657922 Every 30-minute delay in breaking up a blood clot from a stroke was associated with a 10 percent decrease in the probability of a good outcome, regardless of other factors such as stroke severity, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-blood-clots-worse-outcome.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:20:01 EST news279785415 The use of advanced imaging shortly after the onset of acute stroke failed to identify a subgroup of patients who could benefit from a clot-removal procedure, a study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-imaging-acute-ischemic-patients-brains.html Cardiology Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:44:35 EST news279549773 Results of the first randomized controlled study to evaluate a procedure that removes blood clots in the brain from patients experiencing severe strokes will be presented at the International Stroke Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii on Feb. 8. The study also evaluates if imaging techniques were helpful in identifying patients who potentially would benefit most from clot removal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-mechanical-clot-standard-medical-therapy.html Cardiology Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:00:01 EST news279542382 Adding endovascular therapy to clot-busting therapy for stroke did not significantly improve stroke recovery at three months, according to a study presented in a special symposium at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-adding-endovascular-therapy-tpa-didnt.html Cardiology Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:50:01 EST news279524104 (HealthDay)—The standard medical care for patients having an ischemic stroke is to give powerful "clot-busting" drugs as soon as possible after the start of the stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-clot-buster-drug-treatment.html Cardiology Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:10:01 EST news279457990 In an update to previous research, Johns Hopkins neurologists say minimally invasive delivery of the drug tPA directly into potentially lethal blood clots in the brain helped more patients function independently a year after suffering an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), a deadly and debilitating form of stroke. Rates of functional recovery with the active tPA treatment far surpassed those achieved with standard "supportive" therapy that essentially gives clots a chance to shrink on their own. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-treatment-clot-busting-drug-yields-results.html Cardiology Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:17 EST news279458725 A stroke survivor's chances of living independently after 90 days are not improved by the use of devices inserted into the artery to dissolve or remove a stroke-causing clot shortly after the onset of symptoms, according to a randomized controlled trial involving 656 patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-clot-retrieval-devices-stroke-related-disability.html Cardiology Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:03 EST news279448362 An international multicenter clinical trial led by a Cedars-Sinai neurologist on the combination of brain cooling and "clot-busting" drug therapy after stroke has received Food and Drug Administration approval to expand from 50 patients to 400. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-brain-cooling-clot-busting-drug-therapy.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:38:49 EST news279365924 People having an ischemic stroke should receive clot-dissolving therapy – if appropriate—within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital, according to new American Stroke Association guidelines published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-people-therapy-minutes-hospital.html Cardiology Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:00:03 EST news278869571 Among the most feared and devastating strokes are ones caused by blockages in the brain's critical basilar artery system. When not fatal, basilar artery strokes can cause devastating deficits, including head-to-toe paralysis called "locked-in syndrome." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-neurologists-devastating.html Neuroscience Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:10:51 EST news277038640 (HealthDay)—Use of lean process improvement methodology can reduce the time to stroke care without compromising patient safety, according to a study published online Nov. 8 in Stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-methods-ischemic.html Cardiology Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:10:06 EST news271749286 A new ground-breaking study about to be published in the Adis journal CNS Drugs provides clinical evidence that, for the first time, chronic neurological dysfunction from stroke or traumatic brain injury can rapidly improve following a single dose of a drug that targets brain inflammation, even years after the stroke or traumatic event. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-survivors-traumatic-brain-injury.html Medical research Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:17:21 EST news270933432 Two Rhode Island Hospital researchers recently found that restoring near-complete blood flow to the brain is necessary to restore or preserve neurological function following stroke. Seems like a no-brainer, right? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-near-complete-blood-critical-outcomes.html Cardiology Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:19:02 EST news270919131 A hospital stroke team used auto industry "lean" manufacturing principles to accelerate treatment times, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hospital-techniques.html Cardiology Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:00:10 EST news269786526 (Medical Xpress)—A University of Arizona professor is overseeing the manufacture of an experimental drug that could help reduce brain damage after a stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-experimental-drug-brain-motor-skills.html Medical research Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:58:08 EST news267433077 Clinical trials start this week for a stroke drug initially created by a team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Southern California (USC), and further developed by biotech company ZZ Biotech. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-clinical-trials-drug-scripps-usc.html Medications Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:48:01 EST news263648874 A team led by a physician-scientist at the University of Southern California (USC) has created an experimental drug that reduces brain damage and improves motor skills among stroke-afflicted rodents when given with federally approved clot-busting therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-experimental-drug-therapeutic-window.html Cardiology Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:46:28 EST news261762312 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a novel biomimetic strategy that delivers life-saving nanotherapeutics directly to obstructed blood vessels, dissolving blood clots before they cause serious damage or even death. This new approach enables thrombus dissolution while using only a fraction of the drug dose normally required, thereby minimizing bleeding side effects that currently limit widespread use of clot-busting drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-nanotherapeutic-clot-busting-drugs-obstructed-blood.html Medical research Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:00:04 EST news260713194 The clot-busting medicine, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), is safe to use in acute stroke patients already on the home blood thinner warfarin, according to researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). This study helps allay previous concerns that tPA was too dangerous to use in patients on home anticoagulation and would lead to high risk for potentially fatal intracranial bleeding. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-clot-busting-medicine-safe-warfarin-treated-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:00:04 EST news259943495 Researchers at the University of Missouri have demonstrated the effectiveness of a potential new therapy for stroke patients in an article published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration. Created to target a specific enzyme known to affect important brain functions, the new compound being studied at MU is designed to stop the spread of brain bleeds and protect brain cells from further damage in the crucial hours after a stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-treatment-brain.html Neuroscience Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:42:58 EST news258637296 (HealthDay) -- The largest study of its kind finds that stroke patients benefit from a clot-busting drug even six hours after a stroke, suggesting that the current recommended 4.5-hour limit could be expanded. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-clot-buster-hours.html Cardiology Thu, 24 May 2012 04:40:01 EST news257051929 Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in North America -- down from third. Despite this "improvement," stroke remains the leading cause of adult disability. Ischemic strokes, caused by blood vessel blockages, are by far the most common type of stroke. For ischemic strokes, early intervention is crucial. The only drug FDA approved for the treatment of ischemic stroke is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Unfortunately, this drug must be given very soon after stroke onset, within the first three hours for most people and up to four and a-half hours for some. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-medical-minute-solitaire-game.html Cardiology Tue, 22 May 2012 07:11:50 EST news256889499 Acute ischemic stroke patients taking the blood thinner warfarin can be treated safely with the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-clot-busting-drug-safe-patients-blood.html Cardiology Thu, 10 May 2012 18:01:02 EST news255891657 A new generation of devices could significantly improve care for patients who have some of the most devastating types of strokes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-game-changer-docs.html Cardiology Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:00:02 EST news253270040