Stroke
Telerehab may have a greater effect on stroke patients than those who attend sessions in person, a new study has suggested.
Research has found that stroke patients who engage in rehabilitation via video at home may recover their motor skills better than those who have to attend outpatient facilities. The Chinese study, published in Neurology, also finds that the convenience of telerehab being done at home could be a significant factor in helping patients stick to their programmes through a greater ability to increase patient participation and compliance, alongside increased opportunities for patients to benefit from completing their rehab in a family and social environment.
People hospitalised with COVID-19 and neurological problems including stroke, have a higher risk of dying than other COVID-19 patients, a study suggests.
The newly published study looked at data from 4,711 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to hospital during the six-week period between March 1, 2020 and April 16, 2020.Of those patients, 581 (12 per cent) had neurological problems serious enough to warrant brain imaging.
Artificial intelligence could help stroke survivors get the right treatment by detecting a patient’s post-stroke depression type, a Japanese study shows.
The AI was developed by Hiroshima University (HU) researchers using a probabilistic artificial neural network called log-linearized Gaussian mixture network. The neural network was trained to distinguish between depression, apathy, or anxiety based on 36 evaluation indices obtained from functional, physical, and cognitive tests on 274 patients.
Students have been supporting stroke patients in their recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic through supporting them with physiotherapy sessions online.
With significant pressure on NHS resources during the peak of the pandemic, many non-urgent appointments were cancelled, which meant many patients going without consultation for many months. Research has predicted that withdrawing or offering only skeleton cardiac rehab services is likely to lead to a 30 per cent rise in unplanned hospital admissions, which can impact on quality of life and mental health.
When James’ wife suffered a stroke, both of their lives changed as a result. Here, he talks openly about how the ongoing impact of her illness affects them both, and how he in particular struggles to cope.
It’s been two years now since my wife had a stroke. She has done so well in getting some of her old self back, but in truth I think it’s me who continues to struggle the most. We’re a couple in our early 40s who have always loved to travel, enjoy the outdoors, eat out in nice restaurants, and just enjoy our lives. We’ve been together since we were teenagers, and while we haven’t been blessed with children, our adventures have always ensured we had plenty to keep us occupied.
Canadian scientists are pioneering the use of individualised brain stimulation therapy to treat aphasia in recovering stroke patients.
Aphasia is a debilitating language disorder that impacts all forms of verbal communication, including speech, language comprehension, and reading and writing abilities. It affects around one-third of stroke survivors, but can also be present in those with dementia, especially in the form of primary progressive aphasia. "Aphasia can be very isolating," says Dr. Jed Meltzer, Baycrest's Canada Research Chair in Interventional Cognitive Neuroscience and a neurorehabilitation scientist at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI). "It can negatively affect people's personal relationships, and it often determines whether or not someone can continue working."
When Mark Fricker suffered a stroke aged just 32, the lack of access to dedicated rehabilitation inspired him to retrain as a stroke rehab specialist. Here, he shares his inspirational story
Mark Fricker is very matter-of-fact about the impact of his stroke.
“I view it as a positive moment in my life,” he says.
Stroke is a leading cause of death and severe long-term disability with limited treatment available. A research team led by Prof. Gong Chen at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China recently reported the first non-human primate study demonstrating successful in vivo neural regeneration from brain internal glial cells for stroke repair.
Ms. Long-Jiao Ge, the first author of the work and a PhD student in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "Current treatment of ischemic stroke mainly aims at restoring blood flow and neuroprotection, typically with a narrow time window of several hours.
Preventing heart attacks and strokes in type 2 diabetes patients managed in primary care should be an urgent priority, concludes a new study.
"The most striking result of our study was that the vast majority of patients (93%) had a high or very high risk of fatal events within a decade. Half of patients in the very high-risk group had no history of heart disease, meaning they would not be receiving medications to prevent heart attacks and strokes," said study author Dr. Manel Mata-Cases, a general practitioner for the Catalan Institute of Health.
Detailed results from a prespecified exploratory analysis of the positive THALES Phase III trial showed Brilinta (ticagrelor) 90mg, used twice daily and taken with daily aspirin for 30 days, reduced the rate of the composite of disabling stroke or death by 17% compared to aspirin alone; in patients who had an acute ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).
The rate of the composite of non-disabling stroke or death at 30 days was 1.3% in the aspirin plus ticagrelor group and 1.6% in the aspirin only group (HR 0.79 [95% CI 0.57, 1.08], p=0.140).
