Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

This is a cluster randomized controlled trial in which client-centered rehabilitation of activities of daily living (CADL) will be compared to usual rehabilitation of activities of daily living (UADL) regarding participation in activities of daily living, independence in activities of daily living and life satisfaction during the first year after stroke. In addition use of health services, caregiver burden and significant others' life satisfaction will be studied. Study design, methods and power analysis are based on our previous pilot study. Participating rehabilitation centers in the counties of Stockholm, Uppsala and Gavleborg have been randomized to supply CADL or UADL. Patients are included who are: < 3 months after stroke, dependent in at least two activities of daily living, understand instructions and referred to a participating rehabilitation unit. Data are collected at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. For sufficient power 280 participants will be included. In addition qualitative longitudinal studies will be performed in order to describe how CADL is integrated.

Stroke is among the most disabilitating diseases worldwide in terms of numbers affected and its consequences. A relatively new and well documented treatment of acute ischemic stroke today is tPA (tissue plasminogen activator; will be called thrombolysis from now on) Unfortunately only a minority of patients is given this treatment. The large randomised controlled trials that investigated the safety and efficacy of thrombolytic therapy in treatment of acute stroke did not include patients over 80 years. In an aging population in the western world it will be of importance to investigate whether this treatment is safe and effective in this group. Both Sorlandet hospital Kristiansand Norway and Bergen hospital have administered thrombolysis to selected patients over 80 years the last years. In addition there has been a registration of patients in stroke registers at both locations. This lays a foundation for further investigation. In association with Bergen the investigators have included 77 patients over 80 years treated with thrombolysis. In addition the investigators have 85 patients treated with tpa below 80 years. In our cohort the investigators are going to compare outcome in the 2 groups. In addition the investigators are going to perform a regression analysis of selected variables to see if there is an association of those variables with predefined outcome measures. Our outcome measures is as follows: mRS=6 (death)and mRS 0-1(good outcome) on 3 months control. The third outcome measure will be developement of sICH secondary to tPA treatment. As definition of sICH we have chosen the same definition as Ecass.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in China. Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) improves the outcome for ischemic stroke patients who can be treated within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. In China, in addition to rt-PA, intravenous urokinase within 6 h has also been recommended by the 2010 Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke, and supported by evidence from two intravenous urokinase thrombolysis trials. Urokinase is used more frequently than rt-PA, mainly because it is cheaper. To describe Chinese experience with thrombolytic therapy for Ischemic Stroke within 4.5h onset, we designed a multicenter, prospective, registry study. The aim of INtravenous Thrombolysis REgistry for Chinese Ischemic Stroke within 4.5 h onset（INTRECIS）was to assess the safety and efficacy of intravenous rtPA, urokinase as thrombolytic therapy within the first 4.5 h of onset of acute ischaemic stroke.

Background: Rehabilitation pathways are crucial to reduce stroke-related disability. Motivational Interviewing (MI), a centred-person intervention aimed to empower and motivate the patient, could be a resource to improve rehabilitation and its outcomes for older stroke survivors. Objective: The IMAGINE project aims to assess the impact of MI associated to standard geriatric rehabilitation, on 30 days functional improvement measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), compared to standard geriatric rehabilitation alone, in patients admitted to geriatric rehabilitation after a stroke. Secondary objectives will be to assess the impact on physical activity and performance, self-efficacy, sense of coherence, safety, cost-utility and participants' experience, plus functional status at 3 months. Methods: Multicenter randomized clinical trial in three geriatric rehabilitation departments. Older adults after mild-moderate stroke without previous dementia, post-stroke severe cognitive impairment or delirium at admission, severe previous disability, aphasia or terminal conditions will be randomized into the control or the intervention group (136 per group, total N = 272). The control group will receive written information about the benefits of exercising, besides standard rehabilitation. The intervention group, in addition, will receive 4 sessions of MI by trained nurses. A shared tailored plan based on patients' goals, needs, preferences and capabilities will be agreed. Besides the FIM, in-hospital physical activity will be measured through accelerometers (activPAL) and secondary outcomes using internationally validated scales. As a complex intervention, a process evaluation and cost-utility assessments will be performed too. Results: Final results are expected by end of 2020. Implications: This project aims to achieve impacts on functional status, disability and physical performance and behavioral (increasing physical activity) and psychological implications (on general self-efficacy and sense of coherence) through a non-pharmacological and likely accessible, acceptable and scalable intervention. Efficiency and value, based on costs/quality adjusted life years, will be assessed. Moreover, a reduction in post-stroke disability would have social benefits also for families and would reduce health and social care costs. In brief, advances will be in terms of a better rehabilitation process.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPostC) initiates autonomic nervous system response and affects the prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Individuals who experience a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) are at heightened risk of subsequent vascular events, including heart attacks and secondary stroke/TIA. Blood pressure control is considered the most important contributor to positive health outcomes in stroke patients. The measurement of central blood pressure (cSBP) (the blood pressure which is being exerted at the heart), may provide clinicians with important diagnostic and prognostic information over and above that typically obtained from a peripheral blood pressure measure (the blood pressure in the arm). Central blood pressures may be better than traditional peripheral blood pressure measures as: i) peripheral blood pressure may not accurately reflect the effects of peak arterial blood pressure on centrally located organs, ii) central blood pressures may be 50 % superior to peripheral blood pressures when predicting cardiovascular events, and iii) information pertaining to central blood pressures may be more effective in the management of hypertension. While the validity of oscillometric devices which measure central blood pressures has been demonstrated, further study is required to determine precision under normal clinical operating conditions (i.e., reflective of the Hospital/GP practice setting). As such, this study will assess central and peripheral blood pressures of stroke patients when fasted and nonfasted, and when seated and supine. The study is interested in identifying the effect of the above parameters (fasted vs. unfasted, seated vs. supine) on central and peripheral blood pressures in stroke patients. Participants will take part in three separate assessment sessions, on three separate days, with a minimum 24 hour recovery between each session. Each assessment is expected to last 90 minutes, with a minimum of eight blood pressures being taken from the left upper arm. As such, participants will be asked to give up 4.5 hours of their time to the study. During each assessment participants will be tested in a fasted and non-fasted state, and in a supine (lying) and seated position. All assessments will take place between 7 and 10am and will be undertaken following written informed consent.

The purpose of this study is to better understand the causes of stroke in people with cancer. Active cancer increases the risk of stroke. The investigators do not know exactly why this occurs but one possible reason is that people with cancer may have thicker blood than people without cancer. Thick blood can sometimes cause blood clots to form in the heart, which can then travel to the brain and cause stroke. This study is being done to help figure out why this and other causes of stroke occur in people with cancer. The investigators expect that information from this study will help doctors to more effectively prevent and treat stroke in individuals with cancer.

After discharge from hospital, the current healthcare system in Germany allows considerable flexibility (therefore complexity) of patient access and mobility between multiple care providers in the community setting. The investigators believe this aftercare could be better coordinated by a specialized coordinated stroke aftercare service. Comprehensive coordinated multidisciplinary care is a proven concept with proven benefits in both acute and rehabilitation care provided in stroke units and neurorehabilitation centres. In this study, the investigators postulate that a similar coordinated approach to care can be extended to the phase after in-patient rehabilitation has ended (i.e. "long-term management" as opposed to "early supported discharge") for disabled patients with stroke living in the community.

The investigators will recruit participants from three tertiary care hospitals in Uganda into an observational cohort study of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and HIV-uninfected persons matched for gender and residency, presenting with CT-confirmed stroke. We will collect socio demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiologic, cardiac, and clinical neurologic disease measures to investigate the effect of HIV-infection on 1) clinical and radiologic presentation, 2) risk factor profiles; and 3) stroke outcomes (death or disability).

The aim of this study is to develop and validate a simple prehospital stroke scale, which would predict the presence of large vessel occlusion (LVO) in patients with acute stroke. This study prospectively evaluates the predictive value of a new simple pre-hospital scale (FAST PLUS test) for the presence of large vessel occlusion in anterior intracranial circulation. The FAST PLUS test consists of two parts: the first is the well-known FAST test, which is employed in all possible cases of stroke occurrence. This test consists of the following items: Speech (scored 0-1), Facial palsy (0-1), any failure of Arm motor function (0-1), and Time (0-1). The second part of FAST PLUS test evaluates only the presence of severe arm or leg motor deficit (scored 0-1) and unilateral occurrence of its motor function deficit (scored 0-1). The FAST PLUS test will be used prospectively at the place of stroke onset by trained medical emergency technicians. The first objective of study is to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and the positive and negative predictive value of the test which relate to the presence of occlusion of intracranial artery (intracranial carotid artery, T occlusion and occlusion of Middle Cerebral artery segment M1 and M2). CT angiography can only diagnose the LVO. The second objective of this study is to assess inter-rater variability among stroke specialists and emergency technicians, concerning the presence of severe motor arm or leg deficit. The third objective : After implementation of the FAST TEST to clinical practice, we aim to achieve the acceleration of transport time in FAST PLUS positive patients via direct transport to Comprehensive Stroke Center to mechanical thrombectomy.