Active clinical trials for "Cerebrovascular Disorders"

The 4-meter walk test and 10-meter walk test is currently applied to assess gait speed.These tools are frequently used in clinical trials and were also shown to be reliable measurement methods. There are ocassions where it is not possible to have a long corridor to measure gait speed. It is necessary to have a tool to evaluate gait speed in a small space as 4-meter walk test.

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that even mild stroke survivors experience residual damage, which persists and in fact increases in subsequent years. About 45% of stroke victims remain with different levels of disability. While studies on cognitive impairment and dementia after stroke are receiving increasing clinical attention, the underlying pathophysiology is poorly understood. Identifying the mechanisms involved and recognizing early biomarkers for individual vulnerability, require a multi-modal approach, as the mechanisms involved in cerebrovascular disease and individual trajectories of post-stroke recovery may impact upon each other on various levels. Aims and Hypothesis: To date there is no single measure that can be used to identify patients who are prone to develop cognitive impairment and other disabilities from those with better recovery prospects. We hypothesize that data based on biochemical, neuroimaging, genetic and psychological measures can, in aggregate, serve as better predictors for subsequent disability, cognitive and neurological deterioration, and suggest possible interventions. Design: The TABASCO (Tel-Aviv Brain Acute Stroke Cohort) study, a prospective cohort study aim to recruit about approximately 1125 consecutive first-ever mild-moderate stroke patients. It is designed to evaluate the association between predefined demographic, psychological, inflammatory, biochemical, neuro-imaging and genetic markers, measured during the acute phase, and long-term outcome: subsequent cognitive deterioration, vascular events (including recurrent strokes), falls, affective changes, functional everyday difficulties and mortality. Discussion: This study is an attempt to comprehensively investigate the long term outcome of mild-moderate strokes. Its prospective design will provide quantitative data on stroke recurrence, the incidence of other vascular events and the evaluation of cognitive, affective and functional decline. Identifying the factors associated with post stroke cognitive and functional decline could potentially yield more effective therapeutic approaches. The investigators believe that an extensive approach of analyzing the interaction between different risk factors would more accurately predict neurological and cognitive deterioration.

Patients with blockage of the blood vessels that supply blood to the back of the brain, known as vertebrobasilar disease (VBD), are at risk of having a stroke or temporary symptoms of a stroke known as transient ischemic attack (TIA). The risk of repeated stroke associated with VBD may be affected by several risk factors, including the degree to which the blockage reduces the blood flow to the brain. Patients with VBD have different levels of blockage ranging from partial blockage to complete blockage, which can affect the blood flow to the brain by variable amounts. The purpose of this research is to determine if patients with symptomatic VBD who demonstrate low blood flow to the back of the brain on magnetic resonance (MR)imaging are at higher risk of developing another stroke or TIA than patients with normal blood flow.

In the first phase, to establish the relationship of progression of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) to plasma homocysteine. In the second phase, to conduct a randomized, controlled trial of folic acid treatment of plasma homocysteine in peripheral vascular disease.

To perform a follow-up study of cerebrovascular disease in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) magnetic resonance imaging subcohort.

To continue the comprehensive research program on the epidemiology of cardiovascular and other major chronic diseases, including cancer and diabetes, in four Chicago population cohorts. The four cohorts include the Chicago Heart Association Detection Project in Industry cohort, the Peoples Gas Company cohort first examined in 1958-1959, the Peoples Gas Company cohort first examined in 1959-1962, and the Western Electric Company cohort.

One of the crucial challenges for the future of Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapeutic approaches in elderly is to target the main pathological process responsible for disability and dependency. However, a progressive cognitive impairment occurring after the age of 70 is often related to mixed lesions of neurodegenerative and vascular origins. Whereas young patients are mostly affected by pure lesions, aging favors the occurrence of co-lesions of AD, vascular and Lewy body types. Pure DLB (Dementia with Lewy Body) and AD are distinct disorders but they often coexist in old age patients, the Abeta pathology of DLB/AD cases being different to that observed in patients with AD alone. Vascular dementia (VD) and AD with cerebrovascular disease (AD+CVD) are the leading causes of dementia next to AD alone. Lack of consensus persists about the diagnosis criteria for VD and AD+CVD, due in part to their clinical, pathological heterogeneity and the multiple pathological subtypes. We do not know the precise role and weight of each brain lesion type in the disability progression in elderly. To target the actual pathological process, we need to disclose the functional weight of AD, Lewy body and vascular lesion types in elderly. Most of the studies report on functional and clinical abnormalities in patients with pure pathologies. Thus, co-morbid processes involved in the transition from an independent functional status to disability in the elderly with co-lesions still remain to be elucidated. Neuropathological examination often performed at late stages cannot answer this question at mild or moderate stages. Brain MRI, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) with DaTscan® and CSF biomarkers help routinely in performing the diagnosis of pure or mixed lesions responsible for dementia. The topography of the atrophy in MRI helps to provide information about the etiological diagnosis. Medial temporal lobe atrophy on MRI has good discriminatory power for AD compared to DLB and VD in pathologically confirmed cases. DaTscan® SPECT presents with good sensitivity and specificity at early stages of DLB. The good diagnosis value of CSF biological markers has led recently to their inclusion in the research diagnosis criteria of AD. Low Aβ1-42 and high levels of total tau and hyperphosphorylated tau isoforms appear to be the most sensitive and specific CSF biomarkers. Aβ1-42 is lowered in AD, as well as in other neurodegenerative diseases like DLB, VD. The combination of MRI, particularly medial temporal atrophy measures and vascular lesions on FLAIR MRI sequences, SPECT and CSF biomarkers seem to be of incremental value for the diagnosis AD, VD, DLB and mixed profiles. The aim of this study is to identify the biomarkers (MRI, SPECT-DaTscan® and CSF), and their combination, that are the most predictive of functional disability in elderly presenting with a progressive cognitive decline related to AD, DLB, VD and all mixed patterns.

Stroke is a major medical problem in the United States, and veterans are at significant risk given that the most critical risk factors of stroke, older age and associated medical problems such as high blood pressure, are common. Dysphagia, swallowing problems, can lead to aspiration which in turn may result increased pneumonia, particularly in stroke patients. Development and implementation of an accurate and consistent nursing swallowing screening tool to identify risk of aspiration in individuals admitted with suspected stroke is critical as it allows for immediate intervention, thereby reducing associated medical complications, length of stay, and healthcare costs. The availability of such screening tools, however, is limited. The primary objective of this study is to construct a reliable and valid swallowing screening tool to identify risk of aspiration in individuals admitted with suspected stroke.

To study, prospectively, the association between dietary patterns and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke in cohort studies of 121,700 women age 30 to 55 years at baseline in 1976 (the Nurses; Health Study; NHS) and 51,529 men aged 40-75 years at baseline in 1986 (the Health Professionals Follow-up Study; HPFS).

The association between the levels of d-dimer, fibrinogen and PAI-1 in plasma of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine departments because of infection and the occurrence of cardio- and cerebro-vascular disease after discharge