Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

In healthy individuals, unimanual movement (with either the left or right hand) is associated with activity in a network of predominantly contralateral brain regions, including the primary motor cortex (PMC). This laterality is often compromised following a middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. Neuroimaging studies of these patients have shown that unimanual movements with the effected hand are associated with elevated Blood Oxygen-Level Dependent (BOLD) signal in both the lesioned and the nonlesioned primary motor cortices. Elevated activity in the contralesional PMC is well-established in chronic stroke patients and is associated with poor motor rehabilitation outcomes. Yet the neurobiologic basis for this aberrant neural activity is equivocal. The overarching goal of this project is to determine the neurobiologic basis for elevated activity in the contralesional primary motor cortex.

Physical inactivity and increased sedentary time are linked to increased blood pressure and may cause decreases in peripheral and cerebral oxygen perfusion in stroke survivors. Nonetheless, stroke survivors are significantly less active than their healthy counterparts due to physical incapability or a lack of confidence in physical capability. This study will determine whether a simple and non-demanding movement such as repeated heel raises are able to cause acute and chronic decreases in peripheral and central blood pressure and increases in oxygen perfusion and cognitive performance. Thirty participants will be recruited to this study. All will take part in four sessions. One familiarisation session will acclimatise participants to the equipment used involving central and peripheral blood pressures, pulse wave velocity, arterial stiffness, maximal voluntary contractions of the medial gastrocnemius and Stroop tasks.. Two experimental sessions will take place involving extended sedentary time (one involving uninterrupted sedentary time and one including ten heel raises every ten minutes). A control condition of 15 participants will then be tested ten weeks post-. The experimental condition of 15 participants will undergo a ten-week heel raise prescribed programme before having peripheral and central blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, arterial stiffness, peripheral and cerebral oxygen perfusion, cognitive performance and maximal voluntary contraction of the medial gastrocnemius assessed after their programme.

The study evaluates the effect of early follow up in a preventive clinic with stepwise treatment of high blood pressure and lowering blood cholesterol. Half the participants were randomized to the preventive clinic group and the other half to control group with the usual treatment: one visit to the outpatient clinic three months after discharge with a diagnosis of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)

This research is being done to determine how home blood pressure monitoring, using a commercially available blood pressure monitor with the capability of transmitting readings to stroke doctors can help manage blood pressure in the optimal range after a stroke. High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for stroke. It is important to control high blood pressure after a stroke to prevent another one from happening. We will use the Withings Smart Blood Pressure Monitor for daily blood pressure measurements. Tracking of blood pressure measurements will be done via iPod Touch equipped with internet connectivity. We hope to learn if this method of managing blood pressure is more effective than the standard way of having patients visit primary care physicians (the control group for this study). We will also get feedback from participants who will receive the Withings Smart Blood Pressure Monitor about the ease of use and overall satisfaction with this blood pressure device. People 18-100 years old who have had a stroke in the past 6 months may join. You will be excluded from the study if you are pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant in the near future.

About 35,000 people each year in the UK have a type of stroke, called 'lacunar' or 'small vessel' stroke, which is different to other common types of stroke and for which there is no proven treatment. It is thought that small vessel stroke is caused by damage to the lining of the tiny blood vessels deep inside the brain that stops them functioning normally. This not only causes stroke but, perhaps more importantly, causes problems with thinking and walking, possibly causing up to 45% of all dementias either on its own, or mixed with Alzheimer's disease (about 350,000 patients in the UK). Some drugs that are commonly used in other blood vessel diseases may help improve small vessel function and prevent worsening of brain damage. One drug (cilostazol) has been tested in patients with stroke in the Asia Pacific countries but not on dementia; the other drug (isosorbide mononitrate) is widely used in the UK for heart disease but not stroke. The investigators want to set up a clinical trial to test if the study methods are practical so that patients and trial centres can follow the procedures, and to confirm how many patients have more stroke-like symptoms or experience worsening of their thinking skills. This information is needed to be sure that a very large clinical trial to find out if these drugs can prevent worsening of small vessel disease will be possible.

Bruising as a result of heparin injection increases patients' anxiety, decreases their confidence in the effectiveness of nurses and causes them to refuse the injection. This undesirable effect can be reduced by using appropriate technique and taking a few simple precautions. In the systematic review conducted by İnangil and Şendir (2017) to systematically review the studies on the prevention of ecchymosis, hematoma and pain associated with subcutaneous heparin injection; it was determined that the number of studies investigating other techniques (pressure, site selection, etc.) was insufficient, with the highest number of studies on injection time and cold application. As a result of the research, it was recommended that local pressure should be applied to the area after injection, and the abdominal region should be preferred especially in patients who are sensitive to pain, since pain intensity is higher in the thigh and arm region. Due to the lack of literature, there is no consensus regarding the duration of compression to reduce bruising and pain after LMWH application. Based on these, this study was planned to compare the pressure applied to the injection point for 10, 35 and 60 seconds after injection in terms of pain, bruising and development of ecchymosis and hematoma at the injection sites in patients using subcutaneous heparin in the upper arm.

Sedentary behaviour is particularly high among the older and in the presence of a chronic pathology. Physical activity is limited mainly by the lack of accessibility to activities offered in the city and the lack of motivation. The objective is to study the physical solicitations and the well-being during the visit of a museum (free or guided visit). Our hypothesis is that this cultural activity induces a sufficient physical solicitation for sedentary people and for individuals with a post-stroke motor disability. All the tests will be carried out during the same day by experienced physiotherapists. Physical and well-being tests will be performed before and after the visits. The number of steps taken during the visit will be measured. This is a different approach to promote physical activity and this proposal is an original way to stimulate the physical, psychic and social health of sedentary people. If the results are beneficial, museums could become real health partners to stimulate the activity of sedentary people.

The objectives of this pilot project are to determine whether pairing rTMS with an evidence-based PST intervention is acceptable to and feasible for individuals with executive function deficits after stroke and whether rTMS enhances executive functioning and uptake of the PST intervention to improve generalization of the PST strategy and support long-term goal attainment. To achieve the objectives, the investigators propose two specific aims: AIM 1: Establish the acceptability and feasibility of delivering up to 6 sessions of PST+ rTMS to individuals with executive function deficits ≥ 6 months post stroke. Hypothesis 1a:80% participants will complete 6 PST sessions. Hypothesis 1b: 1b: Participants who receive rTMS directly prior to the PST intervention will report higher satisfaction with the overall intervention compared to those who receive rTMS simultaneously with PST. AIM 2: Assess the initial efficacy of PST+rTMS for improving patient outcomes in individuals with stroke. Hypothesis 2a Patients will demonstrate a significant increase in executive functioning (ie. attention, immediate memory and cognitive flexibility and reasoning) as measured by the Digit Span Test and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Hypothesis 2b: Patients will achieve 80% of self-set goals. Hypothesis 2c: Patients will demonstrate a significant increase in task-oriented coping skills as measured by the Brief Cope at 1-month post intervention.

The investigators conduct this study to investigate whether oral administration of Dimethyl Fumarate, a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for multiple sclerosis, is safe and effective in combination with intraarterial treatment in patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) can occur commonly in the setting of trauma or brain aneurysm. SAH accounts for 10% of all the strokes. Aneurysmal SAH accounts for 80 % of cases of non-traumatic cases of SAH, 6-8% of all strokes and 22-25% of all cerebrovascular deaths. Mortality can be 50% in the first few years of aneurysmal SAH rupture, 15% are severely disabled post SAH and only 20-35% having a moderate to good recovery it has gained lot of attention and pre-clinical and clinical trials of various agents have been tried to prevent poor outcome. The United States epidemiology data reveals the fact that 1% to 5% of adults have unruptured brain aneurysm and 30,000 people suffer from aneurysm rupture annually translating to brain aneurysm rupture every 18 minutes. Vasospasm is the most common SAH complication post 24 hours. It is the segmental or diffuse narrowing of the vessels especially the large vessels. Fifty percent of those patients who develop clinical vasospasm, progress to infarction and 15-20% will advance to disabling stroke or die of cerebral ischemia. The present treatment modalities are insufficient to prevent vasospasm. So, we need new treatment modalities to decrease the mortality and morbidity in SAH patients. The investigators hypothesize that Acetazolamide administration can prevent development of vasospasm after aneurysmal SAH.