Integrated Telehealth After Stroke Care
Blood PressureStroke2 moreIn this pilot trial, the investigator will compare early post-stroke BP management using an integrated Telehealth After Stroke Care (iTASC), to usual care with a primary outcome of BP control defined by the mean 24-hr blood pressure through remote monitoring at 3 months and survey patient reported outcomes. As this is a preliminary trial with a small sample, estimates derived will be used to plan the subsequent larger confirmatory trial. Descriptive statistics will characterize the randomized patients completing surveys and outcome assessments. The study will evaluate the primary clinical outcome (BP <140/90 mmHg) 90 days post-discharge as a function of treatment and adjusted for from baseline BP. Change from baseline BP will also be assessed as an outcome. Change in activity level and duration, as well as trends in sedentary time will be compared between arms, and pre- and post-intervention with visual tailored infographics in the intervention arm. Moderating effects of demographics will also be evaluated. Decisions regarding the pursuit of a subsequent trial will use the primary outcome, and analysis of all other measures will be hypothesis generating.
Optical Measurement of Cerebral Hemodynamics in Children With Acute Arterial Ischemic Stroke
Acute Arterial Ischemic StrokeAcute ischemic stroke affects roughly 1 in 50,000 children every year and is one of the top ten causes of death in children. Currently, caregivers lay the affected child flat in hopes of increasing blood flow to the brain and reducing the volume of the brain which is damaged. However, there are currently no techniques to measure brain blood flow at the child's bedside and indicate if this treatment is effective. We will probe brain blood volume, oxygen saturation, and flow with red light to determine the efficacy of this intervention.
Hair Cortisol and the Risk of Stroke
ISCHEMIC STROKEThe purpose of this study is to prospectively examine the relation between ischemic stroke and hair cortisol concentration. The investigators hypothesize that patients with ischemic stroke have higher levels of hair cortisol compared to controls.
Penumbra and Recanalisation Acute Computed Tomography in Ischaemic Stroke Evaluation
Ischaemic StrokeStroke affects over 125,000 people each year in the UK and leaves at least 50% disabled. Treatment of stroke caused by a blockage in a blood vessel (ischaemic stroke), with clotbusting drugs improves the chances of good recovery, but must be given within 4.5 hours of onset. Currently only a small proportion of patients who arrive in hospital within 4.5 hours are treated. This is largely due to uncertainty about diagnosis and concerns about risk of bleeding associated with clotbusting medication. Patients with mild or improving symptoms in particular are often not treated because of uncertainty about relative risks and benefits. However, around one third of these patients go on to be significantly disabled. Routine CT scanning often does not show abnormalities in acute stroke (which take hours to become easily visible), and cannot show the extent or severity of blood flow changes in ischemic stroke. We wish to investigate the value of additional CT scanning that gives information on the blood vessels (angiography, CTA) and blood flow to the brain (perfusion, CTP) by undertaking a randomised trial. Extra scans are done in the same scanner and involve some extra radiation, injections of a contrast dye, and some extra time to acquire process and interpret. The extra scans may allow better treatment decisions for patients by increasing diagnostic certainty and by better assessment of stroke severity. However, we do not know whether the potential gains from better selection justify the resources and potential treatment delays that are involved. We will investigate whether the proportion of patients given clotbusting drugs differs between the two scanning protocols; and whether the outcomes differ, using standard measures of disability. We will also investigate whether use of different scanner manufacturers' software affect interpretation of scans.
HEart and BRain Interfaces in Acute Ischemic Stroke
StrokeAtrial FibrillationThe primary aim of this prospective observational study is to investigate whether an enhanced diagnostic MRI work-up (including cardiac MRI, angiography of the aortic arch and the brain-supplying arteries) combined with an in-hospital Holter-ECG of up to 5 days duration leads to a significant increase in relevant pathologic findings with respect to stroke aetiology as compared to the findings obtained by a routine diagnostic work-up (including stroke unit monitoring, 24h-Holter-ECG, echocardiography, Doppler-ultrasound of the brain-supplying arteries) in patients with acute ischemic stroke and no atrial fibrillation according to past medical history or baseline ECG. A better understanding of the stroke aetiology may improve secondary stroke prevention and long term outcome.
Patient-centered Research Into Outcomes Stroke Patients Prefer and Effectiveness Research
StrokeIschemic StrokePROSPER (Patient-centered Research into Outcomes Stroke patients Prefer and Effectiveness Research) is a three year research project to create a national, sustainable model to improve decision-making and patient-centered stroke outcomes through comparative effectiveness research.
Antiplatelet Effects in Stroke-Patients
Ischemic StrokeMany patients suffer from acute and chronic pain. The incidence of chronic pain correlates with increased age. Most of patients rely on analgesic medication to control the pain. Dipyrone is an extensively used drug in Western and Eastern Europe as well as Central and South America, largely due to its favorable analgesic and antipyretic effects in conjunction with a low incidence of gastrointestinal complications when compared to other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Aspirin is the backbone of antiplatelet therapy in patients after ischemic stroke. However, it is known that there are substantial inter-individual response variabilities to antiplatelet medication. Furthermore, patients with impaired response to aspirin have a significant higher risk of recurrent cerebrovascular events. The investigators have recently shown that co-medication with aspirin and dipyrone in patients with coronary artery disease lead to insufficient antiplatelet effects of aspirin. The incidence of chronic pain is very high in patients with ischemic stroke. Therefore, in this study the investigators aim to examine, if co-medication of aspirin and dipyrone interaction also occurs in patients after ischemic stroke.
Multi-"Omics" Research of Danhong Injection to Treat Acute Ischemic Stroke
Acute StrokeThe purpose of this study is to explore the pharmacological mechanism of Danhong injection in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.
Dysphagia Assessment in Acute Ischemic Stroke Using High-resolution Manometry
Ischemic StrokeDysphagia occurs relatively commonly in patients with acute stroke, and can lead to aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. By using the stroke registry of our hospital, we will evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of Dysphagia screening in Acute Stroke using High-resolution impedance manometry (DASH). The hypothesis tested in this study is that high-resolution impedance manometry (HRiM) can provide the clinical efficacy to evaluate dysphagia and the diet plan in acute stroke patients.
Effect of Ischemic Strokes on Recovery From Intracerebral Hemorrhages
Hemorrhage; IntracerebralNontraumatic2 moreIntracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) occurs when small arteries in the brain rupture due to weakening by age, high blood pressure, and/or elevated cholesterol. In addition to artery rupture, recent data suggests that patients with ICH are also at risk for developing occlusion of arteries during the acute phase, called ischemic strokes. Data suggests these ischemic strokes can negatively impact patient outcomes. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is a sequence on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that is a sensitive marker for ischemic strokes in the brain. In this proposal, our primary aim is examine prospectively the effect DWI abnormalities have on functional outcomes in patients with ICH. Our hypothesis is that the DWI abnormalities found on MRI of the brain lead to worse functional outcomes in patients with ICH