Active clinical trials for "Ischemic Stroke"

The goals of the project are to evaluate a noninvasive monitor of brain metabolism and blood flow in critically ill humans. If validated, such a reliable noninvasive brain blood flow and metabolism monitor, by allowing physiologic and pharmacologic decisions based on real-time brain physiology, potentially will become an important tool for clinicians in their efforts to prevent additional brain tissue death in patients admitted with stroke, brain hemorrhage and traumatic brain injury.

Agents of sanchi have been widely used as a complementary medicine for stroke in China. Sanchitongshu is a new Chinese patent medicine extracted from sanchi which has stronger anti-platelet activity than other agents of sanchi. The investigators's aim was to investigate the synergistic action of aspirin combined with sanchitongshu capsule in the treatment of patients with minor ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack.

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.

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.

Various molecules (cytokines: interleukins, interferons and neural proteins) found in human and animal blood are reported to be elevated in acute stroke (Ischemic and hemorrhagic). Cytokines can be pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. There are studies confirming level changes in serum of humans in the setting of several rheumatologic and cardiovascular diseases. As new molecular markers (cytokines and neural tissue markers) are established in scientific literature, stroke scientists are interested to evaluate the role of these in the pathophysiology of stroke. Investigators intend to study the role of these molecules in the development of stroke. Acute stroke treatment has advanced considerably in the last 10 years with the establishment of comprehensive stroke centers and approval of neuro-interventional techniques. However, the molecular advancement in stroke pathogenesis has yet to reach a milestone in the world of stroke treatment. In our opinion, creating a database of acute stroke patients containing all pertinent medical demographics and clinical information along with the laboratory data, molecular levels of pertinent cytokines/neural factors from consenting patients, will help us define and delineate the most relevant molecules that are altered in acute stroke patients and can help us further improve us understanding of the role of these in acute stroke and thereby hopefully help in the improvement of our understanding and management of stroke. Moreover, analyzing the cytokines in stroke and ICH patients would help understand their role in the acute phase, which may become potential therapeutic adjuncts for tPA and endovascular thrombectomy.

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.

A Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) is a questionnaire that asks patients for their views on their own health or the impact of healthcare they have received on their health and quality of life (RCN, 2011). The benefit of PROMS is that they gather information from the patient's perspective, which offers great potential to improve the quality and outcomes of health services (Department of Health 2011). There is a PROM (the PROMIS-10 Global Health) and a number of extra questions that are recommended for use in people who have had a stroke by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement, but the best way of delivering these questions for stroke survivors is unknown. At present, the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales are required to offer every stroke survivors a 6 month post stroke follow-up appointment. Currently, the information collected at the 6 month review is not from the patient's perspective and the best method of collecting this information has not been established. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) which is led by the Royal College of Physicians in London promote the 6 month follow-up assessment. SSNAP recognise that currently 4 different methods of 6 month follow-up appointment occur. The current methods in use are face-to-face assessment, telephone interview, online questionnaire or postal questionnaire. The aim of this research is to understand if there is a difference between these 4 methods of delivering these questions in people who have had a stroke. As part of the 6 month review this research study will assess the response rate for 15 Patient Reported Health Status questions across the 4 recognised methods of delivery; Face-to-Face Telephone Online Post To conduct this research study a sample of 808 stroke survivors will be asked to take part in the research. From these 808 people, 202 participants will be randomly assigned to each method of administration (Face-to-Face Interview, Telephone Interview, Postal Questionnaire and Online Questionnaire). The questionnaires received by the research team will not record any personally identifiable information. The data will then be utilised by the researchers for statistical analysis in order to identify, which method of the 4 methods of administration, under investigation, is the most acceptable for stroke survivors. The conclusions of this research will inform the roll-out of the most appropriate method of delivering the 6 month stroke follow-up review for stroke survivors.

Despite several scientific and technological advances, there is no single neuroprotective treatment that can reverse the brain damage after acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Neuroactive steroids are cholesterol-derived hormones that have the ability to modulate the normal and pathologic nervous system employing genomic and non genomic mechanisms. In this work, we first investigated if AIS affects the plasma concentration of five neuroactive steroids (cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and 3-alpha androstenediol glucuronide). Second, we studied if levels of circulating steroids associate with neurological, cognitive and functional outcome in a cohort of 60 to 90 year-old male and female patients with AIS. For this purpose, we recruited patients who were hospitalized at the Emergency Room of the Central Military Hospital within the first 24 hours after stroke onset. We designed two experimental groups, each one composed of 30 control subjects and 30 AIS patients, both males and females. The assessment of neurological deficit was performed with the NIHSS and the tests used for the functional and cognitive status were: (1) modified Rankin Scale; (2) Photo test and (3) abbreviated Pfeiffer's mental status questionnaire.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) represents an economical challenge for health systems all over the globe. Despite increasing knowledge of the pathophysiology of AIS, there is no satisfactory treatment to revert the resulting brain damage. Changes of neuroactive steroids have been found in different neurological diseases. In this regard, the investigators have previously demonstrated that old patients with AIS show changes of plasma cortisol and estradiol concentrations, in that increased steroid levels are associated with a deterioration of neurological status and a worse cognitive decline. The present study assessed in patients with AIS if changes of behavior, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nitrites (NO-2) (nitric oxide soluble metabolite) bear a relationship with the degree of hypercortisolism. To this purpose, the investigators recruited patients hospitalized at the Central Military Hospital emergency room within the first 24 hours of AIS. Subjects were divided into two groups, each one composed of 40 control subjects and 40 AIS patients, including men and women. The neurological condition was assessed using the NIHSS and the cognitive status with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA test). The emotional status was evaluated using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), whereas the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) was used to determine the functional condition. BDNF and NO-2 plasma levels were measured by ELISA and the Griess reaction method, respectively.

Retrospective analysis of Get With the Guidelines-Stroke data linked with Medicare claims and the AVAIL longitudinal data sets to assess patterns, predictors, and outcomes associated with the use of rehabilitation services following hospitalization for ischemic stroke. Primary completion defined as the end of primary analyses, consistent with the end of the PCORI Cycle I grant period. Study completion defined as acceptance of final research report and lay abstract by PCORI.