Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

Study MAG104615, a Proof of Concept Study for GSK249320 versus placebo in Stroke Patients.

A. Specific Aims: 1. There is one specific aim of this study. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of early standardized task-specific training (ESTT) in persons with acute stroke. B. Hypothesis: 1. It is our hypothesis that subjects who receive ESTT will walk faster and more symmetrically than published reports of gait outcomes in persons with stroke.

The primary objective of the study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of SPG stimulation with the ISS in a 24 hour window, in patients with an acute ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation, who received Mechanical Thrombectomy and/or IV-rtPA and Standard of Care.

This project will investigate the effectiveness of an intensive and focused working memory training program for chronic stroke patients. The investigators hypothesize that working memory training will be an effective method of improving working memory and related cognitive and behavioural functions in this population.

BACKGROUND: Thrombolytic drugs may dissolve blood vessel clots in acute ischemic stroke. The overall benefit of intravenous thrombolysis is substantial, but up to 2/3 of patients with large clots may not achieve re-opening of the vessel and up to 40% of the patients may remain severely disabled or die. Ultrasound accelerates clot break-up (lysis) when combined with thrombolysis (sonothrombolysis) and increases the likelihood of functional independence at 3 months. Adding intravenous ultrasound contrast (gaseous microspheres) further enhances the thrombolytic effect (contrast enhanced sonothrombolysis = CEST). Contrast enhanced ultrasound may also accelerate clot break-up in the absence of thrombolytic drugs (contrast enhanced sonolysis = CES). HYPOTHESIS: Contrast enhanced ultrasound treatment administered within 4 1/2 hours after symptom onset may be given safely to patients with acute ischemic stroke, both to those receiving intravenous thrombolysis and those not receiving intravenous thrombolysis, and will improve clinical outcome. AIMS: To compare efficacy and safety of contrast enhanced ultrasound treatment vs. no ultrasound treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving or not receiving intravenous thrombolysis. STUDY ENDPOINTS: The primary endpoints are 1) neurological improvement at 24 hours (proof of concept) and 2) excellent clinical outcome at 3 months (effect). Secondary endpoints are bleeding complications (safety), brain damage (infarct size/location) and early clinical improvement (effect).

The investigators have developed the kinect-based upper extremity rehabilitation program and designed this protocol to prove the efficacy of this program. In brief, subacute stroke patients allocated to intervention group will receive the kinect based-rehabilitation program plus conventional occupational therapy and patients allocated to control group will receive the sham virtual rehabilitation plus conventional occupational therapy, for 10 days. 20 patients with subacute stroke will be allocated into each group and after completing the 10 days intervention, they will be assessed by using objective assessment tools for upper extremity function.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability worldwide. This investigation will address the safety and feasibility of directed, intra-arterial Magnesium measurement and therapy, through endovascular access, in acute stroke patients. The proposal represents the first study to directly quantify levels of a systemically administered neuroprotectant in the region of cerebral ischemia. It also establishes a novel endovascular platform for direct delivery of neuroprotective agents to ischemic cerebral tissue distal to an occlusive thrombus. This research seeks to improve patient care by establishing a novel delivery mechanism for the rescue of threatened brain parenchyma that can be administered rapidly following acute stroke. If successful, this selective distribution will allow delivery to "at risk" tissue in a rapid manner. Salvage of viable, but threatened, penumbral tissue could afford stroke patients an increased probability of favorable long term outcome. The investigators hypothesize that endovascular, intra-arterial, Magnesium administration will deliver high concentration of this neuroprotective agent to otherwise inaccessible cerebral territories, while limiting systemic concentrations. The proposed investigation will evaluate the safety and feasibility of this novel treatment technique

To assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of combining intravenous rt-PA with transcranial laser therapy (TLT) with the NeuroThera® Laser System (referred to hereafter as NTS) in subjects treated for acute ischemic stroke. Treatment with IV rt-PA must begin within 3 hours of symptom onset, and the initiation of TLT procedure must be feasible for each subject within 6 hours of stroke onset. The NeuroThera® Laser System is an investigational device that provides noninvasive transcranial laser therapy to subjects diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke. The wavelength of the laser light is in the infrared zone of the electromagnetic spectrum and is invisible to the naked eye.

AIMS: To establish: 1) whether motor deficits in acute stroke improve more in patients taking donepezil, relative to placebo, for 12 weeks; 2) whether brain functional MRI changes as a result of donepezil after 12 weeks.

Ischaemic strokes (those caused by blockage in an artery in the brain caused by a blood clot) can be treated with very early use of clot-busting (thrombolytic) drugs to attempt to restore the blood supply and limit the damage, resulting in an increased proportion of people making a recovery to independence after stroke. However, drug treatment only succeed in restoring blood flow in a minority of people with clots in the larger arteries (10-25% depending on the size of the blood vessel) and these people also have the most severe strokes and highest risk of death or dependence as a result of the stroke. Current best treatment is therefore least effective in the group with the most severe strokes. Devices that can be fed through the blood vessels to either remove or break up the blood clot in the brain vessels can open this type of large artery blockage. However, using these devices is a highly skilled procedure and it takes some time both to set up the necessary facilities (including anaesthetic, nurses and medical support) and to reach the blockage. The extra time that is required to use these devices may mean that brain tissue is already irreversibly damaged. If so, then an individual patient cannot benefit and indeed may be harmed by opening the artery. There are no completed clinical trials comparing the outcome in people treated with standard stroke treatment and those treated with devices. PISTE is a randomised, controlled trial to test whether additional mechanical thrombectomy device treatment improves functional outcome in patients with large artery occlusion who are given IV thrombolytic drug treatment as standard care.