Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

The purpose of this study is to compare clinical and economic parameters of stroke patients who have received acute MRI imaging (test group) to patients who have received routine CT imaging (control group) in the clinical setting of acute stroke.

The purpose of this study is to compare the incidence of silent and apparent cerebral embolism between conventional and minimal-invasive transfemoral aortic valve repair.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the use of combined fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) as surrogate marker of lesion age within the first 6 hours of ischemic stroke in order to identify patients ≤ 3 or ≤ 4.5 hours of symptom onset in a large multicenter study hours of ischemic stroke. The investigators hypothesize that the pattern of a visible lesion on DWI together with a negative FLAIR ("DWI-FLAIR mismatch") will identify patients ≤ 3 hours of symptom onset with >80% specificity and positive predictive value.

SPECIFIC AIM: The specific aims of this study are to evaluate the long term outcomes of patients previously enrolled in the STRokE DOC ("STRokE DOC Trial (NCT00283868)") telemedicine clinical trial. AIM 1: Aim 1 is a non- randomized, retrospective, data collection study assessing long term patient outcomes of patients previously enrolled in a telemedicine vs. telephone clinical trial (STRokE DOC Trial ("STRokE DOC Trial (NCT00283868)"); now completed). STRokE DOC-LTO will evaluate, (only for those patients previously enrolled in the original telemedicine vs. telephone clinical research trial), the long term patient outcomes; comparing telemedicine versus telephone-only consultations.

To identify new cellular, metabolic, and genomic correlates of atherosclerotic plaque and early pathologic changes in the vascular wall and determine their consequences for coronary heart disease and stroke.

To assess interactions between selected cardiovascular medications and genes in the incidence of heart attack, stroke, and atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat.

Patients with stroke or transient ischemic attach should receive advise on smoking cessation. It is however unknown if an intensive smoking cessation program is better than ordinary advise on smoking cessation during hospitalisation for stroke or transient ischemic attack. The aim of the study was to assess if an intensive smoking cessation program made more patients stop smoking after stroke or transient ischemic attack.

To investigate stroke risk using the National Academy of Sciences Twin Registry.

To identify the role of salt-sensitivity of blood pressure in the pathogenesis of hypertension.

The purpose of this study is to better understand the role of the motor part of the brain in the recovery of motor function after stroke. The motor deficits that follow a stroke are compensated for over several months. It has been proposed that the ipsilateral motor cortex mediates these recovery processes. The results of this study will provide fundamental information on the role of ipsilateral M1 in recovery of motor function after chronic stroke. A general patient evaluation will determine the location of the lesion site and assess the degree of impairment in motor and global cognitive functioning. An assessment of motor function will also be performed. Patients will be divided into two groups: well and poorly recovered. An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan may also be done if one has not been performed in the past 6 months. Two main procedures will be performed: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and test of motor performance. In the first procedure, a metal coil surrounded by a plastic mold will be placed on the head and electrical current will be pulsed through it. The electrical muscle activity will be recorded through these electrodes with a computer. The second procedure involves a reaction time test. The task will consist of reacting to a visual stimulus by performing a voluntary movement. TMS pulses will be given before each movement. This is done to determine whether this type of stimulation interferes with reaction time, which would indicated that it interferes with the brain centers executing the reaction to the visual Go-signal. Patients with single ischemic hemispheric lesions at least 12 months after the stroke who initially had a severe paralysis of the arm will be recruited for the study. Healthy normal volunteers will also be included in the study. A special effort will be made to increase the participation of women and diverse racial groups.