A Prospective Investigation of the VWF-ADAMTS 13 Axis in Acute Ischaemic Brain Injury (TIAs and...
StrokeIn patients presenting with acute stroke or transient ischaemic attacks (TIA), von Willebrand factor related parameters, including VWF antigen, activity, FVIII:c and propeptides, ADAMTS13 levels and VWF multimers in cases where ADAMTS 13 was reduced will be measured. Global haemostasis will be assessed using thrombin generation and the relation between increase thrombin generation and VWF explored. Thrombin generation will be performed pre and post filtration for the presence of procoagulant microparticles. These parameters will be investigated acutely, at presentation and in convalescence; in addition, the effect on these parameters of treatment such as thrombolysis may be informative. Correlation between measured parameters and adverse clinical outcome would be used to identify markers of severity and progression of ischaemic stroke and identification of potential novel approaches to therapy that might improve outcome.
Prospective Clinical Follow-up After the Percutaneous Closure of a Patent Foramen Ovale
StrokeForamen Ovale1 moreFollowing a cryptogenic stroke, many patients are nowadays treated with the percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO), assuming that the aetiology of the stroke is secondary to a paradoxical embolism. After the PFO closure procedure a dual antiplatelet regimen is often prescribed for 3-6 months and several cardiologic and neurologic follow-up exams are scheduled in the first 12 months of follow-up. Usually a transthoracic +/- transoesophageal echocardiography (TTE +/- TEE) are performed at 6 months, however this kind of control is not systematically performed. In order to improve the clinical outcomes in this young patients' population, the investigators prospectively perform a complete cardiologic and neurologic follow-up program to all patients undergoing a successful percutaneous closure of a PFO. The aim of these controls is to confirm the good position of the PFO-device, to confirm the absence of any residual right to left shunt or any significant atrial arrhythmias Furthermore this prospective follow-up will analyze the possible mechanisms leading to a cerebral stroke recurrence (e.g. size of the PFO, presence of an atrial septal aneurysm, presence of a residual shunt, size of the utilized closure device, ....).
Prognostic Impact of an Oral Triglyceride Tolerance Test in Patients After Acute Ischemic Stroke...
First Ischemic StrokeNon-fasting triglyceride levels are thought to play a role in stroke. The investigators hypothesise that the results of a standardised oral triglyceride tolerance test in the subacute setting (3-7 days) after the first ischaemic stroke are associated with the risk of recurrent stroke within 12 months after the index event.
WATCHMAN for Second Prevention of Stroke (WASPS)
Atrial FibrillationStrokeTo evaluate the effects of mechanical left atrial appendage (LAA) closure for secondary prevention of stroke in the patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
Perception of Verticality After Stroke
Sensory DisorderStroke1 moreIn this study, the researchers will investigate whether the E-effect is present in stroke subjects both on the subjective visual and postural vertical test. In addition, researchers will investigate the impact of the loss of different sensory information sources on the sensory reweighting strategies and perception of verticality by measuring the effect of somatosensory loss on the E-effect.
The Applying of Acupressure and Abdominal Massage to Improving Constipation in Stroke Patients....
AcupressureAbdominal Massage2 moreExperimental research design with two-group repeated-measure design. Experimental group was pressing the Hegu (LI 4), Zusanli (ST 36) , Tianshu(ST 25) and abdominal massage for eight minutes total, press once in the morning and afternoon, seven days total and two days for follow the trail. Control group was pressing sham ponits. Research tools to self semi-structured questionnaire collected data on patient's diet, activity, medication, defecation patterns, subjective defecation feelingauscultation bowel sounds like.
Active Smart Wearable Orthosis for Enhanched Rehabilitation THErapy
StrokeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the usability of a new upper limb robot assisted therapy device in stroke patients.
Brain Network Models Of Motor Recovery After Stroke
StrokeAs with other real=world connected systems, studying the network structure of multiple interactions in the brain (holism versus reductionism) has profound implications in the comprehension of emergent complex phenomena like, for example, the capability to functionally reorganize after cerebrovascular "attacks" or stroke. This dynamic skill, which is known in neuroscience as brain plasticity, is not only interesting from a network perspective, but it also plays a crucial role in determining the motor/cognitive recovery of patients who survive a stroke. Network analysis of functional connectivity (FC) patterns estimated from neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has allowed a major breakthrough in the understanding of physiopathology of stroke from a system perspective. Recent evidence from cross=sectional studies1,2 highlights that stroke lesions generally induce i) critical deviation from optimal (i.e. small=world) network topologies supporting both segregated and integrated information processing, ii) altered inter=hemispheric connectivity and modularity, iii) and abnormal region centrality in the ipsilesional hemisphere as well as in the contralesional hemisphere. While these findings provide new descriptors on how stroke lesions affect the functional brain network organization and how this correlates with the resulting behavioral impairment (e.g. hemiplegia, aphasia), they only represent a static picture of the brain plasticity, which is instead intrinsically dynamic, and partially inform on the chances of single patients to recover their motor/cognitive functions. These aspects dramatically limit the investigator's ability to fully understand the brain organizational mechanisms after stroke and to probe the predictive power of possible network=based neuromarkers of recovery. The ATTACK project aims to overcome these technological and methodological barriers by implementing the following three=fold strategy: acquiring a longitudinal dataset of brain and behavioral data in stroke patients and healthy controls, developing new analytic tools to characterize and generate temporally dynamic brain networks, building network=based models of functional recovery after stroke, accounting for individual patients.
HDL Dysfunction During the Acute Stage of Stroke
StrokeAcuteThe study investigates the effect of plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations on HDL dysfunction during the acute stage of ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes.
Predictors Of Stroke Outcome In Chidren
Ischemic StrokeHemorrhagic ShockStroke can be defined as an abrupt loss of brain function that is caused by decreased cerebral blood flow. Stroke can occur at all stages of life, but presentation is variable depending on age, involved artery, and underlying risk factors.