Cure for Stroke

Ranked as the third leading cause of death in the United States, a cure for stroke would be welcome news for the 700,000 sufferers afflicted each year and their loved ones.

Risk factors attributed to stroke include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes. Heart disease and/or a history of migraine headaches also increase the probability of experiencing a stroke.

Cure for Stroke is Prevention

In 1996, the clot-busting drug tPA received FDA approval. At the initial signs of stroke, the drug is administered intravenously within three hours. After which time, the potential side effects may outweigh the possible benefits.

In 2004, the FDA approved a clot-busting cork-screw device called the MERCI retrieval system. A miniature corkscrew tool is used to puncture the blood clot and remove it from the brain. This procedure is useful when the clot is too large to be successfully treated with the clot-bursting drug or over three hours have passed from the onset of stroke symptoms. The MERCI treatment is used up to eight hours after the stroke begins.

In 2009, the FDA approved a mini vacuum-cleaner-type device known as the Penumbra for removing blood clots in the brain. When a big blood clot in the brain is identified, the machine is used to dislodge the clot and suction it out. In a clinical trial, one-third of the test patients were able to return to normal activities after preventative treatment.

Cure for stroke research

In 2009, a neurological study showed that stroke victims who achieve favorable levels of the four risk factors, blood pressure, "bad" cholesterol, "good" cholesterol, and triglycerides were 65% less likely to have another stroke, compared with people who did not reach a desirable level of any risk factor.

Cure for Stroke Medical Research Breakthroughs

Before effective stroke treatment can be performed, the condition must be properly diagnosed. In an eye-opening stroke medical research breakthrough, doctors have discovered a new method to diagnose a sudden rupture or blockage of a blood vessel in the brain in less than a minute!

Even trained professionals face challenges with making the correct diagnosis with patients arriving at the ER complain of such symptoms as a sudden feeling of light headedness or of being dizzy. Frequently, the diagnosis may be AVS, which is characterized by a quick onset of vertigo when standing, nausea, vomiting, and/or loss of balance.

However, dizziness is also the most common symptom of stroke. The new diagnostic test can be easily done at a patient's bedside and is proving to outperform the much more expensive MRI, in terms of cost, accuracy, and the speed of diagnosis. The test is called H.I.N.T.S., and the initials stand for:

* Head-impulse

The physician quickly turns the patient's head, instructing the patient to look at the physician's nose. AVS patients cannot do this, while stroke patients usually can.

* Nystagmus

The patient is directed to follow the movement of the doctor's finger. The eyes of AVS patients will involuntarily move in only one direction. Many stroke victims' eyes will spasm both to the right and the left.

* Test-of-skew

Doctors check eye position to see if one eye appears higher than the other. A sign of stroke is vertical misalignment.

Studies suggest there is at least a 35 percent chance of misdiagnosing stroke when the major symptom is dizziness. If applied correctly, the H.I.N.T.S. eye tests could reduce incidences of misdiagnosis to nearer zero. The bottom line is speed is of the essence when a cure for stroke is in the balance.

Go to Stroke-symptoms from Cure for Stroke