New treatments are available that greatly reduce the damage caused by a stroke. But you need to arrive at the hospital as soon as possible after symptoms start to prevent disability and to greatly improve your chances for recovery. Knowing stroke symptoms, calling 911 immediately, and getting to a hospital as quickly as possible are critical.
About Stroke
Stroke -- A Serious Event
A stroke is serious, just like a heart attack. Each year in the United States, approximately 795,000 people have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes. On average, one American dies from stroke every four minutes. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and causes more serious long-term disabilities than any other disease.
Nearly three-quarters of all strokes occur in people over the age of 65. And the risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade between the ages of 55 and 85.
Stroke occurs in all age groups, in both sexes, and in all races in every country. It can even occur before birth, when the fetus is still in the womb.
Learning about stroke can help you act in time to save a relative, neighbor, or friend. And making changes in your lifestyle can help you prevent stroke.
What Is Stroke?
A stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack." Most often, stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain stops because it is blocked by a clot. When this happens, the brain cells in the immediate area begin to die.
Some brain cells die because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function. Other brain cells die because they are damaged by sudden bleeding into or around the brain. The brain cells that don't die immediately remain at risk for death. These cells can linger in a compromised or weakened state for several hours. With timely treatment, these cells can be saved.
New treatments are available that greatly reduce the damage caused by a stroke. But you need to arrive at the hospital as soon as possible after symptoms start to prevent disability and to greatly improve your chances for recovery. Knowing stroke symptoms, calling 911 immediately, and getting to a hospital as quickly as possible are critical.
Ischemic Stroke
There are two kinds of stroke. The most common kind of stroke is called ischemic stroke. It accounts for approximately 80 percent of all strokes. An ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Blockages that cause ischemic strokes stem from three conditions:
the formation of a clot within a blood vessel of the brain or neck, called thrombosis
the movement of a clot from another part of the body, such as from the heart to the neck or brain, called an embolism
a severe narrowing of an artery (stenosis) in or leading to the brain, due to fatty deposits lining the blood vessel walls.
Hemorrhagic Stroke
The other kind of stroke is called hemorrhagic stroke. A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain.
One common cause of a hemorrhagic stroke is a bleeding aneurysm. An aneurysm is a weak or thin spot on an artery wall. Over time, these weak spots stretch or balloon out due to high blood pressure. The thin walls of these ballooning aneurysms can rupture and spill blood into the space surrounding brain cells.
Artery walls can also break open because they become encrusted, or covered with fatty deposits called plaque, eventually lose their elasticity and become brittle, thin, and prone to cracking. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, increases the risk that a brittle artery wall will give way and release blood into the surrounding brain tissue.
Effects of a Stroke
The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It is the seat of intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of all movement, and the controller of behavior. How a stroke affects us depends on which part of the brain is damaged.
Stroke damage in the brain can affect the entire body -- resulting in mild to severe disabilities. These include paralysis, problems with thinking, trouble speaking, and emotional problems.
Movement Problems
A common disability that results from stroke is complete paralysis on one side of the body, called hemiplegia. A related disability that is not as debilitating as paralysis is one-sided weakness, or hemiparesis. The paralysis or weakness may affect only the face, an arm, or a leg, or it may affect one entire side of the body and face.
A stroke patient may have problems with the simplest of daily activities, such as walking, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom. Movement problems can result from damage to the part of the brain that controls balance and coordination. Some stroke patients also have trouble swallowing, called dysphagia.
Thinking Problems
Stroke may cause problems with thinking, awareness, attention, learning, judgment, and memory.
In some cases of stroke, the patient suffers a "neglect" syndrome. The neglect syndrome means that the stroke patient has no knowledge of one side of his or her body, or one side of the visual field, and is unaware of the problem. A stroke patient may be unaware of his or her surroundings, or may be unaware of the mental problems that resulted from the stroke.
Speech Problems
Stroke victims often have a problem forming or understanding speech. This problem is called aphasia. Aphasia usually occurs along with similar problems in reading and writing. In most people, language problems result from damage to the left hemisphere of the brain.
Slurred speech due to weakness or incoordination of the muscles involved in speaking is called dysarthria, and is not a problem with language. Because it can result from any weakness or incoordination of the speech muscles, dysarthria can arise from damage to either side of the brain.
Emotional Problems
A stroke can also lead to emotional problems. Stroke patients may have difficulty controlling their emotions or may express inappropriate emotions in certain situations. One common disability that occurs with many stroke patients is depression.
Post-stroke depression may be more than a general sadness resulting from the stroke incident. It is a serious behavioral problem that can hamper recovery and rehabilitation and may even lead to suicide. Post-stroke depression is treated as any depression is treated, with antidepressant medications and therapy.
Stroke patients may experience pain, uncomfortable numbness, or strange sensations after a stroke. These sensations may be due to many factors, including damage to the sensory regions of the brain, stiff joints, or a disabled limb.
Pain
An uncommon type of pain resulting from stroke is called central stroke pain or central pain syndrome or CPS. CPS results from damage to an area called the thalamus. The pain is a mixture of sensations, including heat and cold, burning, tingling, numbness, and sharp stabbing and underlying aching pain.
The pain is often worse in the hands and feet and is made worse by movement and temperature changes, especially cold temperatures. Unfortunately, since most pain medications provide little relief from these sensations, very few treatments or therapies exist to combat CPS.
Brain Stem Stroke
The brain stem controls vital bodily functions such as breathing, blood pressure and heartbeat. A stroke in the brain stem can be fatal or can leave someone in a “locked-in” state in which the person cannot control anything below the neck. As with other types of stroke, early treatment is crucial.
Warning Signs of Stroke
Know the Signs
Knowing the warning signs of stroke and controlling stroke's risk factors can lower your risk of death or disability. If you suffer a stroke, you may not realize it at first. The people around you might not know it, either. Your family, friends, or neighbors may think you are unaware or confused. You may not be able to call 911 on your own. That's why everyone should know the signs of stroke and know how to act fast.
Warning signs are clues your body sends to tell you that your brain is not receiving enough oxygen. If you observe one or more of the following signs of a stroke or "brain attack," don't wait. Call 911 right away!
Common Signs of Stroke
These are warning signs of a stroke:
sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
sudden severe headache with no known cause.
Other danger signs that may occur include double vision, drowsiness, and nausea or vomiting.
Don't Ignore "Mini-Strokes"
Sometimes the warning signs of stroke may last only a few moments and then disappear. These brief episodes, known as transient ischemic attacks or TIAs, are sometimes called "mini-strokes."
Although brief, TIAs identify an underlying serious condition that isn't going away without medical help. Unfortunately, since they clear up, many people ignore them. Don't ignore them. Heeding them can save your life.
Why It's Important To Act Fast
Stroke is a medical emergency. Every minute counts when someone is having a stroke. The longer blood flow is cut off to the brain, the greater the damage. Immediate treatment can save people’s lives and enhance their chances for successful recovery.
Ischemic strokes, the most common type of strokes, can be treated with a drug called t-PA that dissolves blood clots obstructing blood flow to the brain. The window of opportunity to start treating stroke patients is three hours, but to be evaluated and receive treatment, patients need to get to the hospital within 60 minutes.
What Should You Do?
Don't wait for the symptoms of stroke to improve or worsen. If you believe you are having a stroke, call 911 immediately. Making the decision to call for medical help can make the difference in avoiding a lifelong disability and in greatly improving your chances for recovery.
If you observe someone having a stroke – if he or she suddenly loses the ability to speak, or move an arm or leg on one side, or experiences facial paralysis on one side – call 911 immediately.
Risk Factors for Stroke
A risk factor is a condition or behavior that increases your chances of getting a disease. Having a risk factor for stroke doesn't mean you'll have a stroke. On the other hand, not having a risk factor doesn't mean you'll avoid a stroke. But your risk of stroke grows as the number and severity of risk factors increase.
These risk factors for stroke cannot be changed by medical treatment or lifestyle changes.
Age. Although stroke risk increases with age, stroke can occur at any age. Recent studies have found that stroke rates among people under 55 grew from 13 percent in 1993-1994, to 19 percent in 2005. Experts speculate the increase may be due to a rise in risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.
Gender. Men have a higher risk for stroke, but more women die from stroke.
Race. People from certain ethnic groups have a higher risk of stroke. For African Americans, stroke is more common and more deadly – even in young and middle-aged adults – than for any ethnic or other racial group in the U.S. Studies show that the age-adjusted incidence of stroke is about twice as high in African Americans and Hispanic Americans as in Caucasians. An important risk factor for African Americans is sickle cell disease, which can cause a narrowing of arteries and disrupt blood flow.
Family history of stroke. Stroke seems to run in some families. Several factors may contribute to familial stroke. Members of a family might have a genetic tendency for stroke risk factors, such as an inherited predisposition for high blood pressure (hypertension) or diabetes. The influence of a common lifestyle among family members could also contribute to familial stroke.
Some of the most important risk factors for stroke that CAN be treated are
high blood pressure
smoking
heart disease
high blood cholesterol
warning signs or history of a stroke
diabetes.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is by far the most potent risk factor for stroke. If your blood pressure is high, you and your doctor need to work out an individual strategy to bring it down to the normal range. Here are some ways to reduce blood pressure:
Maintain proper weight.
Avoid drugs known to raise blood pressure.
Cut down on salt.
Eat fruits and vegetables to increase potassium in your diet.
Exercise more.
Your doctor may prescribe medicines that help lower blood pressure. Controlling blood pressure will also help you avoid heart disease, diabetes, and kidney failure.
Smoking
Cigarette smoking has been linked to the buildup of fatty substances in the carotid artery, the main neck artery supplying blood to the brain. Blockage of this artery is the leading cause of stroke in Americans. Also, nicotine raises blood pressure, carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen your blood can carry to the brain, and cigarette smoke makes your blood thicker and more likely to clot.
Your doctor can recommend programs and medications that may help you quit smoking. By quitting -- at any age -- you also reduce your risk of lung disease, heart disease, and a number of cancers including lung cancer.
Heart Disease
Heart disease, including common heart disorders such as coronary artery disease, valve defects, irregular heart beat, and enlargement of one of the heart's chambers, can result in blood clots that may break loose and block vessels in or leading to the brain. The most common blood vessel disease, caused by the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries, is called atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries.
Your doctor will treat your heart disease and may also prescribe medication, such as aspirin, to help prevent the formation of clots. Your doctor may recommend surgery to clean out a clogged neck artery if you match a particular risk profile.
High Blood Cholesterol
A high level of total cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for heart disease, which raises your risk of stroke. Your doctor may recommend changes in your diet or medicines to lower your cholesterol.
Warning Signs or History of Stroke
Experiencing warning signs and having a history of stroke are also risk factors for stroke. Transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs, are brief episodes of stroke warning signs that may last only a few moments and then go away. If you experience a TIA, get help at once. Call 911.
If you have had a stroke in the past, it's important to reduce your risk of a second stroke. Your brain helps you recover from a stroke by drawing on body systems that now do double duty. That means a second stroke can be twice as bad.
Diabetes
Having diabetes is another risk factor for stroke. You may think this disorder affects only the body's ability to use sugar, or glucose. But it also causes destructive changes in the blood vessels throughout the body, including the brain.
Also, if blood glucose levels are high at the time of a stroke, then brain damage is usually more severe and extensive than when blood glucose is well-controlled. Treating diabetes can delay the onset of complications that increase the risk of stroke.
Prevention and Diagnosis
Stroke is preventable and treatable. A better understanding of the causes of stroke has helped people make lifestyle changes that have cut the stroke death rate nearly in half in the last two decades.
Preventing Stroke
While family history of stroke plays a role in your risk, there are many risk factors you can control:
If you have high blood pressure, work with your doctor to get it under control.
If you smoke, quit.
If you have diabetes, learn how to manage it. Many people do not realize they have diabetes, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
If you are overweight, start maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
If you have high cholesterol, work with your doctor to lower it. A high level of total cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for heart disease, which raises your risk of stroke.
Diagnosing Stroke
Physicians have several diagnostic techniques and imaging tools to help diagnose stroke quickly and accurately. The first step in diagnosis is a short neurological examination, or an evaluation of the nervous system.
When a possible stroke patient arrives at a hospital, a health care professional, usually a doctor or nurse, will ask the patient or a companion what happened and when the symptoms began. Blood tests, an electrocardiogram, and a brain scan such as computed tomography or CT, or magnetic resonance imaging or MRI, will often be done.
Measuring Stroke Severity
One test that helps doctors judge the severity of a stroke is the standardized NIH Stroke Scale, developed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. Health care professionals use the NIH Stroke Scale to measure a patient's neurological deficits by asking the patient to answer questions and to perform several physical and mental tests.
Other scales include the Glasgow Coma Scale, the Hunt and Hess Scale, the Modified Rankin Scale, and the Barthel Index.
Diagnostic Imaging: CT Scan
Health care professionals also use a variety of imaging techniques to evaluate acute stroke patients. The most widely used is computed tomography or CT scan, sometimes pronounced “CAT” scan, which is comprised of a series of cross-sectional images of the head and brain.
CT scans are sensitive for detecting hemorrhage and are therefore useful for differentiating hemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding in the brain, from ischemic stroke, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain.
Hemorrhage is the primary reason for avoiding thrombolytic therapy (drugs that break up or dissolve blood clots), the only proven therapy for acute ischemic stroke.
Because thrombolytic therapy might make a hemorrhagic stroke worse, doctors must confirm that the acute symptoms are not due to hemorrhage prior to giving the drug.
A CT scan may show evidence of early ischemia – an area of tissue that is dead or dying due to a loss of blood supply. Ischemic strokes generally show up on a CT scan about six to eight hours after the start of stroke symptoms. Though not as common in practice, CT scans also can be performed with a contrast agent to help visualize a blockage in the large arteries supplying the brain, or detect areas of decreased blood flow to the brain.
Because CT is readily available at all hours at most major hospitals, produces images quickly, and is good for ruling out hemorrhage prior to starting thrombolytic therapy, CT is the most widely used diagnostic imaging technique for acute stroke.
Diagnostic Imaging: MRI Scan
Another imaging technique used in acute stroke patients is the magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scan. MRI uses magnetic fields to detect a variety of changes in the brain and blood vessels caused by a stroke. One effect of ischemic stroke is the slowing of water movement through the injured brain tissue. Because MRI can show this type of injury very soon after stroke symptoms start, MRI has proven useful for diagnosing acute ischemic stroke before it is visible on CT. MRI also allows doctors to visualize blockages in the arteries, identify sites of prior stroke, and create a stroke treatment and prevention plan.
Differences Between CT and MRI Scans
MRI and CT are equally accurate for determining when hemorrhage is present. The benefit of MRI over a CT scan is more accurate and earlier diagnosis of ischemic stroke, especially for smaller strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). MRI can be more sensitive than CT for detecting other types of neurological disorders that mimic the symptoms of stroke. However, MRI cannot be performed in patients with certain types of metallic or electronic implants, such as pacemakers for the heart.
Although increasingly used in the emergency diagnosis of stroke, MRI is not immediately available at all hours in most hospitals, where CT is used for acute stroke diagnosis. MRI typically takes longer to perform than CT, and therefore may not be the first choice when minutes count.
Medications
With stroke, treatment depends on the stage of the disease. There are three treatment stages for stroke: prevention, therapy immediately after stroke, and rehabilitation after stroke. Stroke therapies include medications, surgery, and rehabilitation.
Medication or drug therapy is the most common treatment for stroke. The most popular kinds of drugs to prevent or treat stroke are antithrombotics -- which include antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants -- and thrombolytics.
Thrombolytics
In treating a stroke that has just occurred, every minute counts. Ischemic strokes -- the most common kind -- can be treated with thrombolytic drugs. These drugs halt the stroke by dissolving the blood clot that is blocking blood flow to the brain. But a person needs to be at the hospital as soon as possible after stroke symptoms start to be evaluated and receive treatment.
A thrombolytic drug known as t-PA can be effective if a person receives it intravenously (in a vein) within 3 hours after his or her stroke symptoms have started. Because there is such a narrow time window for giving t-PA, it is important to note the time any stroke symptoms appear. Since thrombolytic drugs can increase bleeding, t-PA should be used only after the doctor is certain that the patient has suffered an ischemic and not a hemorrhagic stroke.
Antithrombotics
Antithrombotics prevent the formation of blood clots that can become stuck in an artery of the brain and cause strokes. Antiplatelet drugs prevent clotting by decreasing the activity of platelets, which are blood cells that help blood clot. By reducing the risk of blood clots, these drugs lower the risk of ischemic stroke.
In the case of stroke, doctors prescribe antiplatelet drugs mainly for prevention. The most widely known and used antiplatelet drug is aspirin. Other antiplatelet drugs include clopidogrel, ticlopidine, and dipyridamole.
Other Drugs
Anticoagulants reduce the risk of stroke by reducing the clotting property of the blood. The most commonly used oral anticoagulants include warfarin, also known as Coumadin®, dabigatran (Pradaxa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto). Injectable anticoagulants include heparin, enoxaparin (Lovenox), and dalteparin (Fragmin).
Neuroprotectants are medications or other treatments that protect the brain from secondary injury caused by stroke. Although the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not approved any neuroprotectants for use in stroke at this time, many have been tested or are being tested in clinical trials. Cooling of the brain (hypothermia) is beneficial for improving neurological function after a cardiac arrest.
Surgery and Vascular Procedures
Surgery and vascular procedures can be used to prevent stroke, to treat stroke, or to repair damage to the blood vessels or malformations in and around the brain.
Surgery
Carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure in which a surgeon removes fatty deposits, or plaque, from the inside of one of the carotid arteries. The procedure is performed to prevent stroke. The carotid arteries are located in the neck and are the main suppliers of blood to the brain.
Specialized Catheters Aid Vascular Procedures
In addition to surgery, a variety of techniques have been developed to allow certain vascular problems to be treated from inside the artery using specialized catheters with the goal of improving blood flow. Vascular is a word that refers to blood vessels, arteries, and veins that carry blood throughout the body.
A catheter is a very thin, flexible tube that can be inserted into one of the major arteries of the leg or arm and then directed through the blood vessels to the diseased artery. Physicians trained in this technique called angiography undergo additional training to treat problems in the arteries of the brain or spinal cord. These physicians are called neurointerventionalists.
The NINDS study, Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy vs. Stenting Trial, (CREST), compared carotid artery stenting with endarterectomy and found that these two surgical procedures are equally effective in preventing future strokes. Your physician can talk to you about the best option for you. For more information about treating arterial stenosis and preventing stroke, visit http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/arterial_stenosis_backgrounder.htm.
Clipping
One useful surgical procedure for treatment of brain aneurysms to prevent hemorrhage, or bleeding around the brain, is a technique called "clipping." An aneurysm is a weak or thin spot that develops on the wall of an artery or vein. Clipping involves an operation to apply a metal clip that closes off the aneurysm from the blood vessel, which greatly reduces the chance that it will bleed.
Detachable Coil Technique
The detachable coil technique is used by angiographers to treat intracranial aneurysms, or aneurysms that occur inside the skull. Angiographers use a catheter to insert a small platinum coil into the aneurysm, where it triggers clotting of the aneurysm. Stents are sometimes used to keep the normal artery open while the aneurysm clots off.
Arteriovenous Malformation
Arteriovenous malformations are a tangle of blood vessels inside the brain which may carry risk of bleeding. Surgery to remove the blood vessels may be possible in some patients. Angiographers can also sometimes insert a glue-like material to close off the feeding arteries to the tangled vessels. Radiation therapy can be used in small arteriovenous malformations to cause scarring and closing of the malformation over time.
Rehabilitation After Stroke
Stroke is the number one cause of serious adult disability in the United States. Stroke disability is devastating to the stroke patient and family, but therapies are available to help rehabilitate patients after stroke.
Physical Therapy
For most stroke patients, rehabilitation mainly involves physical therapy. The aim of physical therapy is to have the stroke patient relearn simple motor activities such as walking, sitting, standing, lying down, and the process of switching from one type of movement to another.
To achieve this, stroke patients work with physical therapists who use training, exercises, and physical manipulation of the stroke patient's body to restore movement, balance, and coordination.
Occupational Therapy
Another type of therapy to help patients relearn daily activities is occupational therapy. This type of therapy also involves exercise and training. Its goal is to help the stroke patient relearn everyday activities such as eating, drinking and swallowing, dressing, bathing, cooking, reading and writing, and toileting. Occupational therapists seek to help the patient become independent or semi-independent.
Speech Therapy
Speech and language problems arise when brain damage occurs in the language centers of the brain. Due to the brain's great ability to learn and change, which is called brain plasticity, other areas can adapt to take over some of the lost functions.
Speech therapy helps stroke patients relearn language and speaking skills, or learn other forms of communication. Speech therapy is appropriate for patients who have no problems with cognition or thinking, but have problems understanding speech or written words, or problems forming speech.
Besides helping with language skills, speech therapy also helps stroke patients develop coping skills to deal with the frustration of not being able to communicate fully. With time and patience, a stroke survivor should be able to regain some, and sometimes all, language and speaking abilities.
Therapy for Mental Health
Many stroke patients require psychological or psychiatric help after a stroke. Psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, frustration, and anger are common disabilities in people who have suffered a stroke.
Talk therapy, along with the right medication, can help ease some of the mental and emotional problems that result from stroke. Sometimes it is helpful for family members of the stroke patient to seek psychological help for themselves as well.
Stroke Research
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke sponsors a wide range of basic and clinical research aimed at finding better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat stroke, and to restore functions lost as a result of stroke.
Preventing Secondary Brain Damage
Currently, scientists are studying the risk factors for stroke and the process of brain damage that results from stroke. Some brain damage may be secondary, occurring after the initial death of brain cells caused by the lack of blood flow to the brain tissue.
This secondary brain damage results from a toxic reaction to the primary damage. Researchers are studying this toxic reaction and ways to prevent secondary injury to the brain. Scientists hope to develop neuroprotective agents, or drugs that protect the brain, to prevent this damage.
Animal Studies
Scientists are also conducting stroke studies in animals. By studying stroke in animals, researchers hope to get a better picture of what might be happening in human stroke patients. Scientists can also use animal models to test promising therapies for stroke. If a therapy proves helpful for animals, scientists can consider testing the therapy in humans.
One promising area of animal research involves hibernation. The dramatic decrease of blood flow to the brain in hibernating animals is so extensive that it would kill a non-hibernating animal. If scientists can discover how animals hibernate without experiencing brain damage, they may discover ways to stop the brain damage associated with decreased blood flow in stroke patients.
Another study used a vaccine that interferes with inflammation inside blood vessels to reduce the frequency and severity of strokes in animals with high blood pressure and a genetic predisposition to stroke. Researchers hope that the vaccine will work in humans and could be used to prevent many of the strokes that occur each year in people with high risk factors.
Can the Brain Repair Itself?
Scientists also are working to develop new and better ways to help the brain repair itself to restore important functions to stroke patients. New advances in imaging and rehabilitation have shown that the brain can compensate for functions lost as a result of stroke.
When cells in an area of the brain responsible for a particular function die after a stroke, the patient becomes unable to perform that function. However, the brain's ability to learn and change, called plasticity, and its ability to rewire the connections between its nerve cells means that it can compensate for lost functions. One part of the brain can actually change functions and take up the more important functions of a disabled part.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are scientific studies using volunteers that give researchers a way to test medical advances in humans. Clinical trials test surgical devices and procedures, medications, and rehabilitation therapies. They also test methods to improve lifestyles and mental and social skills.
Clinical trials may compare a new medical approach to a standard one that is already available or to a placebo that contains no active ingredients or to no intervention. Some clinical trials compare interventions that are already available to each other. When a new product or approach is being studied, it is not usually known whether it will be helpful, harmful, or no different than available alternatives (including no intervention). The investigators try to determine the safety and usefulness of the intervention by measuring certain outcomes in the participants.
Scientists are using clinical trials to
Participating in a clinical study contributes to medical knowledge. The results of these studies can make a difference in the care of future patients by providing information about the benefits and risks of therapeutic, preventative, or diagnostic products or interventions.
You can find more information about current stroke clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Trials Registry at www.clinicaltrials.gov. You can search for a trial using criteria such as condition or disease, medication or therapy. Each entry includes a trial description, sponsors, purpose, estimated completion date, eligibility criteria, and contact information.
You can also call the NIH research study information line at 1-800-411-1222, TTY-1-866-411-1010, or e-mail prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov
For more information on stroke, including research sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, call 1-800-352-9424 or visit the Web site at www.ninds.nih.gov.
Source: NIHSenior, NIH