Tiny electric currents applied across regions of the brain can improve hand movements in recovering stroke patients for a short period, an Oxford University study has demonstrated. The researchers are hopeful that developing this brain stimulation technique further may provide a useful addition to standard physiotherapy in helping the recovery of stroke patients. The study … Read more
News for Stroke and Vascular Dementia
The amazing story of my father’s brain
The Thomas Willis Oxford Brain collection features in a Sunday Telegraph article by local journalist Vikki Owen. She talks movingly about donating her father’s brain to research and his struggle with MS. The Thomas Willis Oxford Brain Collection is a collaborating centre for the Brains for Dementia Research Initiative (BDR), which is a recently developed nationwide network of centres … Read more
Patients tell of their experience of TIAs and minor strokes
Healthtalkonline is a website that provides a rich resource of more than 2,000 people’s experiences of health and illness. It’s also a great source of reliable information about conditions, treatment choices and support. Adding to the growing list of diseases covered by Healthtalkonline is a new section on TIAs (transient ischaemic attacks and minor strokes) … Read more
Maternal stroke history linked to Myocardial Infarction risk in women
Women whose mothers had a stroke are at increased risk for both stroke and myocardial infarction, new research has shown. In a study of sex-of-parent and sex-of-proband interactions for family history of stroke in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients, Amitava Banerjee of the University of Oxford, England, and colleagues evaluated the family histories of 1,957 … Read more
The Alois community project – volunteering opportunity
The Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group, based at the JR Hospital, is running a volunteer recruitment campaign in conjunction with the development of a free online course “Making Sense of the Evidence in Dementia”, primarily aimed at caregivers and former caregivers of people with dementia. It is a year’s Cochrane-NHS Engagement feasibility project funded … Read more
World Alzheimer’s Day – 21st September
With dementia affecting 750,000 people in the UK it has become a topic of great interest receiving recognition in government strategies, media campaigns and new research. Dementia is becoming more common and many of our lives are affected by the condition; 25 million people in the UK know a close friend, a family member or … Read more
Preventing strokes research
Two projects led by Professor Peter Rothwell, from the Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, are leading to major improvements in the effectiveness of stroke prevention. Results from the study (named EXPRESS) indicated that urgent use of existing treatments (including antiplatelet drugs, blood pressure-lowering and cholesterol-lowering drugs) reduced the risk of major stroke by … Read more
Scientists look for examples of people’s writing for new Alzheimer’s study
Scientists at the Universities of Oxford, Southampton and St George’s, University of London are asking people with and without Alzheimer’s disease to come forward with examples of their writing as part of a study to identify changes in language use that occur with the condition. ‘We’re encouraging people to go to their attics, rifle the … Read more
Variable blood pressure a new stroke risk factor?
Three recent papers recently published in The Lancet, and a further study in The Lancet Neurology, show that it is variability in patients’ blood pressure that is more likely to predict the risk of a stroke than a high average or usual blood pressure level. The results of the studies, led by Professor Peter Rothwell … Read more