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Total 273 results found since Jan 2013.

Targeted brain stimulation 'could aid stroke recovery'
Conclusion This mouse model of stroke has found that stimulating nerve cells in the part of the brain responsible for movement (the primary motor cortex) can lead to better blood flow and the expression of proteins that could promote recovery, as well as leading to functional recovery after stroke. But it remains to be determined whether a similar technique could be used in people who have had a stroke. The mice were genetically modified so nerve cells in the primary motor cortex produced an ion channel that could be activated by light. The nerve cells were then activated using a laser. To use this technique in humans, ...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 19, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

Light shed on how brain's stroke defences work
Conclusion This research has identified a potential role the protein hamartin plays in protecting nerve cells from death if they are temporarily starved of oxygen and glucose. Animal research such as this is essential for furthering our understanding of how the body and its cells work. Although there are obviously differences between rats and humans, there are also a lot of biological similarities. This type of research is a good starting point for better understanding human biology. Treating stroke is very difficult, so new treatments that could prevent nerve cell death would be very valuable. At this stage, the protein h...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 25, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

HRT review finds increased risk of blood clots and stroke
Conclusion This updated Cochrane review has found that oral HRT increases risk of stroke and blood clots, and does not appear to reduce overall risk of cardiovascular disease or death during follow-up. More exploratory analyses suggested that HRT might reduce risk of death from heart disease or non-fatal heart attack if it was started within 10 years of menopause, but this finding needs further confirmation. The review was carried out using robust methods and the trials were of good quality. Its findings are in line with the previous version of the review, and also with other reviews. There are some points to note: Thi...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 10, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news

Eating chocolate may slightly lower your risk of stroke
ConclusionThis study used a large prospective cohort of English residents to estimate the risk chocolate poses to cardiovascular death and disease. In addition, they systematically combed the research literature for other similar studies, combining their results with that of other researchers. By comparing the highest chocolate consumers with chocolate abstainers, they found that chocolate was linked to a lower risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. The risk for coronary heart disease was not statistically significant. Results from the meta-analysis of eight additional studies showed higher chocolate consumption was li...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news

Aircraft noise linked with stroke and heart problems
Conclusion With debate currently taking place about the expansion of airports around London, the possible effects of aircraft noise on health is an important area for research. But as the authors point out, this study has several limitations. In particular, although the authors took account of confounders such as ethnicity, deprivation and smoking rates at the area level, they had no information on these factors at the individual level. So results at area level are not applicable to all individuals within these small areas. In addition, the risk of coronary heart disease may have been affected by large south Asian populati...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 9, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Elderly living near noisy roads have 'increased stroke risk'
ConclusionThis modelling study has examined the associations of exposure to traffic noise, independent of air pollution, on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, as well as on cardiovascular hospital admissions in adult and elderly populations.It has shown a link between increased noise from traffic pollution and risk of hospital admission for stroke and death. Possible reasons for deaths were most likely to be linked to heart or blood vessel disease, which could be due to increased blood pressure, sleep problems and stress from the noise.The limitations of this study are that the exposure model used is likely to overest...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 24, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Neurology Older people Source Type: news

Calcium supplements linked to post-stroke dementia in women
Conclusion The media paint this as a troubling study for older women who take calcium to strengthen their bones. However the small size of the study (only 98 women took calcium supplements, and only 14 of those got dementia) and its observational nature mean that we cannot rely on the results. As the researchers mention, it is possible that those taking supplements were less healthy than those that didn't in some unmeasured way. Further research may improve our confidence in these results. Broken bones are not a trivial matter for older people – a broken hip can be the difference between being able to live independentl...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medication Older people Source Type: news

Mediterranean diet cuts heart and stroke risk
Conclusion The results of this randomised controlled trial appear to confirm previous studies that there are benefits to following a Mediterranean diet. The trial has many strengths, including its large size, long period of follow-up, thorough assessment of medical outcomes (including reviewing medical records and having contact with the family doctor), and careful attempts to assess whether the diets were being followed. As this is a randomised controlled trial, it should also balance out other health and lifestyle differences between the groups that may influence cardiovascular risk. This avoids the limitations of m...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 26, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Heart attack, stroke and diabetes 'can shorten life by 23 years'
Conclusion This study used two large cohort-derived data sets to estimate the number of years of life lost as the result of a history of heart attack, stroke or diabetes across different ages. The study's large size, relevance to the UK and long-term follow-up increases our confidence in its conclusions and their relevance to England and Wales. As with all studies, it has limitations, but these were relatively small and unlikely to affect the main conclusions. This study shows a history of stroke, type 2 diabetes and heart attack can significantly shorten life expectancy, especially if these conditions are developed earli...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 8, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Diabetes Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Older people Source Type: news

UK heart disease and stroke death rates now lower than cancer
Conclusion This valuable research informs on the burden of cardiovascular disease and associated mortality across European countries. It demonstrates that CVD is still the most common cause of death across Europe, but rates have been falling over the past 10 years. This fall means that in several European countries, including the UK, cancer rates now overtake CVD death rates in men. Generally, CVD disability and burden of disease seems to be greater in Eastern European countries. The WHO mortality data and population data are quite up-to-date and should be reliable, though as the researchers say, there was a lack of high ...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 15, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Cancer Neurology Source Type: news

Could your tattoos put you at risk of heat stroke?
Conclusion The study showed that artificially stimulating sweat glands in a tattooed area of skin in 10 men produced a lower sweat rate than stimulating sweat glands in a non-tattooed area of skin in the same person. The authors suggest a number of possible explanations for this, including that it may be because tattooing skin starts an inflammatory response that may cause damage to normal tissue including sweat glands. However, these are only theories and need to be investigated further. While this is interesting preliminary research, there are some important things to remember: There were only 10 male participants invo...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 13, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Review finds no link between dairy and heart attack or stroke risk
Conclusion This large meta-analysis of cohort studies demonstrated no increased risk to cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease or all-cause death from eating dairy products. The review has strengths in its large size and the fact it was able to analyse different types of dairy product, such as high and low-fat and everyday products such as cheese and yoghurt. However, there are a number of factors to consider: The results of a systematic review are only as good as the quality of the underlying studies. These are all observational studies and it's possible that unadjusted health and lifestyle factors are having an...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news

Global stats show rise in strokes in younger people
Conclusion This study is comprehensive in its global coverage of stroke and is based on the largest stroke dataset available to date. It is also the first to provide systematic regional and country-specific estimates of the burden of the disease.  As the authors point out, the main limitations include a scarcity of high-quality data from low-income and middle-income countries especially, which may affect the reliability of some of the figures. Other limitations include a potential underestimation of the burden of stroke. This may have come about because "silent strokes", which are those not based on diagnosis u...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 24, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Neurology Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Study: 'mini strokes should be treated immediately with aspirin'
Conclusion The study supports current recommended practice that people with a TIA or ischaemic stroke caused by a blood clot are treated with aspirin as soon as possible. NHS experts are considering whether to recommend that you take aspirin yourself while waiting for medical help. The reason this isn't recommended at present is that some people will have had a haemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke, and aspirin can make the bleeding worse. For people who've had a full stroke, an urgent brain scan is usually performed to exclude bleeding as a cause and check it's safe to proceed with anti-clotting treatment. The risk of trans...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 19, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medication Source Type: news

Strokes 'may be linked to temperature', study finds
Conclusion This retrospective study reports that there is an association between lower temperature and increased humidity and a slightly increased risk of ischaemic stroke. It was a large study, but there are several major limitations of this study design: The temperature was matched with discharge dates. There is a wide variation in the length of hospitalisation after a stroke, so the temperature at discharge may be very different to the temperature when the stroke occurred. The researchers assumed that changes in outdoor air temperature would have been experienced by all of the people who suffered from a stroke. It...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 13, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Source Type: news