Stroke: Research, Treatments & Prevention

A stroke is a serious medical event that involves a disruption to the brain's blood supply. This disruption is caused by ischemia or hemorrhaging. Ischemia is caused by a clotting of the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood, while hemorrhaging is caused by a rupturing of the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood. Regardless of the cause, strokes can lead to mild, moderate or severe brain damage and even death. Right now stroke is an epidemic in both the United States and in Europe. In fact, it is the leading cause of disabilities in adults, and one of the top causes of death in both of these geographical regions. Because of this, it is imperative that we learn more about stroke in general, its causes, possible preventative measures that we can take and what treatments are effective.

Stroke Research

The prevalence of stroke makes it a practical topic for research projects. Over the last decade, many longitudinal studies have been conducted to help scientists and doctors better understand strokes. One such study was presented by the American Academy of Neurology. This study looked at the effectiveness of TPA (tissue plasminogen activator) treatments in stroke patients. What they discovered was that men who have had strokes respond better to TPA treatments than women do. In fact, three times as many men as women achieved functional improvements after receiving TPA treatments. However, women were much more likely to survive a stroke after three months than their male counterparts.

Another study that looked at sex differences in relationship to strokes showed that American women were 2.5 times as likely as men to have a stroke between the ages of 45 and 54. This difference again points to the possibility that there is a biological factor that impacts a person's risk for developing a stroke. However, another suspected reason for the sex difference in stroke likelihood is that women face more stroke risk factors than men do. For example, women between the ages of 45 and 54 take hormone replacement drugs and oral contraceptive drugs, both of which increase a woman's risk of having a stroke.

Stroke Treatments