Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website
Different effects of ministrokes & strokes
A study involving 679 seniors (65+) has found that those with small areas of brain damage called white matter hyperintensities, often referred to as ministrokes, were nearly twice as likely to have mild cognitive impairment that included memory loss (amnestic MCI), while those who had infarcts (areas of dead tissue usually called strokes) were more likely to experience mild cognitive impairment in abilities other than memory loss (non-amnestic MCI). In other words, ministrokes predicted memory problems, while strokes predicted non-memory problems.
Luchsinger, J.A. et al. 2009. Subclinical cerebrovascular disease in mild cognitive impairment. Neurology, 73, 450-456.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-08/aaon-bds080409.php
Stroke patients regain sight after intensive brain training
In a surprising and exciting finding, stroke victims left partially blind have been trained to use undamaged parts of their brains to improve their vision. The training program, involving an hour a day for at least nine months, forced them to process visual signals with parts of their brain that had not been damaged by the stroke. The seven patients in the study ranged in age from their 30s to 80s, and had suffered a stroke between eight months and three-and-a-half years previously. Impaired vision is a very common result of a stroke.
Huxlin, K.R. et al. 2009. Perceptual Relearning of Complex Visual Motion after V1 Damage in Humans. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 3981-3991.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/mar/31/stroke-brain-training-blind-sight
Social support may protect brain during stroke
A mouse study has found that male mice that lived with a female partner before and after a stroke had a much higher survival rate compared to those mice that lived alone, and also suffered much less brain damage. The findings suggest that high levels of social support may provide some protection against strokes by reducing the amount of damaging inflammation in the brain, and provides some idea of the mechanism. Significantly fewer neurons died in the brains of pair-housed mice. They also had significantly less edema (excess water in the brain), less expression of two genes associated with damaging inflammation in the brain, and significantly higher levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a cytokine that has an anti-inflammatory response in the brain.
The research was presented November 18 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/osu-ssh111408.php
Daily dose of ginkgo may prevent brain cell damage after a stroke
A study using genetically engineered mice has found that daily doses of ginkgo biloba can prevent or reduce brain damage after an induced stroke. More research is needed before its use in humans can be recommended, but the finding does lend support to other evidence that ginkgo biloba triggers a cascade of events that neutralizes free radicals known to cause cell death.
Saleem, S. et al. 2008. Ginkgo Biloba Extract Neuroprotective Action Is Dependent on Heme Oxygenase 1 in Ischemic Reperfusion Brain Injury. Stroke, published online October 9
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/jhmi-mss100708.php
Psychological distress, not depression, linked to increased risk of stroke
A study following 20,627 people for an average of 8.5 years has found that psychological distress was associated with an increased risk of stroke and that the risk of stroke increased the more distress the participants reported. This association remained the same regardless of cigarette smoking, systolic blood pressure, overall blood cholesterol, obesity, previous heart attack, diabetes, social class, education, high blood pressure treatment, family history of stroke and recent antidepressant medication use. However, there was no increased risk for people who had experienced an episode of major depression in the past year or at any point in their lifetime.
Surtees, P.G. et al. 2008. Psychological distress, major depressive disorder, and risk of stroke. Neurology, 70, 788-794.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/aaon-pdn022608.php
Listening to music improves stroke patients' recovery
A Finnish study involving 60 patients who had suffered a stroke of the left or right hemisphere middle cerebral artery (MCA) has found that if stroke patients listened to music for a couple of hours a day, their verbal memory and focused attention recovered better and they had a more positive mood than patients who did not listen to anything or who listened to audio books. Patients were randomly assigned to a music listening group, a language group or a control group. During the next two months the music and language groups listened daily to music they chose themselves or to audio books respectively, while the control group received no listening material. All groups received standard stroke rehabilitation. Three months after the stroke, verbal memory improved from the first week post-stroke by 60% in music listeners, by 18% in audio book listeners and by 29% in non-listeners. Similarly, focused attention improved by 17% in music listeners, but no improvement was observed in audio book listeners and non-listeners. The differences were essentially the same six months after the stroke. The music listening group also experienced less depressed and confused mood than the patients in the control group.
Särkämö, T. et al. 2008. Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke. Brain Advance Access published online on February 20, 2008.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/uoh-ltm021508.php
Not enough 'good' cholesterol makes it harder to recover from stroke
A large study involving men and women over age 35 in the United States, Canada, and Scotland who had suffered a mild to moderate stroke within the past three months, found several factors predicted memory and disability problems after stroke: increased age, non-Caucasian race, recurrent stroke, diabetes, stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain, higher levels of homocysteine and lower levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), otherwise known as “good” cholesterol. “People with low levels of HDL, high levels of homocysteine, and diabetes are twice as likely as those without such problems to have poorer cognitive function and greater disability after stroke … (and) stroke recovery was the most difficult for people over the age of 57 with high levels of homocysteine ...”
Newman, G.C., Bang, H., Hussain, S.I. & Toole, J.F. 2007. Association of diabetes, homocysteine, and HDL with cognition and disability after stroke. Neurology, 69, 2054-2062.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/aaon-ne112007.php
Antidepressants improve thinking after a stroke
Executive dysfunction is common after stroke and may impair long-term outcome. A small study of people who had had a stroke during the previous six months has found that, although there was no difference in executive function between those given antidepressants and those given a placebo at the end of the 12-week treatment period, there was a significant difference 21 months after the treatment ended. Those who had been given the placebo showed continued worsening of executive functions, whereas the group treated with antidepressants had clear and significant improvement, regardless of how their depressive symptoms changed. The researchers speculate that antidepressants may foster recovery of neural tissue not directly destroyed by the stroke, yet because the process is slow, it takes months.
Narushima, K., Paradiso, S., Moser, D.J., Jorge, R. & Robinson, R.G. 2007. Effect of antidepressant therapy on executive function after stroke. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 260-265.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/uoi-aip030207.php
Restoring flexibility to old brains
Researchers have identified a protein, PirB, that stops new neural connections forming in adult brains, possibly explaining why older brains become less adaptable. The study found that the brains of adult mice that lacked PirB retained the same rewiring ability of much younger brains. Without PirB to hold them back, the old mice were, in effect, able to learn new tricks. The findings could offer hope for victims of brain injury and strokes.
[808] Syken, J., Grandpre T., Kanold P. O., & Shatz C. J.
(2006). PirB restricts ocular-dominance plasticity in visual cortex.
Science (New York, N.Y.). 313(5794), 1795 - 1800.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818012553.htm
Simulator training benefits stroke patients
A study involving 83 stroke patients found that a 5-week 15-hour training program improved driving ability. Those given experimental simulator-based training improved more than those given driving-related cognitive tasks. Those with more education and those with less disability benefited most. 73% of the simulator group were legally allowed to resume driving compared to 42% of the other group. However, there were a large number of dropouts.
Akinwuntan, A.E., De Weerdt, W., Feys, H., Pauwels, J., Baten, G., Arno, P. & Kiekens, C. 2005. Effect of simulator training on driving after stroke: A randomized controlled trial. Neurology, 65 (6), 843-850.
Carotid artery stenting improves thought process
Around a quarter of strokes are caused by a narrowing of the carotid arteries. A less invasive technique — carotid artery stenting — is increasingly taking the place of surgery to treat this problem. A study involving 26 patients who had undergone the procedure has tested their cognitive function at least 24 hours before and three months after the stenting procedure. The results showed that cognitive speed increased significantly after stenting, regardless of the patient's age or the severity of the stenosis, and an increase in memory function in patients with decreased blood flow in the brain.
Grunwald, I.Q. et al. 2005. The research was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/rson-cas112005.php
Shift in brain's language-control site offers rehab hope
Language activity in right-handed people is initially localized in the left side of the brain, but a new study shows that this gradually becomes a function shared by both sides. From ages 5 to 25, language activity increases in the dominant hemisphere; from 25 to 67, the nondominant hemisphere increasingly shares the load. The discovery gives new hope for rehabilitation of brain function in adults after stroke or traumatic brain injuries.
Szaflarski, J. P., Holland, S. K., Schmithorst, V. J., & Byars, A. W. (2006). fMRI study of language lateralization in children and adults. Human Brain Mapping, 27(3), 202-212.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/uoc-sib100605.php
Antioxidant-rich diets reduce brain damage from stroke in rats
A new rat study suggests antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may limit brain damage from stroke and other neurological disorders. The study built upon previous research showing that diets enriched with blueberries, spinach or spirulina reversed normal age-related declines in memory and learning in old rats, and found that the same diet significantly reduced brain cell loss and improved recovery of movement in rats who had an ischemic stroke induced. The size of the stroke in the rats fed blueberry or spinach supplements was half that seen in the brains of untreated rats. Rats fed spirulina-enriched diets had stroke lesions 75 percent smaller than their untreated counterparts.
Wang, Y., Chang, C-F., Chou, J., Chen, H-L., Deng, X., Harvey, B.K., Cadet, J.L. & Bickford, P.C. 2005. Dietary supplementation with blueberries, spinach, or spirulina reduces ischemic brain damage. Experimental Neurology, 193 (1), 75-84.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/uosf-adr041205.php
Saving the most vulnerable brain cells in stroke
New research reveals why particular neurons in the hippocampus are most vulnerable to death from oxygen starvation during a stroke, and may lead to drugs that selectively protect those cells, leaving other brain cells unaffected. The findings could also lead to drugs that protect vulnerable brain cells in sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
Liu, S-H., Lau, L., Wei, J-S., Zhu, D-Y., Zou, S., Sun, H-S., Fu, Y-P., Liu, F. & Lu, Y-M. 2004. Expression of Ca2+-Permeable AMPA Receptor Channels Primes Cell Death in Transient Forebrain Ischemia. Neuron, 43 (1), 43-55.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-07/cp-stm070204.php
Risk for lowered cognitive performance greater in people at high risk for stroke
A new large-scale study supports earlier suggestions that those with a high risk for stroke within 10 years are also at risk for lowered cognitive function and show a pattern of deficits similar to that seen in mild vascular cognitive impairment. It is speculated that the reason may lie in structural and functional changes in the brain that do not rise to the level of clinical detection, and this is supported by a recent brain imaging study showing that abnormal brain atrophy is related both to higher risk of stroke and poorer cognitive ability. The probability of experiencing stroke within 10 years was calculated using weighted combinations of age, systolic blood-pressure, presence of diabetes, cigarette smoking, history of cardiovascular disease, treatment for hypertension and atrial fibrillation.
Elias, M.F., Sullivan, L.M., D’Agostino, R.B., Elias, P.K., Beiser, A., Au, R., Seshadri, S., DeCarli, C. & Wolf, P.A. 2004. Framingham Stroke Risk Profile and Lowered Cognitive Performance. Stroke, 35, 404-9.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/ama-rfl010804.php
Chinese herb effective in treating vascular dementia
The herb gastrodine has been used in China for centuries to treat disorders such as dizziness, headache and even ischemic stroke. Now a 12-week, randomized, double-blind trial comparing gastrodine with Duxilâ (a drug used to treat stroke patients in China) has been done in Beijing Dongzhimen Hospital. The trial involved 120 stroke patients who were diagnosed with mild to moderate vascular dementia. Both treatment groups showed similar improvement in memory, orientation, calculation, and language (as measured by the MMSE). The gastrodine group also showed a significant difference in the Blessed Behavioral Scale (BBS) score - including behavior, activities of daily living, and also suffered fewer side effects. Researchers say combined results showed the gastrodine group improvement was 51.43 percent, with 16 of the 70 cases showing much improvement, 20 cases with some improvement, and 34 cases with no change. The improvement rate for patients treated with Duxilâ was 52 percent, with seven of the 50 cases showing much improvement, 19 cases with some improvement, and 24 cases with no change.
The research was presented at the American Heart Association's Second Asia Pacific Scientific Forum in Honolulu on June 10.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-06/aha-nhd052303.php
Pilot study finds ginseng may improve memory in stroke dementia patients
Following mouse studies showing that ginseng increased the activities of the brain chemicals acetylcholine and choline acetyltransferase, a pilot study of 40 patients (average age 67) with mild to moderate vascular dementia was undertaken by Chinese researchers. 25 patients were randomly selected to receive ginseng extract, while 15 received the drug Duxil® (used to improve memory in elderly dementia patients). Overall, researchers found that patients who took the ginseng compound significantly improved their average memory function after 12 weeks. More research (larger samples, placebo-controls) is needed before this finding can be confirmed.
The study was reported at the American Stroke Association's 28th International Stroke Conference on February 14 in Phoenix.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-02/aha-gmi020403.php
Right side of brain learns language skills after stroke
Every year, about 750,000 Americans suffer a loss of blood flow to the brain, an ischemic stroke. When the stroke occurs on the left side of the brain, language abilities may be lost (aphasia). However, many of those who initially lose language abilities after a stroke recover much of their ability within six to 12 months. Several studies have suggested that such language recovery occurs because the right hemisphere of the brain takes over language functions. A new imaging study demonstrates that, indeed, areas on the opposite side of the brain to the damaged language areas are active during language tasks, and demonstrate expected patterns of activation with practice.
Blasi, V., Young, A.C., Tansy, A.P., Petersen, S.E., Snyder, A.Z., Corbetta, M. 2002. Word retrieval learning modulates right frontal cortex in patients with left frontal damage. Neuron, 36, 1-20.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-09/wuso-rso092502.php
Skill-specific exercises better for people who suffer from attention problems following stroke or brain injury
Treatment programs for people who suffer from attention problems following a stroke or other traumatic brain injuries often involve abstract cognitive exercises designed to directly restore impaired attention processes. But a review of 30 studies involving a total of 359 participants shows that an alternative and lesser-used therapy that teaches patients to relearn the tasks that affect their daily lives the most may be more effective. In this specific skills approach, people with brain damage learn to perform attention skills in a way that is different from non-brain-damaged people. In one study, for example, participants whose brain injuries affected their ability to drive a car used small electric cars in the lab to practice specific driving exercises, such as steering between pylons that were moved closer and closer together. Those that practiced specific exercises showed substantial improvement on a variety of driving related tasks compared to those who drove the car, but did not practice the exercises.
58. Park, N. W., & Ingles, J. L. (2001). Effectiveness of attention rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury: A meta-analysis. Neuropsychology, 15(2), 199-210.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-04/APA-Rlsm-0704101.php