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I just received an email from a very dear FRiend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous informing me that her husband had a very serious stroke on Sunday morning and will likely be needing surgery to remove swelling on the brain. This woman is one of the finest FReepers I know, she is a true conservative and a staunch defender of life. She went through cancer surgery herself last year and is now facing this. She and her husband and family need all the prayers we can give them. Thank You All and God Bless

Hispanics With Clogged Arteries At Greatest Risk Of Stroke, Heart Attack, Study Shows ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2008) — Hispanics who have even a small amount of plaque build-up in the neck artery that supplies blood to the brain are up to four times more likely to suffer or die from a stroke or heart attack than Hispanics who do not have plaque, according to a study published in the March 19, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. For the study, researchers used ultrasound to determine the thickness of the plaque in the...

Ibuprofen Destroys Aspirin's Positive Effect On Stroke Risk, Study Shows ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2008) — Stroke patients who use ibuprofen for arthritis pain or other conditions while taking aspirin to reduce the risk of a second stroke undermine aspirin's ability to act as an anti-platelet agent, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown. In a cohort of patients seen by physicians at two offices of the Dent Neurologic Institute, 28 patients were identified as taking both aspirin and ibuprofen (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID) daily and all were found to have no anti-platelet effect from their daily aspirin....

Several new studies point to the promise of new ways to treat different types of stroke. The research was presented during a teleconference Friday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans. The first trial found some benefit when tPA, the only approved therapy for acute ischemic stroke, was given outside the usual three-hour treatment window. Patients in this Australian trial who were given tPA three to six hours after having a stroke had increased restoration of blood flow and a smaller area of the brain was deprived of blood. The study was expected to be published...

AP Medical Writer Strokes have tripled in recent years among middle-aged women in the U.S., an alarming trend doctors blame on the obesity epidemic. Nearly 2 percent of women ages 35 to 54 reported suffering a stroke in the most recent federal health survey, from 1999 to 2004. Only about half a percent did in the previous survey, from 1988 to 1994. The percentage is small because most strokes occur in older people. But the sudden spike in middle age and the reasons behind it are ominous, doctors said in research presented Wednesday at a medical conference. It happened even...

Transplanting brain cells produced from human embryonic stem cells helped fix stroke damage in the brains of rats, according to scientists who hope to test the same thing in people within about five years. Researchers have been looking for ways to repair the brain damage from a stroke, which can cause permanent disability. In a study published on Tuesday, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in California reported that treatment involving human embryonic stem cells may be a solution. The transplanted cells helped repair the stroke damage and enabled the rats to recover lost function in front legs weakened...

ORLANDO — Vitamin E has finally fulfilled its promise as an antioxidant that can slow the progression of cardiovascular disease. Patients with diabetes who also had the haptoglobin 2–2 genotype and who were treated with 400 IU of vitamin E daily for 18 months had about half the incidence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, compared with patients who received placebo in a study with 1,434 patients that was done in Israel, Dr. Shany Blum reported at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association. Further analysis showed that the benefit was concentrated in patients with poorly controlled...

Flu doubles risk of heart attack and stroke By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent Last Updated: 3:01am GMT 06/12/2007 A bout of flu doubles the immediate risk of having a heart attack or stroke, a groundbreaking study has found. Sufferers are four times more likely to be affected within three days of falling ill with the flu and are at double the risk for up to a week, according to the study of two million people. More than 15 million flu jabs will be given to elderly and vulnerable patients in the next two months Flu dislodges fatty deposits that build...

The identification of a new marker is making it possible to track brain stem cells for the first time, U.S. researchers report. The achievement is already opening doors to new research into depression, early childhood development and multiple sclerosis, the team's senior author said. "This is a way to detect these cells in the brain, so that you can track them in certain conditions where we suspect that these cells play a certain role," explained Dr. Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, an assistant professor of neurology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. "This is also very applicable for situations where...

Continuous-Use Contraceptives to be Introduced in Britain Within Months By Hilary White LONDON, September 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The first contraceptive pill that provides a dose of active hormones every day that would halt menstruation, could be in use in Britain within a few months, according to the New Scientist. The drug, called Lybrel, is lauded for its ability to interrupt a woman’s normal fertility cycle and entirely stop her menstruation, potentially permanently. Its supporters say that once freed from their normal biological functions, women will be better able to compete with men in the workplace. The US Food and...

TOLEDO -- A golf outing for politicians left some embarrassed after they found out strippers were handing out drinks at the event. Days after the annual event, members of the Lucas County Democratic Party are calling for John Irish to resign and to clear the party's name. One participant said he saw a woman flash a group of golfers. Others at the fundraiser for the Democratic fundraiser said they didn't see any inappropriate acts. "When the word got out that these girls are strippers, it gave the party a black eye," said Clerk of Courts Bernie Quilter. "Every elected official...

Dr. Diana Fite, a 53-year-old emergency medicine specialist in Houston, knew her blood pressure readings had been dangerously high for five years. But she convinced herself that those measurements, about 200 over 120, did not reflect her actual blood pressure. Anyway, she was too young to take medication. She would worry about her blood pressure when she got older. Then, at 9:30 the morning of June 7, Dr. Fite was driving, steering with her right hand, holding her cellphone in her left, when, for a split second, the right side of her body felt weak. “I said: ‘This is silly,...

When Richard Murray called his banking clients, his strong Birmingham accent heavily laced with a Hereford twang made him instantly recognisable. But a year ago, Richard, 30, had a stroke and lost the power of speech. Now he speaks with a heavy foreign accent. Some say his accent is definitely French, others are sure it is Eastern European or Italian. "Now when I call my clients and say 'It is me, Richard Murray', they say 'Who?'. They don't recognise my voice. "So now when I speak to people I preface it with: 'I have had a stroke and this is...

DES MOINES, Iowa - Bo Diddley is in intensive care after suffering a stroke in western Iowa, a publicist said Wednesday. The 78-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was listed in guarded condition at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., said Susan Clary, a publicist for the musician's management team. Diddley, who has a history of hypertension and diabetes, was hospitalized Sunday following a concert in Council Bluffs in which he acted disoriented, she said. Tests indicated that the stroke affected the left side of his brain, impairing his speech and speech recognition, Clary said. Clary...

Jerusalem, 14 May (AKI) - The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was taken to hospital on Sunday after suffering a stroke, according to a report on the Palestinian news agency Maan, quoted by Israeli news site Ynet. The condition of the 65-year old leader is reported to be serious and family members have been arriving at the hospital, the report said.

Source: Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Date: May 13, 2007 Clues To 'Broken Heart Syndrome' Science Daily — The causes of "broken heart syndrome" remain a mystery, but doctors will soon have an easier time recognizing and treating this rare, life-threatening condition, thanks to new data. Researchers from Brown University in Providence, RI, have developed the largest registry of patients in the United States with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, informally known as broken heart syndrome because it is often preceded by an emotional or physical shock of some kind and almost always strikes women. One thing is certain: Patients are usually...

Amino acids: Key to a healthier heart? Could taking a few B vitamins cut your risk of a heart attack or a stroke? That's the suggestion from a study published last week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).  The key is an amino acid called homocysteine, a substance made when the protein we eat is digested — already there is growing evidence to link it with cardiovascular disease, and even stroke. Homocysteine — with the help of the B vitamins including B12 and folate — is rapidly turned into other useful compounds such as the amino acids cysteine and...

Big 75 Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, celebrates three-quarters of a century of living today. (If it's any consolation, women overheard in Mr. Kennedy's company of late say the senator has never looked better. What is it about him and Bill Clinton?). "Sen. Kennedy began his career setting a high standard when it comes to birthdays," fellow Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry observes in a birthday tribute to his colleague. "It was when he reached the minimum constitutional age -- 30 -- that he first came to the Senate: 1 of just 16 senators elected at such a tender age...

Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning Sid Perkins The lumps of glass created when lightning strikes sandy ground can preserve information about ancient climate, new research indicates. BOLT FROM THE BLUE. When lightning strikes the ground, it fuses sand in the soil into tubular masses of glass called fulgurites (top). The gases trapped in bubbles in that glass (bottom) yield clues to ancient soil and atmospheric chemistry and climate. L. Carion/Carion Minerals, Paris; Navarro-González Worldwide, lightning flashes occur about 65 times per second. Each bolt releases as much energy as is stored in a quarter-ton...

Can drinking green tea really protect against two big killers, strokes and cancer? A huge study in Japan suggests yes and no: It might lower your stroke risk but won't save you from cancer. The study's authors say their findings might explain why the Japanese are less likely than Americans to die of heart disease and stroke. Even so, the answers aren't clear. Green tea has been researched a lot, and many of the studies have come up with conflicting results. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said an analysis found no credible scientific evidence to support...

Botox isn't just for helping get rid of wrinkles. There is a new use for it. Dr. Jay Adlersberg has more. If Botox can paralyze the muscles that cause wrinkles, how about using it for tight muscles in other places? That's what some doctors are doing to help patients with cerebral palsy and strokes. Botox is helping children and adults alike. Nine-year-old Andrew Carter is not afraid to fall. And he refuses to let cerebral palsy get the best of him. When Andrew would try to move, his muscles would fight him, jerking him around. It's a condition called spasticity....

Crave no more. Some smokers with damage to the insula (red) suddenly lose the urge to smoke. Credit: Naqvi et al., Science Cigarette smokers who suffer damage to a particular brain region often lose the urge to smoke, according to a new study. Although brain damage is hardly a recommended treatment for smokers who want to quit, researchers say the findings provide important insight into the biological basis of addictive behaviors. Previous research on addiction has implicated the insula, a brain region tucked into a deep fold in the cerebral cortex. In brain scans of cocaine addicts, for example, the...

AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON -- At least 120,000 Americans a year suffer strokes because of a common irregular heartbeat -- one that's on the rise, hard to treat and can shoot deadly blood clots straight to the brain. Now doctors are experimenting with a new way to prevent those brain attacks: a tiny device that seals off a little section of the jiggling heart where the clots form. If it works -- and a major study is under way -- the Watchman device might provide long-needed protection for thousands of people with atrial fibrillation, whose main hope now is a...

More Benefits of Dark Chocolate Discovered Date Published: Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that eating even small quantities of high-quality dark chocolate every day can greatly lower your risk of stroke and heart attack. According to the report, the chemicals in dark chocolate help to reduce the speed of blood clotting by limiting the clumping of blood platelets. Dr. Diane Becker reported the findings this week in Chicago at the annual American Heart Association meeting.The study was initially designed to test the effects of aspirin on blood clotting, but too many of BeckerÂ’s subjects had...

Vital Signs Emergency room doctors trying to figure out the best way to treat someone who has just had a stroke would be able to follow a more informed course of action if they had an M.R.I. scan of the patient?s brain, a new study finds. For about a decade, doctors have been able to turn to drugs known as clot busters, which can significantly improve the outcome for people whose strokes are caused by a blockage in a blood vessel. The problem is that many strokes involve bleeding in the brain, not clotting, and the clot busters can be...

Recent successful tests of neural prosthetics bring the devices closer to widespread use. Paralyzed patients dream of the day when they can once again move their limbs. That dream is making its way to becoming a reality, thanks to a neural implant created by John Donoghue and colleagues at Brown University and Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems. In 2004, Matthew Nagle, who is paralyzed due to a spinal-cord injury, became the first person to test the device, which translated his brain activity into action (see "Implanting Hope," March 2005, and "Brain Chips Give Paralyzed Patients New Powers"). Nagle's experience with the prosthetic...

Women Consider How to Interpret Health Study Results October 01, 2006 As results emerge from one of the largest women's health studies ever undertaken, women are trying to sort out how to apply the findings to their own lives. With more than 160,000 participants, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) tracked postmenopausal women for seven to 12 years looking at, among other things, the value of menopausal hormone therapy, a low-fat diet, and calcium and vitamin D supplements. UCLA participated in the study under the direction of Howard Judd, M.D., now professor emeritus of obstetrics/gynecology. Some of the still-emerging results have...

Talk to Sen. Ted Kennedy Thu Sep 28, 1:51 PM ET This was a last-minute addition to the Talk to Power schedule, so the time for questions and comments is shorter than usual. Sen. Kennedy will be fielding your comments over the next 24 hours and responding, via an interview with host Judy Woodruff, on Friday morning. Thanks in advance to Yahoo! users for your thoughts, and to Sen. Kennedy for agreeing to participate. The question of immigration and immigration reform is likely to loom large in this forum, as it has with previous Talk to Power guests. Sen. Kennedy,...

Discovery suggests potential treatment for regenerating nerve tissue after stroke Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have discovered a new population of cells in human umbilical cord blood that have properties of primitive stem cells. Umbilical cord blood is generally known to contain hematopoietic stem cells that can only produce cells found in blood. The new findings, however, identify a small population of cord blood cells with the characteristics of more primitive stem cells that have the potential to produce a greater variety of cell types. "We are excited by this discovery because it provides additional insight into...

Embryonic stem cells have not cured or successfully treated a single patient. Contrast that with the more than 70 conditions that are treatable using non-embryonic stem cell therapies. One of the hottest debates in bioethics today surrounds research using stem cells taken from either in vitro fertilization or cloned human embryos. From state legislatures and the halls of Congress to the United Nation, the controversy over whether to ban (or fund) such research rages. Human cloning for embryonic stem cell research creates human embryos virtually identical to a patient’s genetic composition. The embryo’s stem cells are then harvested — a...

Tampa, FL (Nov. 12, 2005) -- An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims. Researchers at the University of South Florida found that human umbilical cord blood cells administered to rats two days following a stroke greatly curbed the brain's inflammatory response, reducing the size of the stroke and resulting in greatly improved recovery. The rats' inflammatory response to injury from stroke peaked 48 hours after the brain attack, which was when intravenous delivery of the cells appeared...

Newswise — University of Florida researchers have shown ordinary human brain cells may share the prized qualities of self-renewal and adaptability normally associated with stem cells. Writing in an upcoming edition of Development, scientists from UF’s McKnight Brain Institute describe how they used mature human brain cells taken from epilepsy patients to generate new brain tissue in mice. Furthermore, they can coax these pedestrian human cells to produce large amounts of new brain cells in culture, with one cell theoretically able to begin a cycle of cell division that does not stop until the cells number about 10 to the...

Urgently requesting prayers from my fellow FReepers for my mother. I just received a call that they think she had a stroke this morning, she is only 58.Freepers who know about strokes and treatments, please write. I know you all are the best and can provide me with the best advice and information.Am traveling to Iowa so not sure when I will be able to post again.Please keep my mom and my family in your prayers! Thank you

A woman spoke of her distress yesterday at emerging from a stroke to find that her Geordie accent had been transformed into a Jamaican one. Linda Walker, 60, is one of only 50 people to have been recorded as suffering from foreign accent syndrome. She is now helping researchers from Newcastle University in the hope that they can find a cure for future sufferers. The condition occurs when patients wake up after a brain injury. In Mrs Walker's case it appeared as she regained consciousness from a stroke in March. She failed to realise the extent of the transformation of...

Brain can be made to self-repairTriggering stem-cell growth could help brain recover after a stroke.Stimulating a protein on the surface of the brain's stem cells helps rats recover after a stroke, US researchers have found. The discovery suggests that in humans it could be possible to provoke the body's own stem cells into repairing an injury, rather than laboriously growing and transplanting new cells.  Researchers believe that many of the body's tissues harbour stem cells capable of dividing to make new tissue. But some of these are recalcitrant and do not naturally divide to repair damage wreaked by severe injuries...

LOS ANGELES (AP) A publicist for Aaron Spelling says the pioneering television producer has died at age 83.

HALLE, Germany, May 16 (UPI) -- German scientists have reported synthesizing a compound that dramatically decreases damage to neurons in rats demonstrating stroke symptoms. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States and the most common cause of adult disability. An ischemic stroke occurs when a cerebral vessel occludes, obstructing blood flow to a portion of the brain. There is only one approved stroke therapy -- tissue plasminogen activator, which targets the thrombus within the blood vessel. Because of the lack of available stroke treatments, neuroprotective agents have also generated as much interest as thrombolytic therapies. The...

Really? THE FACTS Most people can spot the telltale signs of a heart attack. But a stroke? Studies show that stroke victims sometimes fail to realize that they have suffered an attack or to seek medical help until crucial hours later. Minor strokes are sometimes dismissed as migraines or fatigue. So when an e-mail message claiming that anyone can diagnose a stroke in three simple steps surfaced recently, it was tantalizing. It claims that an untrained bystander can tell whether people have suffered a stroke by asking them to smile, raise both arms slowly and recite a simple sentence. A...

Two new studies suggest that use of cells derived from bone marrow, as well as a seaweed-derived product called hydrogel, may prompt stem cells to repair nerve damage caused by stroke or spinal cord injury. Both studies were expected to be presented Friday at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, in San Diego. In one study, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, examined bone marrow-derived multi-potent progenitor cells, which have the ability to develop into different kinds of cells, including nervous system cells. Both human and rat bone marrow cells were transplanted into rats with induced strokes....

Researchers say they've lessened the effects of stroke in rats by transplanting stem cells into the rodents' brains. The treatment also seemed to help rats fight a condition similar to human cerebral palsy.  There's no indication yet that the treatment will work in humans, and the lead researcher cautioned that the strategy is no "magic bullet." However, tests in people could begin as early as next year, said Cesario V. Borlongan, an associate professor of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Will not be a total cure The treatment is "not something that will totally cure stroke...

Patients who underwent a minimally invasive procedure to reduce their risk of a stroke by clearing plaque from neck arteries had unexpected gains in memory and mental skills, according to a study that will be presented today at a medical conference in Toronto. If the results are confirmed by other trials, wider use of the procedure may allow many elderly people to continue to live independently, said Dr. Rodney Raabe, the radiologist who led the research team at the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. The procedure is known as carotid stenting and has been recently developed as an...

PHOENIX — Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett is expected to be removed from life support tonight, according to two people with knowledge of Puckett’s condition. Puckett suffered a massive stroke Sunday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and underwent surgery. He has been transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Family members assembled at the hospital Monday to make the decision on life support. The people with knowledge of Puckett’s condition said he was expected to be removed from the life support sometime Monday. "Tough day," former Twins manager Tom Kelly said today at the...

SHENZHEN, China, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has announced the successful treatment with umbilical cord stem cells of the youngest stroke patient ever to undergo such a procedure. The announcement was made following a two-month evaluation period by physicians in her native country, Hungary, to verify the positive results. Starting from October 28th, Beike provided umbilical cord stem cells to the Nanshan People's Hospital for the treatment of a four-month-old Hungarian baby girl named Timea Gresco, who had suffered a stroke when she was delivered three months prematurely. Umbilical cord stem cells were delivered intravenously over...

Substance levels point to high blood pressure (ANSA) - Genoa, February 24 - The kidney can give important signs of the dangers of a heart attack or stroke, Genoa University researchers say . Until now, a slight increase in the secretion of a substance called albumin - similar to albumen or egg white - was considered normal, the researchers say . But such a rise is now believed to be a danger sign or 'red flag' showing that these patients have dangerously high blood pressure and are thus at greater risk of heart attacks, the Genoa team says . By...

AP MEDICAL WRITER KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Women who have higher natural estrogen levels also may have a higher risk of stroke - a novel finding that suggests a possible new way to prevent this deadly disease, doctors reported Friday. More study is needed to confirm these results, but they fit with much of what is already known about hormones, said several experts who were not connected with the new work. "This is really interesting," said Dr. JoAnn Manson, a women's health researcher and chief of preventive medicine at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "These findings would be consistent...

AP MEDICAL WRITER KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Like pouring Drano directly on a clog, doctors dramatically improved stroke survival by dripping a clot-dissolving drug right onto a blockage choking off the brain's blood supply. Many patients given this experimental treatment had stunning recoveries within a day, often without the speech loss and paralysis that can follow a stroke, doctors reported Thursday. A second study found that people given the treatment were 65 percent more likely to be able to walk, talk and function normally three months after their strokes than those given standard care. "We're very encouraged by these results," said...

Israel: Ariel Sharon Near DeathBy Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyUPDATE 17:20: Four hour emergency operation on Prime Minister's Sharon was successful. Fifty centimeters of Sharon's upper intestine was removed. Doctors say that the major problem remains Sharon's lack of consciousness. Sharon, who entered surgery in critical condition, is now in stable but serious condition. Jerusalem-----February 11.......Israel has been praying for a miracle. For Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to wake up from a stroke induced coma, smile and tell us that we should not be worrying about his health. But on this sunny and cold day in Jerusalem, the news is...

Israel: Ariel Sharon Near DeathBy Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem-----February 11.......Israel has been praying for a miracle. For Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to wake up from a stroke induced coma, smile and tell us that we should not be worrying about his health. But on this sunny and cold day in Jerusalem, the news is not good. And most of Israel will not know that Sharon may be living his last hours until they switch on their TV or check their e-mail tonight. A hospital spokeswoman in Jerusalem has just stated that the Israel Prime Minister's "life is in danger."...

I've tried to never use vanity posts before until now and wanted some feedback. Here it goes. I woke this morning to the news that an old ex-roommate, sailing buddy, and close friend had died overnight on Monday. I just found out through his father, jst back from the coroners, that he died violently from a massive stroke. I'm trying to find out if there would have been any kind of drug use that might have helped cause it. He was a very active and seemingly healthy and normal 38 y/o. Being a loyal longtime deadhead, still seemed to like...

Stroke Brain Fix Stroke Hope If Ariel Sharon wakes up from his coma, he could still face a long and hard recovery from his stroke. With the help of extensive therapy, stroke sufferers can sometimes regain lost speech and movement. But research led by neurologist Wendy Kartje could spur stroke recovery by blocking a natural inhibitor of nerve cell re-growth. When a stroke occurs, blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted when a blood vessel becomes damaged or blocked. The blood normally brings oxygen and nutrients that the brain cells in the immediate area need to survive. Without...