International Journal of Stroke

International Journal of Stroke presents an exclusive interview with newly appointed Associate Editor, world renowned expert in stroke and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai, Professor Patrick Lyden. Interviewed by Managing Editor, Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins, Professor Lyden discusses his studies across several continents and interaction in stroke centers on a global scale, drawing focus on the importance the journal plays for stroke disciplines, globally. Divulging his early passions for the subject and eventual switch to stroke treatments and diagnosis, and provides an insight to some career defining moments.

International Journal of Stroke Managing Editor, Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins spoke to Christopher Chen current Committee Chair and N Venketasubramanian previous Committee chair for previous editions of the guidelines who were equally responsible for developing guidelines for the Singapore Ministry of Health Clinical Practice on Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attacks; a summary of the guidelines can be found in the May/June edition of the International Journal of Stroke.

The preliminary results of Cerebrolysin in patients with Acute ischemic STroke in Asia (CASTA) were presented at the 2010 World Stroke Congress in Seoul, Korea. CASTA is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Cerebrolysin. The trial included patients from more than 50 participating centres with acute ischemic hemispheric stroke who were randomized within 12 hours of symptom onset to treatment (30 ml Cerebrolysin diluted in physiologic saline) or placebo (saline) given as intravenous infusion once daily for 10 days. Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins, Managing Editor of the International Journal of Stroke spoke to leader in the field of stroke and strokeologist with considerable clinical trial experience, Professor Stephen Davis who has also been a member of an independent data and safety monitoring committee and has attended some advisory board meetings for the CASTA trial.

ACT NoW - Assessing Communication Therapy in the North West is a research project, which aims to evaluate the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and service user preferences for communication therapy following stroke. Dr Audrey Bowen; Senior Lecturer in Psychology - University of Manchester spoke to the International Journal of Stroke on the eve of the presentation of the preliminary results at the UK Stroke Forum in Glasgow, 2010. Read the abstracts: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijs.2010.5.issue-s3/issuetoc

For patients to regain life after stroke, there needs to be appropriate services and understanding of these services by service providers and funding bodies. Professor Marion Walker University of Nottingham, Professor in Stroke Rehabilitation, School of Community Health Sciences spoke to the International Journal of Stroke about the National Stroke Strategy. Read the UK Stroke Forum abstracts: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijs.2010.5.issue-s3/issuetoc

The UK Stroke Survivor Needs Survey presents findings from a national survey of long-term stroke survivors across the UK. Although stroke is recognised as a long-term manageable condition, robust estimates of long-term needs are lacking. The International Journal Stroke spoke to Joe Korner, Director of Communications at the UK Stroke Assosiation. You can order a copy of this study via www.stroke.org.uk.

Ocular causes of reading impairment following stroke include visual field loss, eye movement impairment and poor central vision. Non-ocular causes may include cognitive errors and/or language impairment. On the eve of the UK Stroke Forum, the International Journal of spoke to Dr Fiona Rowe (Senior Lecturer, University of Liverpool School of Health Sciences) and Chief Investigator of the VIS (Vision in Stroke) study.

This podcast is a UK Stroke Forum/International Journal of Stroke collaboration interview, with speakers and interviewers from the 2010 UK Stroke Forum Glasgow UK. The British Association of Stroke Physicians (BASP) was set up in April 1999 to promote better care for people with stroke in the UK. Professor Peter Lanhgorne (Division of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow) was one of the founders of BASP and International Journal of Stroke spoke to him. To read the article that Professor Langhorne co-authored for the International Journal of Stroke December 2010 issue, please follow this link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-4949.2010.00490.x/abstract

Louse Weir, a stroke Nurse/Practitioner at Royal Melbourne Hospital will be speaking at the Stroke Society Australasia Scientific meeting 2010. She will presenting on the following topic: ‘Improving access to palliative care for people who have had a stroke and their carers'. Louise spoke to Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins, Managing Editor of International Journal of Stroke. For more information, please visit: http://www.strokesociety.com.au/ and http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ijs.

Acute ischemic stroke is a major public health burden and globally a common cause of death and disability. Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is approved for use in selected patients with ischemic stroke within 3 hours of symptom onset. The International Stroke Trial or IST-3 seeks to determine whether a wider range of patients may benefit the International Journal of Stroke spoke to chief investigator Dr Peter Sandercock.

CLOTS - Clots in Legs Or sTockings after Stroke The Clots trial now in it's third stage CLOTS Trial 3 is a randomised trial to establish the effectiveness of intermittent pneumatic compression to prevent post stroke deep vein thrombosis (DVT) the International Journal of Stroke spoke to chief investigator Martin Dennis.

International Journal of Stroke spoke with Padma Gunaratne, the President of the National Stroke Asdociation in Sri Lanka, who discusses her joy at winning the 2009 World Stroke Day Gold Medal. The medal came about through the hard work of four main organisations: the National Stroke Organisation in Sri Lanka, the World Stroke Organisation National office, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Services. International Journal of Stroke and Padma also address the issue of the burden of stroke in Sri Lanka. Please see the following link to the article featured in the current issue of International Journal of Stroke: World Stroke Day 2009, gold award winner : National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka (NSASL) (p 323-324) by Padma S. Gunaratne, Hamsananthy Jeevatharan. PDF: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123574826/PDFSTART

Professor Craig Anderson, principal trial investigator of this open, randomised, multicentre study, investigates the effectiveness of an intensive blood pressure trial - INTERACT2.

Professor Estol, a neurologist and strokeologist practicing in Argentina, considers the causes of the severe burden of stroke affecting his home country. Read the full Panorama article in International Journal of Stroke: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123235944/PDFSTART.

Principal investigator Dr Gustavo Saposnik discusses the first stages of the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exercises in Stroke Rehabilitation (EVREST) Trial Protocol. Read the full article in International Journal of Stroke: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123235937/PDFSTART.

The Randomized Evaluation of Long Term Anticoagulant Therapy with dabigatran was initiated to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of dabigatran in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism. The International Journal of Stroke spoke to investigator Dr Stuart Connolly, Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Cardiology at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.