Tag Archives: stroke
Stroke patients see signs of recovery in stem-cell trial
Trial patients will get progressively higher doses of stem cells
Five seriously disabled stroke patients have shown small signs of recovery following the injection of stem cells into their brain.
Prof Keith Muir, of Glasgow University, who is treating them, says he is “surprised” by the mild to moderate improvements in the five patients.
He stresses it is too soon to tell whether the effect is due to the treatment they are receiving.
The results will be presented at the European Stroke Conference in London.
Complete paralysisBBC News has had the first exclusive interview with one of the patients involved.
They are taking part in a small clinical trial involving nine patients in their 60s, 70s and 80s at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital to assess the safety of the procedure which involves injecting stem cells into the damaged brain part.
It is one of the first trials in the world to test the use of stem cells in patients.
More help is needed for stroke patients
Charity calls for more emotional support for stroke patients
Adam Gretton, Health correspondent Wednesday, May 1, 2013
12:01 AM
Former soldier and stroke victim Darren Draper whose puppy Dash is helping him through his rehabilitation. PHOTO BY SIMON FINLAY
Calls have been made for the NHS to give greater psychological support to stroke patients after a new report revealed that the emotional effects were as devastating as the physical ones.
Too many stroke survivors and their families are abandoned when they leave hospital and left without the support they need to help them cope, according to the Stroke Association.
A poll of 2,700 stroke survivors across the UK found that 41pc said they felt abandoned after leaving hospital.
Some 59pc admitted that they felt depressed and two thirds said they experienced anxiety as a direct result of their stroke.
But, despite this, more than half said they received no information or practical advice to help them cope with the emotional impact.
Strokes affect around 152,000 people in the UK every year and the brain damage caused by the condition means that they are the largest cause of adult disability in the UK.
As part of the Stroke Association’s report, Feeling Overwhelmed, more than 200 people from across the East of England were interviewed about their experiences.
While hospital care is rated highly, the emotional strain on survivors and their families when they return home is underestimated – and often overlooked by health and social care services, said the charity.
Ambulance response times for Norfolk stroke patients “completely unacceptable” – health minister
Fears lives were being put at risk
Alex Hurrell, Reporter Monday, November 26, 2012
7:00 AM
Health minister Norman Lamb said he feared lives were being put at risk after receiving figures showing the time it took the East of England Ambulance Service to take Norfolk stroke victims to hospital.
For most of this year, fewer than a quarter of Norfolk stroke patients arrived at hospital within the guideline 60 minutes and the situation was even worse in north Norfolk where he is the MP.
Earlier this year, the EDP launched its Ambulance Watch campaign in response to growing public concern about the performance of the ambulance service.
The figures for stroke patients were provided to Mr Lamb following a Freedom of Information Act request by a third party. In the best month in north Norfolk, May, the ambulance trust managed to transport 7pc of patients within the critical period. Last month the figure was just 2pc.
