Researchers from the University of Leicester have contributed in a big way to a study that has found a new treatment for strokes caused due to bleeding within the brain.
The researchers from the University of Leicester were instrumental in finding a new treatment for strokes caused because of bleeding within the brain in a recently conducted study. According to the researchers, the intracerebral haemorrhage is a serious stroke. The study found that a rigorous lowering of a patient's blood pressure in intracerebral haemorrhage, reduces the risk of major disability, improving chances of recovery by as much as 20 per cent.
"Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the UK and the most common adult cause of neurological disability. Approximately 1 million people are living with the consequences of stroke in the United Kingdom, a third with life-changing severe disability. Every year an estimated 152,000 people in the UK have a stroke and intracerebral haemorrhage - spontaneous bleeding within the brain most often due to hypertension - accounts for at least 10 per cent of all cases," said Professor Thompson Robinson, Deputy Head of the University of Leicester's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, who was the UK co-ordinator for the study and co-authored the paper, according to the university's press release. "Intracerebral haemorrhage kills about half of those affected within one month and leaves most survivors disabled, and to date there is no specific treatment for this type of stroke."
The study was conducted on over 2800 patients across 140 hospitals. Results from the study suggest that the intensive reduction of high blood pressure within 6 hours of onset of a bleeding-related stroke is beneficial.
According to Professor Bruce Neal of the George Institute and the University of Sydney, the findings of this new study makes intracerebral haemorrhage a less serious form of stroke and also says the findings could be instrumental in altering the current stroke management methods adopted worldwide.
"The study findings are tremendously exciting because they provide a safe and efficient treatment to improve the likelihood of a recovery without serious disability - a major concern for those who have experienced stroke," said Neal. "The only treatment option to date has been risky brain surgery, so this research is a very welcome advance."
The findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
