SCOTTISH HOSPITAL NEWS
ASPIRIN IMPROVES OUTCOME FOR STROKE PATIENTS
An international collaboration of scientists has carried out a large scale study looking at whether the use of antithrombotic drugs such as aspirin and warfarin prior to a stroke leads to a better outcome.
The team made up of academics from institutions from the UK, Canada and the US including the University of Aberdeen, University of Calgary, Michigan State University, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Texas Southwestern, Harvard Medical School and UCLA believe that this is one of the largest studies of its kind. The research has been published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.
For this study, the team analysed data from Get With The Guidelines- Stroke from the American Heart association/American Stroke Association, which amounted to more than half a million acute ischemic strokes recorded between Oct 2011 and Mar 2014 (n=540,993) from 1661 hospitals across the US.
They then examined the associations between prior antithrombotic use and clinical outcomes by carrying out robust statistical analyses controlling for several other important factors that can affect the study outcomes.
The team discovered that people who took these drugs before stroke had better outcomes after stroke in terms of acute mortality during hospital stay (18 per cent less likely to die), and were 18 per cent more likely to be discharged to home, fifteen per cent more likely to be independently mobile at the time of discharge and thirteen per cent less likely to be disabled.
‘This is an important area of research,’ said Professor Phyo Myint, Clinical Chair in Medicine of Old Age at the University of Aberdeen, who led the study, ‘because stroke has high mortality during hospitalisation and is the leading cause of disability globally.
‘The results of this study show us that the benefit of the use of
preventive medications which aim to thin the blood to prevent clot formation before stroke. We found the person who is on these drugs may still gain benefit of taking them even if the person developed a stroke due to blockage of brain artery by a blood clot. Possible mechanisms may include being less likely to develop big strokes due to smaller blood clot formation, preventing increase in clot size after initial blockage, and reduction in risk of formation of subsequent clots. We see this benefit regardless of whether previous vascular indication such as previous heart attack was present or not.’
Groundbreaking Alzheimer’s trials at could lead to new treatment
A ground-breaking research facility at Plymouth Science Park is beginning clinical trials for a drug which could be the first approved Alzheimer’s treatment in fourteen years.
The last drug to be approved to help improve Alzheimer’s patients’ cognition was Donepezil in 2002. Re-Cognition Health at Plymouth Science Park is the only facility in the South West to begin the clinical trial, referred to as the MINDSET study, for a new Alzheimer’s drug,
currently known as RVT-101, which shows shows evidence of helping Alzheimer’s patients enhance their cognition.
Alzheimer’s is still not fully understood and Dr Stephen Pearson, clinical director at Re: Cognition HealtPearson, has made it clear to everyone that taking part in the trials that RVT-101 cannot bring back lost memories, but could improve mental functions impaired by Alzheimers such as patient’s ability to interact, attention levels and general talkativeness.
Participants in the trial initially have a phone conversation with the Re:Cognition staff to assess their suitability and commitment to the process. They then come to the centre for a physical check, blood test, and head scan if they haven’t had one in the past year. If approved, they are then randomised and entered into the trial.
Patients will be randomly selected to take the drug or a placebo to assess whether the treatment works. Neither the patients or Re:Cognition Health staff will know which treatment each individual is taking until the trial is over.
PATIENTS COULD BENEFIT FROM NEW MENINGITIS TEST
A new test for meningitis, which could help deliver faster and more effective treatments for patients, has been developed through University of Strathclyde-led research.
The onset of meningitis is often rapid and severe, particularly when a bacterial infection is the cause. The latest research could speed up diagnosis, leading to better outcomes for patients.
Dr Karen Faulds, a Reader in Strathclyde’s Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, led the study.
Several types of bacteria cause meningitis and each is sensitive to different antibiotics. Dr Faulds and PhD student Kirsten Gracie, from the Centre for Molecular Nanometrology
at Strathclyde, along with partners at the University of Manchester carried out the research. They used a spectroscopic imaging technique known as SERS (surface enhanced Raman scattering) to identify which bacteria were present in a single sample, with a view to analysing cerebral spinal fluid from patients suspected to have meningitis.
‘The great advantage of the SERS technique,’ said Dr Faulds, ‘is that it gives sharp, recognisable signals, like finger printing, so we can more easily discriminate what analytes – or chemical substances are present in a mixture.’
A series of DNA probes, containing dyes detectable by SERS, made it possible to single out the different pathogens. Three types were tested for:
• Haemophilus influenzae • Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Neisseria meningitidisis
The faster the type of bacteria can be identified by DNA analysis, the faster patients can receive the most effective antibiotic for their condition.
This also reduces the need for broadband antibiotics, overuse of which is increasing bacterial resistance. Combining the SERS technique with chemometrics – data-driven extraction of information from chemical systems – means the amount of bacteria in a sample can be measured whilst simultaneously
identifying the bacteria. The chemometrics work was carried out in collaboration with Professor Roy Goodacre at the University of Manchester.
The researchers believe the new test would be particularly useful where co-infection of multiple species is common and identifying the dominant pathogen present would allow targeted treatment. The study has been published in the journal Chemical Science.
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