DYNAMITE, SUPER-AMBULANCES AND ZAP CAPS … THREE MORE STROKE BREAKTHROUGHS

BRAIN-ZAPPING CAP BOOSTS RECOVERY

WHILE post-stroke rehab therapy – exercises that can improve co-ordination and muscle control – is recognised as key to recovery, the amount of rehab on offer is ‘woefully inadequate’, according to the Stroke Association. One solution is to make physiotherapy more effective, so reducing the amount a patient needs.

Oxford University scientists found that stimulating patients’ brains with a mild electric current during physiotherapy improved strength and dexterity.

The technique, tested on 24 stroke patients, is called transcranial direct current stimulation – or tDCS – and boosts the natural electrical current that transmits signals within brain.

In the test, patients wore a headband or cap that passes a current through the damaged part of the brain during physio sessions. Doctors reported that patients who wore the tDCS cap found it easier to reach, lift and grasp. One was able to peel a banana and another could cut a steak for the first time in years.

LAUNCH OF STROKE SUPER-AMBULANCES

A SPECIALISED stroke ambulance took to the roads in Southend, Essex, earlier this year – the first of its kind in the UK. It is kitted out with a CT scanner, and a doctor and radiologist on board, meaning that treatment including thombolysis can start before reaching hospital.

In standard ambulances, paramedics must decide whether patients need to be taken to a specialist stroke centre. Signs such as facial drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulties are all red flags – but sometimes other conditions can be mistaken for strokes, or real strokes may be missed.

Newcastle University and other UK centres are leading Government-funded trials of a finger prick test that can tell from a blood sample whether a patient has suffered a stroke within two or three minutes

The blood test – SMARTChip – checks for compounds called purines which are produced by cells when deprived of oxygen — which is what occurs in an ischaemic stroke, where clots stop the blood supply.

Dr Chris Price, senior reader in stroke medicine at Newcastle University, said: ‘A faster diagnosis would help everybody.’

‘DYNAMITE’ PATCHES SLASH DEATH RATES

A SKIN patch loaded with a chemical used in dynamite could

be the next revolution in stroke care. The 39p-a-time treatment contains nitroglycerin, which seeps through the skin, lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow, helping to protect brain cells. A study at Nottingham University involving 41 patients found that applying the patch in the ambulance ahead of specialist treatment in A&E saved vital time, and could half the death rate from some strokes.

Patches are is now being used in a much larger trial involving eight ambulance services and more than 1,100 patients.

The British Heart Foundation, which is funding the research, says the patches could ‘revolutionise’ stroke care.