http://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2016-07-06/stroke-expert-probes-unknown-improve-patient-care-worldwide
This the third of a five-part series profiling the University of Calgary’s 2016 Killam Professors
Imagine a giant puzzle of 300 pieces, where only a third have ever been connected.
That is the neurological puzzle of strokes. And the detective work in finding and connecting those remaining pieces of a disease that attacks the brain, and is the leading cause of adult disability worldwide, is what drives Dr. Andrew Demchuk. Every day.
“I follow the philosophy that many of the things we do now are wrong and there are better things to come,” says the professor in both the departments of clinical neurosciences and radiology and member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) in the Cumming School of Medicine. “Half the practice of medicine will change over the next 20 years.”
'There is so much to be discovered'
For the world expert in stroke — and a self-admitted Star Trek fan — the search for these new frontiers has informed his own “To boldly go where no one has gone before” outlook. His version: “There is much to be discovered out there so go out there and discover it.”
And discover he has. Demchuk — one of this year’s recipients of a Killam Annual Professor award— says there is no moment in his 16-year career that can match the results of a recent groundbreaking trial (called ESCAPE) that has led to major change in stroke care around the world.
Demchuk, director of the Calgary Stroke Program since 2004, and his team — including Drs. Michael Hill and Mayank Goyal, “there is no me, there is only us” — led the trial of a new clot retrieval procedure that is changing the face of stroke care. With advanced imaging and incredible speed, doctors using the procedure called mechanical thrombectomy can remove a blood clot in the brain, reducing deaths from the most common type of stroke by 50 per cent.
Now, he is helping other countries shift to treatment that focuses on time-efficient harnessing of imaging technology. That global influence also extends to the education of stroke specialists.
A generous leader who 'gives all the knowledge he has'
The Calgary Stroke Training Program Demchuk has directed for more than 11 years has seen 70 fellowship graduates from 17 countries. Neurologist Fahad Al-Ajlan of Saudi Arabia came to the program when two former fellows in his country told him Calgary was the best place in the world to pursue his interest in imaging. He describes Demchuk as a charismatic, generous leader who “gives all the knowledge he has to you so you can improve care where you are going.”
Demchuk, says Al-Ajlan, also taught him that clinical care of the patient comes first: “He cares a lot about his patients.”
Demchuk went into medicine not only because of his love of science, but because he loves human interaction. Intrigued by the unknowns in the field of stroke, Demchuk was hooked on a career spent unravelling mysteries.
He is Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair in Stroke Research at the University of Calgary; co-leader of the HBI’s Stroke NeuroTeam within the university’s Brain and Mental Health research strategy; co-chair of the Acute Stroke and TIA in the Cardiovascular Health and Stroke Strategic Clinical Network at AHS, and volunteer deputy chair with the Canadian Stroke Consortium.
A complex, challenging puzzle being unravelled in Calgary
So what is his main passion? “I love my job. There are so many elements; it’s the variety. But the best is seeing patients reverse the effects of stroke with the new (ESCAPE) procedure.”
And then, there are the eureka moments. “It’s when you learn something you didn’t know before. Stroke is a complex, challenging puzzle and we are unravelling those pieces in Calgary.”
- UToday's series on Killam Professors ends Friday with a look at engineer Raafit El-Hacha’s search for smarter bridge-building materials, and scientist Barry Saunders’ upcoming journey to contemplate black holes and quantum computers.
Led by the HBI, Brain and Mental Health is one of six strategic research themes guiding the University of Calgary toward its Eyes High goals.
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