This is the wrong goal. The goal should be to save as many neurons as possible. That could be prevention or it could be stopping the neuronal cascade of death by these 5 causes in the first week.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15542549.NHS___39_sleepwalking_into_stroke_crisis__39__unless_more_funding_found_for_prevention/
THOUSANDS of people in Scotland
could be saved from having a stroke by 2035 if research into the latest
stroke prevention procedures were properly funded, according to a
report published today.
Stroke is the third most common killer in Scotland and the leading cause of disability, but most strokes can be avoided.
A report, by the Stroke Association and carried out at Queen Mary University of London and London School
of Economics, estimates that a £10 million investment in research into
interventions such as blood pressure management, treatments for atrial
fibrillation which increases the risk of stroke, and treatments to
prevent haemorrhagic stroke - the deadliest type - would cut by 114,000
the number of people living with a stroke in UK by 2035.
The report also called for additional research cash for physical and
cognitive rehabilitation, vascular dementia and thrombectomy - the
emergency surgical removal of blood clots.
The report projects that the annual cost to the NHS
of stroke are set to treble from £3.4 billion in 2015 to £10.2 billion
in 2035, but that targeted spending in these priority research areas in
the next few years "could generate benefits that substantially reduce
the burden of stroke by 2035".
The report also estimates that the number of first-time strokes among
people over 45 will increase 59 per cent by 2035, but that there will be
a 123 per cent increase in the number of patients surviving.
Andrea Cail, Director Scotland of the Stroke Association, said: “The
annual number of stroke survivors is expected to increase dramatically
by 2035. It’s clear that we need to act now to prevent the UK from
sleepwalking towards a stroke crisis.”
Around 145,000 people in Scotland are known to suffer from atrial
fibrillation (AF) - a heart condition that causes an irregular and often
abnormally fast heart rate. The condition increases the risk of stroke
five-fold.
However, many patients are on a treatment that is not effectively
lowering their stroke risk, while an estimated 49,414 people in Scotland
are living with undiagnosed AF.
High blood pressure, the biggest controllable risk factor for stroke, can also go undetected or poorly managed.
Ms Cail added: “Stroke causes a greater range of disabilities than any
other condition, but research into stroke remains underfunded. For
example, haemorrhagic stroke is the most deadly type of stroke, and
those patients who do survive are more likely to experience severe
disability. Currently there are no effective treatments for these
strokes, which are caused by bleeds rather than clots in the brain.
"We urgently need to find effective ways to prevent the devastation
that haemorrhagic stroke can bring, as well preventing and managing
conditions that increase the risk of stroke, such as AF and high blood
pressure.”
Across the UK, the annual medical research-spend per stroke patient is
£48, compared with £241 per cancer patient and £118 per dementia
patient.
Professor Anita Patel, who led the research, said: “Increasing our
investment into stroke research will help us turn the tide for people
with a higher risk of stroke, allowing us to take steps to prevent the
condition more widely. For example, we know that current treatments for
high blood pressure do not work for everyone, and are not always used
properly.
"More research could help us discover which medication and dosage
works best for different people, ensuring we can help prevent more
people from having a stroke. This in turn would help to ease the
pressure on the already overstretched NHS budgets.”
CASE STUDY:
CHARLIE Ross first knew something was wrong when he got up for work
one Friday morning in May 2010 and could not move his leg high enough to
climb into the shower cubicle.
"I just said to my wife 'I think you need to take me to hospital - there's something bad here'," he said.
Mr Ross, from Bishopton in Renfrewshire, was only 54 at the time and
was shocked when doctors diagnosed a "mini-stroke", or TIA (transient
ischaemic attack). It is caused by a temporary disruption of blood flow
to the brain and is a warning sign that the patient is at a
significantly increased risk of a full stroke in the near future.
Mr Ross was discharged with aspirin and told to rest, but on the Saturday night he suffered a serious attack.
He said: "When I went down to get my dinner I felt kind of woozy. I
thought I would just get better, but I couldn't eat my dinner and when I
got up from the dining room I got about 20ft and just lost everything
on the right-hand side of my body - my leg, my arm, and ended up on the
floor in this alcove. That was it - I'd taken another stroke."
Mr Ross, who was then a regional account sales manager, spent three
weeks recovering in hospital but seven years on he says his right-arm is
"pretty useless" and his walking laboured. He took redundancy in 2014
and helps out in clinical trials into stroke, but says the fatigue
following the stroke can be "unbelievable".
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