Positive research development for those facing a weakened hand

Stroke is the most common reason for adult disability in the United States - thousands each year have weakened limbs.

One area of research is electrical stimulation, and some positive news recently highlighted that innovative electrical stimulation glove improves hand function:

According to new research published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, researchers at the MetroHealth System, Case Western Reserve University, and the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation Center have developed a therapy whereby patients can be in control of the stimulation to their weak hand.

Is technology going to catch up with stroke recovery needs?

In the last few years, we've seen lots of ideas about technology and recovery. You can find a few here.

Still, it's a little disheartening that high-tech solutions seem to always be just over the horizon instead of in place and available to all stroke survivors.

Stroke is the leading cause of disability, and most stroke survivors are included in those numbers. How much productivity can be regained if we truly harness technology to make a difference in these lives?

So, with that, here's another trial featuring cutting-edge treatments for stroke patients using videogames and robotic arms:

New therapeutic devices for stroke recovery, made possible by advances in hardware and software, are transforming the typically low-tech world of stroke rehabilitation. Though the tools are still in the early stages, doctors say that they can be more motivating and engaging for patients than current standard therapies, and that they hold promise for stroke survivors who are too injured for traditional therapy.

“We’re entering a very exciting era,” says Dr. David Putrino, director of telemedicine at the Burke Medical Research Institute in White Plains, N.Y. “All of these new tools can really help us do our jobs much better.”

Prevent a stroke, and you might just save a life; read and learn more

Prevent a stroke, perhaps save a life.

I don't dwell on this month as stroke awareness month. I firmly believe that stroke awareness should not be limited to a single month, but every day, every hour. But in May, you find a lot of articles published about stroke patients, treatment, signs and prevention.

And prevention is key. With that in mind, this recent article has some very good, reasonable advice on how to prevent a stroke in middle age:

The number of people in their 40s and 50s having strokes has rocketed, with obesity and sedentary lifestyles blamed for the rise. New NHS figures show that since 2000, the number of men aged 40 to 54 in England hospitalised after stroke has grown by 46%, and among women, 30%. And for working-age sufferers, stroke can have a crippling financial impact. According to the Stroke Association, lost income due to death and disability caused by a stroke has been estimated to cost those affected £1.3bn a year. “Stroke survivors unable to return to work can struggle to cope with a fall in income, increased household bills and a benefits system that does not recognise the full impact of stroke,” says Jon Barrick, the charity’s chief executive.

The more swiftly a stroke is diagnosed and treated, the better a patient’s recovery will be. But how can you reduce the risk of it happening to you in the first place?

Click on the link above and read the entire article - and remember, if you prevent a stroke, you can perhaps save a life. Even our own.

Doesn't take a medical degree to save a life - know stroke signs

We've got a long way to go to prevent strokes, to find ways to maximize immediate stroke treatment, and to decrease the rate of disability for stroke survivors. Strokes kill too many people and disable too many people.

I, personally, don't have a hospital or a lab. You probably don't either. But we can make more people aware of early warning signs of stroke:

"Today, thanks to early detection, aggressive treatment and new intervention therapies, more stroke patients than ever are returning to normal life with limited to no disability," said Dr. Stanley Tuhrim, director of the Stroke Center at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Young stroke survivor finds strength in determination

Photo from the U.S.
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention

Are we all destined to run after a stroke? No. BUT, I still like stories like this because they do illustrate that after a stroke, determination is often key.

If you've visited this blog before, you'll know that was a runner before my stroke in 1998, started running again several weeks later, and continue to run. People, though, have different outcomes - physical, speech, vision, etc. - and not everyone can run. In fact, as the last post noted, stroke is the most common cause of permanent disability in the United States.

But the story is more than running. It's about a stroke survivor who found strength, a story that can echo in other lives. People might have different levels of abilities and strengths, different disabilities, different challenges. The important thing is to keep those challenges challenged.

So, here's a link, an excerpt and a video about a young stroke survivor finds strength in running:

As more stroke patients survive, more needs arise

Photo from the National
Library of Medicine

You've likely seen recent stories about how more people survive strokes. Generally, a good news story.

However, as this story illustrates, it also means that as more stroke patients live, more need rehab treatment:

More stroke patients now survive brain attacks that would have killed them a few years ago, and stroke has dropped from the fourth- to the fifth-leading cause of death in the U.S., the federal government said in late 2014.

With higher survival rates comes an increasing need for stroke rehabilitation programs for people like Cleveland, 41, who deal with varying disabilities.

In fact, stroke is one of the leading causes of disability.

Stroke falls in U.S. causes of death

In the news, you can find a New Year hint that stroke treatment seems to be working. Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that stroke is dropping down the list of cause of death in the United States.

Read through this link how stroke falls one place to fifth leading cause of death in U.S.:

Commenting on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, the American Heart Association (AHA) hypothesize that the drop in deaths from stroke is due to advances in the treatment and prevention of stroke. In particular, the AHA note, there are more stroke centers now operating across the US, and there has also been an improvement in acute care of stroke.

Brain therapy might help stroke rehab

Stroke is the leading cause of permanent disability in the United States. So many people need physical, occupational and speech therapy to recover. I recently read about research that might lead to better tools to help stroke patients to recover.

This article describes how brain therapy helps rehabilitate stroke patients:

A new interventional therapy that uses a brain–computer interface appears to change brain activity in patients with stroke, new research has shown.

The therapy alters specific areas of the brain that correlate with both the affected and unaffected hands. The activation of these areas of the brain appears to correspond to executed and imagined tasks of the affected hand, and may represent neuroplastic recovery.

"Brain activity fed back to the patient is key for the therapy," explained Vivek Prabhakaran, MD, director of functional neuroimaging in radiology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

(Photo from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health) 

Quicker treatment, better outcomes

A couple of days ago, I posted a note about how hospitals increasingly give powerful clot-buster for stroke. A related item, showing the importance of early treatment shows that the quicker the treatment, the better chances of a better outcome.

A study indicates that ultra-early treatment reduces disability after stroke:

... [T]he new study found that when these clot-busting drugs were administered even sooner -- within 90 minutes of the appearance of stroke symptoms -- patients had little or no disability after three months compared with patients who got the drugs later.

"Despite the time window of 4.5 hours to give clot-busting drugs, there are clear differences between patients treated ultra-early -- within 90 minutes -- and those treated later," said lead researcher Dr. Daniel Strbian, an associate professor of neurology at Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland."

Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States, so quicker treatment to reduce these outcomes should be a high priority. I'll end this with the same note I ended the last posting: It's vital that a stroke patient get help quickly. Recognize the signs of a stroke and don't hesitate in getting aid!

Finding the 'hidden' disabilities

Not all post-stroke disabilities are easy to detect - sometimes adding to recovery difficulties. One recent article discussed how better detection of the "hidden" disabilities can help stroke survivors get help they need:

Health workers detecting the condition after a stroke could make cognitive intervention to improve the patient’s function and prevent chronic disability, according to Anna Barrett, M.D.. She is the director of Stroke Rehabilitation at the [Kessler] Foundation.

"Early detection of spatial neglect after stroke could enable cognitive interventions to improve function, and might prevent chronic disability."

'Your right hand upholds me'

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

-Psalm 63:6-8

"Right hand."

I remember the day, as if were just yesterday, when my own right hand wouldn't move. Had no feeling. Was useless.

Yet today, my right hand is typing. Last night, my right hand helped with routine work installing an electrical outlet and light switch. My right hand turns a steering wheel, carries groceries and does thousands of other day-to-day tasks.

The Psalm passage above, referencing the right hand of God, made me think of my own right hand and what happened to it. I thought of it this way: When my own right hand was useless, God's right hand upheld me.

Stroke is the most common reason for permanent disability, including the disability of the human hand. That's one reason why it's so important to work on stroke prevention, recognizing symptoms and know what action to take when you see those signs. Will everyone regain complete use of a hand? No. Will everyone rely on God's right hand, as the Psalmist described God's power? Yes.

(Image using photo by woodley wonderworks, via Wikimedia Commons; text added)

'Carry each others' burdens'

Carry each others' burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

-Galatians 6:2

Stroke recovery can be a lengthy and heavy burden. Stroke is the leading cause of permanent disability in the United States.

Also carrying a burden: those who provide care of stroke survivors. Today, pray for those who carrying burdens for others - literally fulfilling the law of Christ. There is no higher calling.

Another stroke prevention drug

Atrial fibrillation is a common cause of stroke, as mentioned before. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just approved a new drug for stroke prevention for those patients. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and is the leading cause of permanent disability.

FDA approves Pradaxa to prevent stroke in people with atrial fibrillation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Pradaxa capsules (dabigatran etexilate) for the prevention of stroke and blood clots in patients with abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).

Atrial fibrillation, which affects more than 2 million Americans, involves very fast and uncoordinated contractions of the heart’s two upper heart chambers (atria) and is one of the most common types of abnormal heart rhythm.

“People with atrial fibrillation are at a higher risk of developing blood clots, which can cause a disabling stroke if the clots travel to the brain,” said Norman Stockbridge, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

 (Image from National Institutes of Health)