The UK urgently needs to reorganise stroke services to improve outcomes for patients, argues a senior doctor in this week’s BMJ.

A coalition of physicians representing a wide range of medical specialties has issued a call to action to improve the treatment of stroke.

Actively screening people aged 65 or over in the community improves the detection of atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm), a major risk factor for stroke, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

More women than men appear to be having a stroke in middle age, according to a study published June 20, 2007, in the online edition of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers say heart disease and increased waist size may be contributing to this apparent mid-life stroke surge among women.

A new therapy to re-activate silenced genes in patients who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases or stroke is being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Cornell University.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have illuminated the path taken by human neural stem cells that were transplanted into the brains of rats and mice, and found that the cells successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke.

Brain damage that occurs even days after a stroke, increasing stroke size and devastation, is the focus of researchers trying to identify new treatments.

Among stroke survivors, one common difficulty is foot drop, a partial leg paralysis that prevents the foot from lifting - causing instability and difficulty walking. Now, a new high-tech rehabilitation device - available in the New York City-area only at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center - helps these patients regain the ability to walk more naturally and improve mobility.

University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists have developed a model that could help physicians combine current clot-busting medication with below-normal body temperatures (hypothermia) to improve the treatment of ischemic stroke patients.

Stroke patients in rural hospitals can get safe, effective treatment with the use of a clot-busting drug when a doctor from a larger hospital is on the telephone guiding the treatment. These new findings have important implications for overcoming barriers to optimal stroke care in rural settings, according to research to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 - May 5, 2007.

A University of Leicester study could help to provide a new lease of life for patients who have suffered a stroke.