Tag Archives: Stroke

Health, Medical, Research, Science

Injection of antibodies could reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes

MEDICAL RESEARCH

THOUSANDS of lives could be saved every year after scientists discovered a group of antibodies that dramatically reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes – and revealed plans to develop an injection of the substance for those most at risk.

The researchers say their discovery could lead to the development of a test to determine a person’s risk of heart disease within three years and an antibody injection to protect them in as little as five years.

A lead researcher at Imperial College London, said: “If this line of research is successful it would mean a revolution in tackling the biggest killer in the world.”

Everybody has at least some of these antibodies, but levels vary widely between people and that plays a crucial role in determining how likely they are to suffer life-threatening heart problems.

The effect of the antibodies is so profound that people with high levels of them are 70 per cent less likely to develop heart disease than people with low levels of them.

High levels of the antibodies show their hosts have less of the dangerous plaques in their arteries that cause most heart attacks and strokes.

The discovery has the potential to save numerous lives, leading heart specialists have said.

More than 100,000 people in the UK die each year from a cardiac arrest or stroke that has been caused by plaque on the inside of an artery. By discovering which patients have plaques that are more likely to rupture and why, thousands of lives a year could be saved.

The development of new drugs might be used to tweak the immune system to prevent people from having a heart attack or stroke.

The British Heart Foundation is known to have funded much of the research and has given Dr Khamis – a consultant cardiologist at Hammersmith Hospital – £1million to develop his work further. He is working on a blood test to identify people at high risk of heart disease by measuring levels of the antibody. He hopes this will be available on the NHS in the next three to four years.

Those people identified as being most at risk can then make lifestyle changes to reduce the threat.

Even more significant, Dr Khamis is also developing an antibody injection that could be given to patients at high risk, which he hopes would be available in the next five to ten years.

However, he cautions more research is needed on both the test and the treatment to confirm their effectiveness before they could become available.

Scientists do not yet fully know why some people have higher levels of the antibodies.

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Medical, Research, Science

Study shows heart attack risk up 40% for years after an infection

MEDICAL

PATIENTS who suffer common infections have a much greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the years to come, a major study has found.

The findings suggest hundreds of thousands should be given statins or other heart pills if they suffer a chest infection or bladder problem.

A project tracking 1.2million patients found those admitted to hospital for pneumonia or urinary tract infections were 40 per cent more likely to have a heart attack within eight years. They were also 150 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke.

This suggests infections have an even greater impact on heart health than obesity, which raises the risk of strokes and heart attacks by about 25 per cent.

The research team, from Aston Medical School in Birmingham and the University of Cambridge, believe this is because infections cause long-term inflammation in blood vessels – making them more prone to clotting and clogging.

Patients who suffer an infection should be treated in the same way as someone with high blood pressure, raised cholesterol or diabetes, the researchers said. This could involve prescribing statins or aspirin as a preventative measure to cut the risk to their heart.

Nearly 600,000 people are admitted to hospital with chest infections such as pneumonia in England alone every year. Some 300,000 are admitted with urinary infections.

The study, which has been presented to the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, also found that those who had (had) infections were more likely to die if they did suffer a heart attack or stroke.

They were three times more likely to die from a heart attack than those who had not had infections, and almost twice as likely to die if they had a stroke.

Cardiologist Dr Rahul Potluri of Aston University, said: “Our figures suggest that those who are admitted to hospital with a respiratory or urinary tract infection are 40 per cent more likely to suffer a subsequent heart attack, and 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke, than patients who have had no such infection – and are considerably less likely to survive from these conditions.”

Experts have shown greater interest in the role of inflammation in heart disease after a study last year found that treating patients with anti-inflammatory canakinumab could cut their risk of having a heart attack by 24 per cent. Doctors say this drug – not yet available for heart patients – could represent the biggest breakthrough in cardiovascular medicine since statins were developed 30 years ago.

Dr Potluri said: “Infection appears to confer as much, if not more, of a risk for future heart disease and stroke as very well-established risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

“Although inflammation has been linked to atherosclerosis [when plaque builds up in arteries], this is the largest study to showing that common infection is such a significant risk factor.”

Lead author Dr Paul Carter, an academic clinical fellow at the University of Cambridge, said: “The data illustrates a clear association between infections and life-threatening heart conditions and strokes – and the figures are too huge to ignore.

“Serious infections are amongst the biggest causes of death in the UK directly, but our research shows infections that are severe enough to lead to hospitalisation may present a delayed risk in the form of atherosclerotic diseases.

“The sheer number of people who could be affected presents a challenge that needs investigation.”

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Health, Medical, Research, Science, Scotland

Clot-busting drug boosts recovery for stroke victims…

STROKE victims who are given a vital clot-busting drug within six hours are more likely to have a long-lasting recovery than those who do not receive the treatment, new research has revealed.

A Scottish-led study of more than 3,000 patients across a dozen different countries reviewed the effects of the clot-busting drug rt-PA, which is given intravenously to patients who have suffered an ischaemic stroke.

An ischaemic stroke happens when the brain’s blood supply is interrupted by a blood clot. The damage caused can be permanent or fatal. Stroke symptoms include paralysis down one side and speech problems.

The international trial, led by Edinburgh scientists, found that 18 months after being treated with the drug, more stroke survivors were able to look after themselves. Patients who received rt-PA had fewer long-term problems with self-care and mobility, and experienced less pain and discomfort than those who did not.

Treatment also reduced the number of patients who needed help from other people from 51 per cent to 43 per cent.

However, the benefits of using rt-PA come at a price. Patients are at risk of death within seven days of treatment because the drug can cause a secondary bleed in the brain.

Stroke experts stress that these mortality figures need to be taken in context of deaths from stroke. Without treatment, one third of people who suffer a stroke die, with another third left permanently dependent and disabled.

Professor Peter Sandercock, the Chief investigator from Edinburgh’s University Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, said:

… The trial team is delighted that, even for the elderly, rt-PA significantly improves life after stroke in the longer-term.

… Our results underline the benefits of treating patients with the drug as soon as possible and justify extending treatment to those aged 80 and over. We hope that this new data will encourage wider use.

Researchers said that because of the threat of death and disability, many stroke patients are prepared to take the early risks of being treated with rt-PA to avoid being disabled.

About half of those who took part in the trial were aged over 80.

The study builds on the results of the world’s largest ever trial of the drug, which was published last year. It found that treatment with rt-PA improved health for stroke survivors up to six months following an ischaemic stroke.

The latest results from the trial show the quality of life of stroke patients 18 months after receiving rt-PA.

It involved stroke patients in 12 countries between 2000 and 2011 – half of whom were treated with intravenous rt-PA and half of whom were not.

Researchers found that for every 1,000 patients given rt-PA within six hours of stroke, by 18 months, 36 more will not need help from others than if they had not been given the drug.

The multi-centre, randomised trial was supported by the University of Edinburgh, the Stroke Association UK, the Medical Research Council, the Health Foundation UK, NIHR Stroke Research Network and NHS Lothian Health Board. The results have been published in the academic journal The Lancet Neurology.

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