Treatment for Stroke

Posted: May 1, 2004

Generally, there are three treatment stages for stroke: prevention, therapy immediately after stroke, and post-stroke rehabilitation.

Therapies to prevent stroke are based on treating an individual's underlying risk factors. Acute stroke therapies try to stop a stroke while it is happening. Post-stroke rehabilitation is to overcome disabilities that result from stroke damage.

Medication or drug therapy is the most common treatment for stroke. Surgery can be used to prevent stroke, to treat acute stroke or to repair vascular damage or malformations in and around the brain.

For most stroke patients, physical therapy is the cornerstone of the rehabilitation process. Another type of therapy involving relearning daily activities is occupational therapy (OT). OT also involves exercise and training to help the stroke patient relearn everyday activities such as eating, drinking and swallowing, dressing, bathing, cooking, reading, writing and toileting.

Speech therapy is appropriate for patients who have no deficits in cognition or thinking, but have problems understanding speech or written words, or problems forming speech.

What research is being done?
Some brain damage that results from stroke may be secondary to the initial death of brain cells caused by the lack of blood flow to the brain tissue. This brain damage is a result of a toxic reaction to the primary damage.

Researchers are studying the mechanisms of this toxic reaction and ways to prevent this secondary injury to the brain. Scientists hope to develop neuroprotective agents to prevent this damage.

Another area of research involves experiments with vasodilators, medications that expand or dilate blood vessels and thus increase the blood flow to the brain.

Basic research has also focused on the genetics of stroke and stroke risk factors. One area of research involving genetics is gene therapy.

One promising area of stroke animal research involves hibernation. The dramatic decrease of blood flow to the brain in hibernating animals is extensive enough that it would kill a non-hibernating animal. If scientists can discover how animals hibernate without experiencing brain damage, then maybe they can discover ways to stop the brain damage associated with decreased blood flow in stroke patients. Other studies are looking at the role of hypothermia, or decreased body temperature, on metabolism and neuroprotection.

Scientists are working to develop new and better ways to help the brain repair itself and restore important functions to the stroke patients. Some evidence suggests that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in which a small magnetic current is delivered to an area of the brain, may possibly increase brain plasticity and speed up recovery of function after stroke.

Source: National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke

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