Developments in stroke medicine

Stroke is a devastating condition with high rates of mortality and morbidity and profound implications for health economics and resources worldwide. Currently, in England alone, stroke is the third largest cause of death and the single largest cause of adult disability. Each year, approximately 110,000 people in England will have a first or recurrent stroke and more than 900,000 people are currently living with the effects of stroke, with half of these being dependent on other people for help with everyday activities. The financial repercussions are substantial, with an estimated cost to the English economy of £7 billion per year. However, this condition, which was for so long regarded as a low priority and simply a natural consequence of ageing, has undergone something of a revolution in recent times. The field of stroke medicine has seen significant advances and there is an ever increasing awareness that there are real opportunities to make a dramatic difference to stroke patients. At each stage of this revolution, Age and Ageing has charted our progress, publishing key research and sharing ground-breaking ideas and knowledge. This online collection showcases some of the very best of such work.

1. Stroke knowledge and awareness: an integrative review of the evidence Stephanie P. Jones, Amanda J. Jenkinson, Michael J. Leathley, and Caroline L. Watkins
2. Intravenous thrombolysis in stroke patients of ≥80 versus <80 years of age—a systematic review across cohort studies Stefan T. Engelter, Leo H. Bonati, and Philippe A. Lyrer
3. Simplifying stroke risk stratification in atrial fibrillation patients: implications of the CHA2DS2–VASc risk stratification scores Burak Pamukcu, Gregory Y. H. Lip, and Deirdre A. Lane
4. What are the components of effective stroke unit care? Peter Langhorne, Alex Pollock, and in Conjunction with The Stroke Unit Trialists' Collaboration
5. Visual impairment following stroke: do stroke patients require vision assessment? Fiona Rowe et al.
6. Urinary incontinence in stroke: results from the UK National Sentinel Audits of Stroke 1998–2004 Dan Wilson, Derek Lowe, ALEX Hoffman, Anthony Rudd, and Adrian Wagg
7. Dysphagia treatment post stroke: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials Norine Foley, Robert Teasell, Katherine Salter, Elizabeth Kruger, and Rosemary Martino
8. Predicting functional outcome after stroke by modelling baseline clinical and CT variables John M. Reid et al.
9. The palliative care needs of acute stroke patients: a prospective study of hospital admissions Christopher R. Burton, Sheila Payne, Julia Addington-Hall, and Amanda Jones
10. Human stem cell therapy in ischaemic stroke: a review Soma Banerjee, Deborah Williamson, Nagy Habib, Myrtle Gordon, and Jeremy Chataway

Browse the full library of themed collections on the Age and Ageing website.