WINTER NEWS AND VIEWS…

February’s news about stroke is more fascinating than usual: migraines and stroke, marijuana and stroke, and the advent of a stroke diagnostic process called Alladin.  

I’ll begin with the subject that’s one of my favorites – migraine and stroke – because I have had a personal interest in that connection for a long time. I myself suffered from horrible migraine headaches for more than 30 years. I often worried that all that action on the vessels in my brain could be damaging. Any neurologist I asked about it said there was no link between migraines and strokes. My own stroke, ironically, was the result of a dissection in my carotid artery, due to trauma 8 months earlier when I was hit in the neck with a tennis ball.

Weakness in the carotids was noticed in an ultrasound and in an angiogram and I was diagnosed with a rare condition called fibromuscular dysplasia, FMD (weakness of the connective tissue.) When I was in the hospital for an angiogram, I asked the neurologist whether migraines are related to stroke and while he was answering me that there was no link, a neurology resident behind him was nodding yes. So I still wonder whether that weakness in my own arteries may not be due to FMD but to years of migraine headaches, which, since my stroke, I no longer get. It certainly was not due to smoking marijuana, as was the case with one guy of 36 (see story below).

On the other hand, if Viagra, not pot, is your drug of choice, that could be a good thing -- from top to bottom, so to speak. It helps aid in stroke recovery. And then there’s the breakthrough in stroke diagnosis with something called Alladin. Based on the misdiagnosis horror stories of so many members of stroke network, Alladin is certainly a welcome event.

Now for the news…

Migraine linked to risky heart health
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/medicine_health/report-40721.html

Description: People who live with migraine headaches show a "riskier" profile for cardiovascular disease than those without migraines, according to a new study published in the February 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The large population-based study was conducted among 5,755 participants in the Netherlands. Researchers identified 620 people with migraine in the group from 5,135 people without migraine. The study provided a cardiovascular risk profile of those with migraine attacks and those who suffer from migraine with aura (a visual or other hallucination that precedes a migraine). One third of those with migraines experienced aura symptoms before a headache occurred. "For reasons that are not yet clear, people with migraine--particularly those with aura--may be more likely to present with risk factors associated with cardiovascular conditions," said lead author Ann Scher, PhD, of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md. "It is known that migraine with aura increases the risk of stroke before the age of 45, although the reason for this is not yet clear.

Heart Disease Risks Common in Migraine Sufferers
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=94788

Description: ISLAMABAD, February 23 (Online): Men and women who suffer from migraines are also likely to have risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, a new study finds. A report in the Feb. 22 issue of Neurology concludes that migraine sufferers were more likely to smoke, have parents who had a heart attack or stroke, and have high cholesterol and high blood pressure. However, they were less likely to drink, the researchers said.

More Evidence Ties Marijuana to Stroke Risk

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-02-22T165624Z_01_B6954
   08_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-MARIJUANA-DC.XML

2005-02-22 09:10:59

Description: NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The case of a young man who suffered a stroke more than once after smoking marijuana adds to evidence that the drug can, in rare cases, have such serious consequences, according to researchers. On three separate occasions, the 36-year-old man suffered a stroke shortly after smoking a large amount of marijuana. He had no known risk factors for stroke and no signs of arteriosclerosis, a narrowing and hardening of the arteries over time that can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Viagra Linked to Aiding the Recovery of Stroke Victims
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=129310

2005-02-20 12:08:56
Description: VIAGRA, the drug that has helped thousands of men revive their sex life, may also help stroke victims of both sexes make remarkable recoveries, doctors said yesterday.

 'Alladin' can enable fast revival of stroke patients!

http://netindia123.com/showdetails.asp?id=68741&cat=
World&head='Alladin'+can+enable+fast+revival+of+stroke+patients!

2005-02-23 09:17:43
Description: 'Alladin' can enable fast revival of stroke patients! London | February 23, 2005 6:41:30 PM IST There is hope around the corner for stroke victims. Cardiff University researchers are reportedly working on a project that would help them and others in the medical fraternity to carry out a thorough diagnosis of a stroke victim to ensure quick recovery. The device named 'Alladin' would analyze the precise state of a victim from the time of the attack throughout their recovery and guide the doctors as to what kind of treatment is required at a particular time. Generally, recovery from a stroke often takes long time and calls for frequent visits to the clinic. Moreover, a stroke reduces a patient's power to communicate, leaving him in a severe state of distress. "We are developing 'data-mining' for use in Alladin". "This searches through patient data to determine what each piece of information means in terms of the patient's condition," said Dr. Anthony Soroka, who is leading the research team at the Manufacturing Engineering Center.