Our hyper acute stroke unit (Ward 41) sees around 1900 suspected stroke cases a year and over 800 transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) known as mini strokes.
As the largest centre in the North East we are able to offer a variety of experimental treatments and research trials.
New drugs are constantly being developed that are safer and more efficient. Trial participants will be the first to have access to these types of treatments.
Research is always voluntary and we are so grateful to our patients’ vital contributions to stroke medicine. In the last year over 150 people participated in some form of stroke research trial whilst under our care.
It is because of research that we have seen major advances in how we treat strokes over the past ten years.
The team
We have a dedicated research team made up of two research nurses, a clinical trials officer and a data manager. Our role is to ensure every patient has the opportunity to participate in any research that they are suitable for.
It is important to note that not all patients will be suitable for trials or experimental treatments.
We also identify areas that need more work and understanding within stroke. You can read about our some of our new research studies below.
Our research lead is Dr Anand Dixit, consultant physician specialising in stroke, and all ten of our stroke consultants are committed to integrating research into their daily practice.
We are fortunate to also have ten specialist stroke nurses who are all trained in research procedures. This means we are able to offer our patients access to hyper acute research and some other emergency medicine trials 24 hours a day.
Acute trials
It is important to treat signs of stroke as quickly as possible. Often we administer a treatment known as thrombolysis, designed to break up blood clots that have formed in the brain.
One of our trials compares the current thrombolysis treatment we use with a newer type that we think may carry a lower risk of side effects.
Sometimes people will wake up with stroke symptoms and it can be hard to say exactly when they started. Usually thrombolysis will only be given within 5 hours of the stroke symptoms. However we are also running a trial to see whether it is effective to give thrombolysis for these ‘wake up’ cases.
Sometimes participating in a research trial will not directly benefit the patient. They may be given the ‘placebo’ or dummy treatment or a trial may be investigating a disease in order to develop new treatments for future patients.
We are working with Newcastle University on a simple and rapid new test which may help make an immediate diagnosis for certain types of stroke. This works by taking readings about the water content on each side of the brain which change when a stroke happens.
If this new test works it could be used in ambulances to help paramedics determine which is the best hospital to take the patient to.
Atrial Fibrillation
An irregular heart rhythm is one of the biggest causes of stroke. We are currently working hard to improve our management of this condition in the hope of reducing the number of recurring strokes we see each year.
Currently, we are trialling a new 7 day heart monitor as we think this will pick up more irregularities than our standard 24 hour monitors do.
