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Medical research into childhood strokes
JOB DONE: SCROLL DOWN TO "SUCCESS STORIES" TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE MADE Action Medical Research is funding research into childhood strokes. Alfie, featured in the video, is six and had his first stroke at the age of two. Action Medical Research needed help supporting this study to prevent other children and families suffering the way that Alfie has. It cost £30 an hour to fund this research. The study is taking place at the Institute of Child Health, University College, London. It is a 3 year project, due to end in July 2012. The project aims to develop a new blood test to help identify which children are most at risk of repeated strokes. This would help ensure the best treatment for each child, and avoid the need for complex, invasive surgery or very strong medication unless it is really necessary.
You've done it......scroll down the page to "success stories" to hear the findings from the doctor working on the research.
UPDATE: 22ND JUNE 2011 Dear David, Katherine, Miss Astor and Ms Sklebar Thanks to your contributions Dr Despina Eleftheriou, a researcher working on understanding the causes of childhood strokes, is developing a blood test to better predict which children are at risk of suffering further strokes. Around 1000 children in the UK experience a stroke each year. Up to one in five of them will have more than one stroke. Dr Despina is investigating whether it is possible to predict which children are likely to suffer a further stroke by analysing the levels of particular substances in their bloodstream. These substances, called ‘biomarkers’, are produced when blood vessels in the brain are damaged and they may circulate in the bloodstream. So far 35 children have been studied, 9 with progressive disease (ie who have suffered more than one stroke or worsening scans) compared to 26 children with stable disease and compared their blood with healthy control children to look for biomarkers of blood vessel injury. The results have shown that in children with multiple strokes these markers are increased significantly and can just be detected in a blood test. This is a new approach to trying to understand this problem and represents a line of research which has not been previously pursued in childhood strokes. Thank you for making this study possible, we appreciate your support massively. Dr Despina Eleftheriou and the Action Medical Research Team |
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