Research highlights 2010

Research highlights 2010

Among the key research activities for the Stroke and Dementia Research Centre during 2010 was a project led by Professor Hugh Markus, which could help identify a group of patients at particularly high risk of stroke. The research investigated patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis – a symptomless condition where the arteries are narrowing or blocked, usually by a build up of fatty materials such as cholesterol. They found that those at high risk of stroke could be identified using a Transcranial Doppler. This technique shines an ultrasound beam through the skull onto the brain’s blood vessels. It is usually used to measure blood flow in the brain, but can also detect small circulating blood clots within the brain called emboli. Large emboli are the most common cause of stroke. The study showed that smaller ones, detected by this technique, but which caused no symptoms, could predict which patients went on to suffer stroke. The study was supported by over £600,000 of funding from the British Heart Foundation, and findings from the Asymptomatic Carotid Emboli Study (ACES) were published in Lancet Neurology. The researchers hope that this will identify those patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis who will benefit most from surgical intervention.