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Chocolate might not be the healthiest thing for your waistline - but research suggests it may protect against stroke. A study following more than 37,000 Swedish men showed those eating the most chocolate were the least likely to have a stroke. It follows on from other studies that have suggested eating chocolate can improve the health of the heart. However, researchers and the Stroke Association warned the findings were not an excuse to overeat chocolate.
Everyone taking part in the study was asked about their eating habits and their health was monitored for a decade. They were split into four groups based on the amount of chocolate, with the bottom group eating, on average, no chocolate each week and the top group having 63g (2.2oz) - slightly more than an average bar. Comparing the top and bottom groups showed those eating the most chocolate were 17% less likely to have a stroke during the study, published in the journal Neurology.
Flavonoids
One of the researchers, Prof Susanna Larsson, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said: "The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate. "Flavonoids appear to be protective against cardiovascular disease through antioxidant, anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties. "It's also possible that flavonoids in chocolate may decrease blood concentrations of bad cholesterol and reduce blood pressure." The study also noted that while dark chocolate had been linked to benefits for the heart in the past, milk chocolate was the preferred option in Sweden and in the study.
Dr Clare Walton, from the Stroke Association, said: "Past research has shown that eating dark chocolate might go some way to reducing your stroke risk if it is eaten as part of a healthy, balanced diet. "This study suggests that eating a moderate amount of other types of chocolate could also be beneficial in men. "However, a lot more research is needed and these results should not be used as an excuse for men to eat chocolate as an alternative to regular exercise or eating a healthy diet to reduce their risk of stroke." The authors of the study warned of the high sugar and fat content of chocolate. "It should be consumed in moderation," they said.
BBC News - Chocolate may protect the brain from stroke
I could also tells that 2 person have get died in cancer and 1 have surgery for cancer and 2 person have high blood pressure and 2 gets stroke thats in at lite framilie in sweden this is what sweden goverment do to its human. what are that for odds for that...good work swedish goverment time to think at your resarch village now or should they goes like redgert?
That's good news. It would follow that a dark low-sugar chocolate might be the best choice for someone suffering obesity. That way, everyone would be able to enjoy freedom from strokes, enjoy eating chocolate a little, yet not want too much more without all that sugar that makes things taste so good some people can't resist a second helping. Moderation seems hardest for health clients who use good food as an abused drug when taking in too much.Eat some chocolate, avoid a stroke...
Chocolate may protect the brain from stroke
29 August 2012 - Some health benefits, loads of calories.
Chocolate might not be the healthiest thing for your waistline - but research suggests it may protect against stroke. A study following more than 37,000 Swedish men showed those eating the most chocolate were the least likely to have a stroke. It follows on from other studies that have suggested eating chocolate can improve the health of the heart. However, researchers and the Stroke Association warned the findings were not an excuse to overeat chocolate.
Everyone taking part in the study was asked about their eating habits and their health was monitored for a decade. They were split into four groups based on the amount of chocolate, with the bottom group eating, on average, no chocolate each week and the top group having 63g (2.2oz) - slightly more than an average bar. Comparing the top and bottom groups showed those eating the most chocolate were 17% less likely to have a stroke during the study, published in the journal Neurology.
Flavonoids
One of the researchers, Prof Susanna Larsson, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said: "The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate. "Flavonoids appear to be protective against cardiovascular disease through antioxidant, anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties. "It's also possible that flavonoids in chocolate may decrease blood concentrations of bad cholesterol and reduce blood pressure." The study also noted that while dark chocolate had been linked to benefits for the heart in the past, milk chocolate was the preferred option in Sweden and in the study.
Dr Clare Walton, from the Stroke Association, said: "Past research has shown that eating dark chocolate might go some way to reducing your stroke risk if it is eaten as part of a healthy, balanced diet. "This study suggests that eating a moderate amount of other types of chocolate could also be beneficial in men. "However, a lot more research is needed and these results should not be used as an excuse for men to eat chocolate as an alternative to regular exercise or eating a healthy diet to reduce their risk of stroke." The authors of the study warned of the high sugar and fat content of chocolate. "It should be consumed in moderation," they said.
BBC News - Chocolate may protect the brain from stroke
A diet rich in tomatoes may reduce the risk of having a stroke, according to researchers in Finland. They were investigating the impact of lycopene - a bright red chemical found in tomatoes, peppers and water-melons. A study of 1,031 men, published in the journal Neurology, showed those with the most lycopene in their bloodstream were the least likely to have a stroke. The Stroke Association called for more research into why lycopene seemed to have this effect.
The levels of lycopene in the blood were assessed at the beginning of the study, which then followed the men for the next 12 years. They were split into four groups based on the amount of lycopene in their blood. There were 25 strokes in the 258 men in the low lycopene group and 11 strokes out of the 259 men in the high lycopene group. The study said the risk of stroke was cut by 55% by having a diet rich in lycopene.
'Major reduction'
Dr Jouni Karppi, from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, said: "This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke. "The results support the recommendation that people get more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which would likely lead to a major reduction in the number of strokes worldwide, according to previous research." He said lycopene acted as an antioxidant, reduced inflammation and prevented blood clotting.
Dr Clare Walton, from the Stroke Association, said: "This study suggests that an antioxidant which is found in foods such as tomatoes, red peppers and water-melons could help to lower our stroke risk. "However, this research should not deter people from eating other types of fruit and vegetables as they all have health benefits and remain an important part of a staple diet. "More research is needed to help us understand why the particular antioxidant found in vegetables such as tomatoes could help keep our stroke risk down."
BBC News - Tomatoes are 'stroke preventers'
Strokes are becoming more common at a younger age, with about one in five victims now below the age of 55, research in the American Academy of Neurology Journal suggests. The study followed 1.3 million people in a US region and found 19% of those experiencing a stroke in 2005 were in this age group, up from 13% in 1993. This is despite a trend of overall falling rates of the condition.
The Stroke Association said the findings were alarming. Report author Dr Brett Kissela said: "The reasons for this trend could be a rise in risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol." The study looked at all people over the age of 20 in greater Cincinnati and North Kentucky over three periods in 1993, 1999 and 2005.
UK parallels
As well as a rise in the occurrence of stroke in the under-55s over this time, from 109 per 100,000 people in 1993 to 176 per 100,000 in 2005, the study also found the average age of those experiencing the condition fell from 71 years in 1993 to 69 years in 2005. Those in the oldest age groups saw a decline in the rate over the same period. Similarly, in the UK there has been a 40% reduction in the number of people having major strokes over the past 20 years. The decline in numbers is partly due to improvements in prevention, combined with an increase in healthy living public awareness. This US study suggests a shift in the age of those experiencing stroke, from the old to the young, although experts say the findings need to be treated with caution.
Dr David Werring, a neurologist from University College London, said: "Stroke is usually considered a disease of older people, but this study reminds us that young people are also affected. "It is possible that changes in how stroke is detected during the study could explain some of the increase. "The proportion having a detailed brain scan by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is the most sensitive test for detecting stroke damage in the brain, increased from 18% to 58%, which might have increased the rate of accurate diagnosis - particularly in younger people who may have been more likely to have these scans.
Greater burden
Envisage uses motion sensor technology to show patients whether or not they are doing their rehabilitation exercises correctly. It was created by a team from the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde. Focus groups suggested stroke survivors needed a way to keep motivated during the long road to recovery. Linda Gordon, who had a stroke last year, said: "I think it's been a great thing, it's been really good." At the age of 54, Ms Gordon is only one year older than BBC presenter Andrew Marr, who suffered a stroke earlier this month. She lost the use of her right arm and leg - and has had to learn to walk again.
The system gathers data from patients and lets them see how their movement is affected
Reflective balls
Ms Gordon describes the after-effects of the stroke as "devastating". "My mother had strokes, but you don't think it'll happen to you," she said. "You just don't." Ms Gordon was the first patient to be enrolled on the Envisage trial, taking place in Lanarkshire stroke clinics. Small reflective balls are placed on her leg and thigh, allowing motion sensor cameras to capture her precise movements and show them on screen. A "swingometer" at the side of the screen moves into red if her position is wrong and green if she is doing an exercise correctly. Occupational therapist Gillian Sweeney explained: "Occupational therapists and physiotherapists have always used verbal feedback and mirrors in therapy sessions. "This technology allows us to wind it back and play it to the patient. "Patients like to be able to see where they're going wrong and to get advice on how to correct that." About 30 patients have used the Envisage programme so far.
Patients' homes
It is hoped that larger-scale studies will follow and the technology will eventually be a standard part of stroke rehabilitation. Research fellow Dr Anne Taylor, from the Glasgow School of Art, said: "What a lot of therapists said before is that therapy can be very prescriptive, very instructive. "They're telling the patient what they have to do, whereas hopefully the use of the visuals will allow an interaction where the patient takes more ownership. "The aim is to use it in patients' homes eventually." Ms Gordon's long recovery continues and she is now concentrating on trying to get more movement in her arm. "I just need to learn to be patient," she said. "I was so naive. I thought I'd be back at my work in a couple of months. "Now I've spoken to people who say it takes two years to recover. It's just a slow process."
BBC News - Exercise device helps 'envisage' recovery from strokes
"It was surprising" and shows a need for more treatment, said the study's leader, Dr. Amytis Towfighi of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "When patients have their depression treated they're more motivated to take their medication, do therapy and live a full life." The study was discussed Thursday at an American Stroke Association conference in Honolulu. More than 6 million Americans have had a stroke; about 800,000 occur each year in the U.S. Studies suggest that up to a third of stroke survivors develop depression, but few have looked at suicidal thoughts - one sign of how serious it is. "It's not necessarily active suicidal thoughts with a plan, but perhaps wishing you hadn't survived the event," Towfighi explained.
She used the National Health and Nutrition Surveys, a government project that gives checkups and questionnaires to a representative sample of adults. More than 17,000 people were surveyed from 2005 through 2010. They included 678 who had suffered a stroke; 758 who had had a heart attack; 1,242 with cancer, and 1,991 with diabetes. Researchers don't know how long ago these problems occurred of if people were still being treated for them. They were asked a question that many studies use to gauge suicidal thinking: "Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself?" About 8 percent of stroke survivors reported such thoughts, compared to 6 percent of heart attack survivors, 5 percent of those with diabetes and 4 percent with cancer.
Suicidal thoughts were more likely in people who scored high on depression tests, were younger, overweight, less educated, poor, female or unmarried. Depression may develop partly because strokes damage the very thing that controls mood - the brain, said a neurologist with no role in the study, Dr. Brian Silver of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. "It's not necessarily the reaction to the disease ... it's also the disease itself that is causing the depression," by releasing harmful chemicals that can trigger it, he said. Suicidal thinking is a well-known problem, but this study "puts a number on it" and shows the need to watch for and treat it, Silver said.
Source
It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them. Blacks were five times more likely than whites to have the Southern dietary pattern linked with the highest stroke risk. And blacks and whites who live in the South were more likely to eat this way than people in other parts of the country were. Diet might explain as much as two-thirds of the excess stroke risk seen in blacks versus whites, researchers concluded. "We're talking about fried foods, french fries, hamburgers, processed meats, hot dogs," bacon, ham, liver, gizzards and sugary drinks, said the study's leader, Suzanne Judd of the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
People who ate about six meals a week featuring these sorts of foods had a 41 percent higher stroke risk than people who ate that way about once a month, researchers found. In contrast, people whose diets were high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish had a 29 percent lower stroke risk. "It's a very big difference," Judd said. "The message for people in the middle is there's a graded risk" — the likelihood of suffering a stroke rises in proportion to each Southern meal in a week.
Results were reported Thursday at an American Stroke Association conference in Honolulu. The federally funded study was launched in 2002 to explore regional variations in stroke risks and reasons for them. More than 20,000 people 45 or older — half of them black — from all 48 mainland states filled out food surveys and were sorted into one of five diet styles:
—Southern: Fried foods, processed meats (lunchmeat, jerky), red meat, eggs, sweet drinks and whole milk.
More Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk - Yahoo! News
A clot-busting drug used for heart attacks and non-bleeding strokes can be used to reduce post-stroke disability and mortality in patients with a type of bleeding stroke, researchers found in a recent clinical trial. The drug Alteplase, a tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, cleared blood that pooled in the brains of people with intraventricular hemorrhage, reducing death rates by 10 percent and nearly doubled the likelihood of a more functional recovery, researchers reported at the 2016 International Stroke Conference. Intraventricular hemorrhage is a form of stroke characterized by blood pooling and clotting in the brain's ventricles, which normally hold cerebrospinal fluid. Intraventricular hemorrhage accounts for just 15 percent of all strokes, but they make up 40 percent of stroke deaths.
Above, intraventricular blood, in red, is cleared from the ventricles by administration of tPA and a brain catheter in yellow. Images are 3D renderings of CT scans from a CLEAR III subject
Between 60 and 80 percent of patients do not survive intraventricular hemorrhage, and 90 percent of those who survive recover very little of their former functionality. "For many patients, this approach can significantly reduce disability after a stroke, and can be the difference between going home instead of going to a nursing home," Dr. Issam Awad, a professor of surgery at the University of Chicago, said in a press release. For the study, researchers enrolled 500 patients around the world with intraventricular hemorrhage, treating them with either tPA or saline through a brain catheter. The participants were followed for five years after treatment, from 2009 to 2015.
Death rates among patients given tPA went down by 10 percent, and were one-third lower than the saline group's death rate. Eighteen percent more patients with larger clots -- greater than 20 mL of pooled blood -- who got tPA had "good outcomes" than those who received saline, and 79.8 percent of patients given tPA had 80 percent clot removal. Patients with 90 percent of their clots removed had more than double the chance of "good" outcome, the researchers reported. "When we entered into the trial, we knew very little about how this therapy ought to be used, in whom it should be used, and whether it was safe," Awad said. "We now have clear data on how best to implement the procedure, and for at least a group of patients, we know it can nearly double the likelihood of a favorable outcome."
Clot-busting drug improves survival for deadly form of stroke - UPI.com
The diabetes drug pioglitazone, sold as Actos, was shown to lower the risk of recurring stroke and heart attack in a large clinical trial of insulin-resistant stroke patients. Researchers at Yale University found the drug decreased the number of cardiovascular events in previous stroke patients by nearly a quarter during the five-year trial. Pioglitazone has been shown in previous studies to prevent stroke and heart attack in patients with type 2 diabetes, as well as patients who have trouble processing sugar but are not diabetic, but has been controversial because of increased risks for heart failure and edema, as well as weight gain.
The success of diabetes drugs in preventing stroke and heart attack shows metabolic therapies can be used more often for non-diabetic patients, researchers said.
Another study in 2006 showed the drug reduced risk for heart attack and stroke, but not in those who had not had a previous stroke. "This study represents a novel approach to prevent recurrent vascular events by reversing a specific metabolic abnormality thought to increase the risk for future heart attack or stroke," said Dr. Walter Koroshetz, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in a press release. For the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers enrolled 3,876 people in seven countries at 167 insistutions to receive either 45 milligram doses of pioglitazone or a placebo. All patients recruited for the study did not have diabetes but were insulin-resistant for five years.
Nine percent of patients who received the drug had either a stroke or heart attack, while 11.8 percent who were given a placebo had either one. Far fewer patients taking the drug developed diabetes, 3.8 percent, compared to 7.7 percent of placebo patients who developed type 2 diabetes. The researchers noted the drug increased risk for weight gain, edema and bone fracture, which they said future work would focus on mitigating. "After years of controversy, pioglitazone is now proven to have cardiovascular benefits," said Dr. Silvio Inzucchi, an endocrinologist at Yale University, said in a press release. "It's exciting to think that metabolic therapy may now be poised to take its place beside aspirin and cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering therapies for preventing stroke in non-diabetic patients."
Diabetes drug may prevent heart attack, recurring stroke - UPI.com
Writing in The Lancet, researchers from Canada's McMaster University say 10 stroke risk factors “that can be modified are responsible for nine of 10 strokes worldwide.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 800,000 Americans suffer from strokes each year, making it the fifth leading cause of death. There are two types of stroke, ischaemic strokes caused by blood clots and accounts for 85 percent of strokes, while hemorrhagic strokes or bleeding into the brain account for 15 percent of strokes. The researchers say that by eliminating hypertension alone, the number of strokes could be nearly halved. The occurrence of stroke could be cut by a further 36 percent with more physical activity and by 19 percent by eating a more healthy diet. Reducing alcohol and tobacco intake also reduces the likelihood of strokes, as does reducing stress, researchers said.
Other factors included diabetes, obesity, heart conditions and cholesterol. "This study has the size and scope to explore stroke risk factors in all major regions of the world and within key populations," said Martin O'Donnell, a Caster study co-lead. "We have confirmed the 10 modifiable risk factors associated with 90 percent of stroke cases in all regions, young and older and in men and women. The study also confirms that hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factor in all regions, and the key target in reducing the burden of stroke globally." The researchers based their findings on data from nearly 27,000 people from around the world.
The role of each risk factor varied by region. For example hypertension was more of a risk in Southeast Asia than in North America. These findings underscored previous research from the INTERSTERILE study, which identified risk factors associated with stroke among 6,000 subjects in 22 countries. “Our findings will inform the development of global population-level interventions to reduce stroke, and how such programs may be tailored to individual regions, as we did observe some regional differences in the importance of some risk factors by region,” according to study author Slim Kyushu, a professor at the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University. “This includes better health education, more affordable healthy food, avoidance of tobacco and more affordable medication for hypertension and dyslipidaemia.”
9 Out of 10 Strokes Preventable
In the largest study of its kind analyzing blood pressure in every nation between 1975 and 2015, the scientists said that it has dropped sharply in wealthy countries - possibly due to healthier diets and lifestyles - but risen in poorer ones. The increases are especially significant in Africa and South Asia, the researchers said, and could be partly due to poor nutrition in childhood. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, puts extra strain on the blood vessels and major organs such as the heart, brain and kidneys. It is the world's top cause of cardiovascular disease, which leads to strokes and heart attacks, and is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths a year worldwide. Led by World Health Organization researchers working with hundreds of scientists internationally, this study covered blood pressure measurements from nearly 20 million people and was published in The Lancet medical journal.
A nurse trainee measures a pregnant woman's blood pressure during a prenatal consultation at the United Brethren in Christ Hospital in the town of Mattru Jong, Bonthe District, Sierra Leone.
In Europe, Britain had the lowest proportion of people with high blood pressure in 2015. South Korea, the United States and Canada had the lowest hypertension rates in the world. More than half the world's adults with high blood pressure in 2015 lived in Asia, the study estimated. Some 226 million people in China have high blood pressure, it said, as do 200 million in India. "High blood pressure is no longer related to affluence - as it was in 1975 - but is now a major health issue linked with poverty," said Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London's school of public health. He said that while he could not be sure of why the data showed high blood pressure as more of a problem in poorer countries, it may be partly due to overall better health and more consumption of fruit and vegetables in wealthy societies.
In rich countries, the condition is also caught more frequently and earlier, and managed more effectively with medicines, Ezzati said. Blood pressure is defined by two numbers - systolic pressure, which represents the force with which the heart pumps blood into the blood vessels, and diastolic pressure, a measure of the resistance to the blood flow in the body's blood vessels. Both numbers are measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). High blood pressure is defined as 140/90 mmHg or higher. The condition is caused by a number of factors including having a diet high in salt and low in fruit and vegetables, and not taking enough exercise.
Huge Study Finds 1 Billion People Suffer From High Blood Pressure
