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Published on: 5/1/2007
Last Visited: 8/4/2007
Current therapies are powerful and effective, but can be applied only in the first few hours, said Dr. Dennis Landis, chair of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
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Landis stresses the importance of acting on the following warning signs and seeking emergency care immediately:
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Don't ignore the minor problem," said Landis."Diseases like diabetes and hypertension are also causing damage in similar vessels elsewhere.A block in an equally small blood vessel that serves the portion of the brain responsible for motor activity can cause a person to be paralyzed."
Stroke victims can recover partial or complete loss of motor or speech function because of other areas of the brain that take over, but dead brain cells cannot be resurrected.The promise of stem cell therapy to re-grow brain tissue lost from stroke is distant at present, said Landis, although there have been several recent advances in post-stroke therapy.
If a person is forced to use the weak limb in the early days after stroke by restraining the normal limb, the chances of recovering function are increased.Direct electrical stimulation of muscles in paralyzed limbs can be used to elicit nearly normal movement, and may bolster the recovery of normal control.
"We're getting better and better with preventive and treatment techniques," said Landis.
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