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Drinking coffee and tea reduces the risk of developing stroke and dementia

The risk of developing stroke and dementia is substantially reduced by consuming tea or coffee every day. This was the finding of a study carried out on healthy subjects aged between 50 to 74 years. The recent study was published in the noted journal PLOS Medicine. The risk of developing dementia after a stroke was also lowered in these individuals as they drank coffee regularly.

Approximately 10% of deaths are caused by stroke globally, so a patient who has recovered from stroke has conquered a life-threatening event. Dementia is the medical term for a loss of cognitive function of the brain, leading to memory loss. Both the conditions are global health concerns, causing a considerable burden in terms of money and other resources.

The study was conducted at Tianjin Medical University by Yuan Zhang and her colleagues. The study included 365,682 participants who received treatment between 2006 and 2010; however, they attended follow up sessions till 2020. Initially, the participants themselves reported about their tea and coffee consumption. However, as the study period progressed, dementia had developed in 5,079 participants and about 10,053 participants had got a stroke at least once.

The incidence of stroke or dementia was the lowest in participants who consumed about 4-6 cups of coffee and tea each day. This finding also included participants who consumed 3-5 cups of tea or 2-3 cups of coffee each day. Compared to those who did not drink any tea or coffee, the risk of stroke was lowered by as much as 32% in participants who drank 2-3 cups of coffee and 2-3 cups of tea per day. Moreover, the risk of dementia was also lowered by as much as 28% in participants who drank tea and coffee daily.

The study was conducted on a relatively healthy sample, which did not have complications like the general population aged 50-74 years. Therefore, the findings of this study cannot be generalized on a larger scale. The results cannot be applied to larger populations as relatively fewer people developed stroke and dementia in this study. One can only say drinking tea and coffee daily offered protection against stroke and dementia; however, the result is restricted to participants of this study.

In conclusion, consuming tea and coffee in moderation certainly reduces the risk of developing stroke and dementia in old age.

 

 

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A new inclusive treatment guideline for stroke patients

American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has issued a new guideline for treating blood clots that cause strokes. As per this new treatment guideline, more patients would be eligible for receiving critical care and treatments.

The novel guideline was based on the most recent research study, and it was published in the journal Stroke. This novel guideline was presented at the International Stroke Conference 2018. This is an annual conference that invites globally renowned researchers and clinicians who are specialized in treating stroke.

According to this new recommendation, the window of time could be increased for selected patients provided blood clots can be mechanically removed from blood vessels that supply human brain. If blood clots block large blood vessels, then these clots can be removed mechanically.

According to this guideline, mechanical thrombectomy can be safely performed on large vessel strokes if patients receive treatment within 16 hours after a stroke. With advanced brain imaging, mechanical thrombectomy can be performed on some stroke patients even after 24 hours. The previous time-limit was six hours.

Mechanical thrombectomy is a procedure in which a physician places a device within a catheter, which is a thin tube threaded within an artery. The clot is then grabbed and removed with the device. The procedure is more effective as the risk of disability is limited. In particular, it is very useful to treat blockages in larger vessels, which lead to human brain.

The risk of disability from stroke would be minimized in most patients as the time-window is expanded for mechanical thrombectomy in appropriate patients Many people would benefit from this new treatment guideline, and the purview of acute stroke treatment has changed completely. Hospitals have now upgraded their rigorous standards for performing mechanical endovascular thrombectomy.

Alteplase is a clot-busting IV drug, which works as a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). It is the only drug that is approved by FDA for treating clots caused by ischemic stroke. In previous studies, clot-busting treatment was not performed on patients with mild strokes, but the new treatment guideline suggests that these patients could be included in this new line of treatment.

According to this guideline, the risk and benefits depend on individual patients because if this new treatment modality is administered promptly and correctly, disability caused by the drug can be decreased. The number of people receiving intravenous treatment for clot busting increases consequently.

Whenever a patient shows signs of a stroke, the most important measure in saving the person’s life would be a treatment modality with immediate action. The risk of disability can be minimized in stroke patients if they receive treatment as soon as possible.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. Moreover, it is also a leading cause of disability in patients. Acute ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke as per new guidelines.

Such kind of stroke is caused whenever a blood clot blocks the artery that supplies blood to the brain, reducing blood flow. In the USA, a person suffers from stroke every 40 seconds and more than 133,000 people in the USA die of stroke each year. Of all the cases of stroke, more than 87% patients suffer from ischemic stroke.

The guideline was published after performing a systematic review of more than 400 research studies, which were published in peer-reviewed journals. A group of highly specialized experts in stroke treatment formulated these guidelines after carefully examining these studies. These are the most comprehensive guidelines for ischemic stroke treatment since 2013.

 

 

 

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