Stroke Conference Daily News Summary -- Friday

WHAT: DAILY NEWS SUMMARY -- FRIDAY, Feb. 26 from the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2010

WHERE: Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Stroke Conference features more than 900 presentations on stroke science, and more than 3,500 attendees are expected.  The American Stroke Association communications department offers a full program of news materials and news events to media.  Conference highlights are below.

The conference is from Wednesday, Feb. 24 – Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

For complete coverage, visit the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's online news room at americanheart.mediaroom.com and click on Scientific Conferences & Meetings.

Friday News from the International Stroke Conference:

NEWS CONFERENCE:

Late breaking stroke science

This session of stroke science highlights just-completed trials – three on stroke prevention and one on stroke rehabilitation.

• The CSPS II trial is a multi-center, double-blind study that found the drug cilostazol was comparable to aspirin in preventing recurrent strokes, and patients taking cilostazol were less likely to develop brain bleeding.
• A subanalysis of the RE-LY trial found that the anti-clotting drug dabigatran etexilate worked just as well as warfarin to prevent strokes, and caused less bleeding than warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation.
• A rehabilitation study finds human- or robot-assisted therapy improved post-stroke arm movement better than usual care, even several years after a stroke.
• The CREST trial stenting in the neck arteries and surgery to remove plaque buildup in neck arteries proved similar in overall long-term safety and efficacy, but showed differences in stroke and heart attack in the weeks following the procedure.
• News conference video and a written summary are available at americanheart.mediaroom.com.

NEWS RELEASES:

• Smoking significantly increases risk of aneurysm in people with certain genes
• Blacks more likely to have undiagnosed key stroke risk factor, have higher stroke incidence

Downloadable audio interviews with American Stroke Association spokespeople offering perspective on each of the news releases are available. Listen here

NEWS TIPS:

• Higher regional rates of stroke deaths found among elderly
• Study finds more evidence of wider "window" for stroke clot-busting treatment

SOURCE American Heart Association