Poststroke Outcomes

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. While stroke mortality rates are decreasing due to improved medical treatment of the complications caused by acute stroke, the number of individuals living with the residual effects of stroke is rising. Currently, over 75% of patients survive a first stroke, and, of these individuals, 25% are left with a minor disability and 40% experience moderate-to-severe disabilities. Furthermore, stroke patients are at high risk for future vascular events, including recurrent stroke, putting them at a greater risk of death and further disability. With growing numbers of stroke survivors, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the short- to longterm recovery process after stroke and to identify avenues for developing efficacious therapeutic strategies to enhance poststroke outcomes. Government research funding agencies, like the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS), and nongovernmental research funding organizations, like the American Heart Association (AHA), have recognized the need for prioritizing poststroke outcomes research by developing strategic plans to explore ways in which the brain affected by stroke or endangered by risk factors can preserve, protect, or recover function and supporting consortia of multidisciplinary investigators and facilities conducting collaborative investigation into stroke regeneration, resilience, and secondary prevention. This special issue was developed to shed light on the various factors affecting the central and peripheral nervous system, which influence prognoses following a stroke, as well as to portray promising new poststroke treatment modalities. In the systematic qualitative review conducted by C. Ellis and colleagues, they found evidence of a racial disparity in poststroke functional outcomes, with people of Black race, who have the highest risk for stroke incidence and mortality, having poor outcomes after a stroke compared to their nonHispanic White counterparts. Among 355 ischemic stroke patients who received thrombolytic therapy, D. Nathanson et al. observed that women experienced better recovery outcomes at 3 months after stroke than men and that lower diastolic blood pressures in women may contribute to this gender difference. Findings from both studies highlight a need to properly establish the contributors to demographic disparities in stroke outcomes and implement interventions to equitably enhance favorable sequela after stroke.

In conclusion, several opportunities exist to expand the scientific underpinnings and therapeutic options pertaining to poststroke outcomes. Periodic journal issues wholly dedicated to covering the state of the science in this research area are crucial for identifying gaps, stimulating ideas, and planning for future evidence-based treatments. That was the objective of this particular issue. Fortunately, improving poststroke outcomes is now clearly a priority item on the agenda of policy makers at various levels of medical research funding and healthcare delivery. We sincerely hope that these ongoing endeavors will lead to major breakthroughs in stroke recovery/rehabilitation and secondary prevention, thereby optimizing our ability to further enhance outcomes after stroke in the not-too-distant future.

Submit manuscript via online  https://www.imedpub.com/submissions/stroke-research-therapy.html or email us at manuscripts@imedpub.com

Regards               
Meria Den           
Managing Editor              
Stroke Research & Therapy