Thank you to all those that came to our event European Life After Stroke Forum (ELASF) in Dublin on the 11-12 March. We are delighted to have so many of the European Stroke Community come together to continue to improve Life After Stroke.
To view the abstract book, please download it here.
To view the slides from the event, please click here.
To register to be the first to hear about our 2025 event, please click here.
The Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) and the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) today launch their joint EU MEP Election Manifesto 2024. For the elections in June we are asking MEP candidates to support improving health across the EU with a focus on improving prevention, care and support of those affected by stroke across Europe.
Every year, nearly 1.5 million people suffer a stroke in 32 European countries1. Stroke can be devastating – leading to death or life-long disability2, shattering the lives of victims and their loved ones. Those who survive will join the more than 9 million European stroke survivors who live with long term health, social, and financial impacts3.
The EU Non-Communicable Disease Initiative, Healthier Together, launched by the European Commission in 2022, provides opportunities for policy action that both EU-level and national policymakers should build on. We call upon all EU level policymakers, to prioritise stroke in health policies, to support member states to develop national stroke plans and lead research into the under-examined areas of stroke.
Following the principles of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe, SAFE and ESO are calling for the implementation of the following policy proposals:
Prior to a stroke
Amidst the stroke
Life after stroke
Understanding stroke
References
In ischemic stroke treatment, timely access to appropriate interventions is paramount. While there are a range of effective therapies, navigating the intricacies of individual patient cases and not accurately considering each individual patient holistically can influence treatment outcomes and long-term quality of life.
The VALIDATE team are aiming to improve this. By using datasets from thousands of patient profiles and state-of-the-art AI models, they are developing and validating a clinical decision support system. Central to this project is the creation of a new App which aims to provide additional information for clinicians by predicting the outcome of different treatment strategies. This system will empower healthcare professionals in choosing the optimal treatment strategy tailored to each patient’s unique circumstances.
Beyond providing accurate prognosis, the success of the Validate App hinges on gaining the trust of clinicians and patients in its implementation. To achieve this, rigorous testing in real-world clinical settings will be conducted through observational studies, validating its efficacy and reliability.
For stroke survivors, the long-term implications could mean personalised treatment options and improved outcomes and quality of life.
For more information visit the VALIDATE website https://validate-project.eu
VALIDATE has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 777107.
On Brain Awareness Week’s fifth day we are focusing on ANGIE, a research project supported by EU, which aims to develop micro-robots for targeted drug delivery, to dissolve blood clots in acute stroke treatment.
To ensure accurate targeting, the research team have developed 3D-printed re-constructions of patient’s brain vessels based on their MRI scans. These brain 3D models are gaining recognition in the medical community for their ability to provide a realistic and safe environment for doctors treating stroke to hone their skills and facilitating earlier and more extensive training.
Ultimately, this advancement could mean that more patients have access to more lifesaving procedures and go on to improve stroke treatment outcomes.
More information can be found at www.h2020-angie.eu
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 952152.
On Brain Awareness Week’s fourth day we are focusing on a new project called TRUSTroke which is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve life after stroke for stroke survivors.
Currently, the ability to predict potential future complications that may result in further hospital re-admissions post-stroke is limited. In response, TRUSTroke is developing an advanced technology to help healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers manage both immediate and long-term effects of an ischemic stroke.
Hear Dr. Carlos Molina, Head of the Stroke Research Group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, talk data safety and how his team are hoping to improve stroke outcomes in the future.
More information can be found at www.Trustroke.eu
TRUSTroke has received funding from the European Union in the callHorizon-hlth-2022-stayhlth-01-two-stage under grant agreement No.101080564
TENSION is a large international study that was launched in 2018 with the hope to extend the benefits of a treatment called mechanical thrombectomy to stroke patients who are not currently offered this treatment option.
Thrombectomy is a treatment for certain types of acute ischaemic stroke. It uses very small devices to breakdown and remove the clot from the blood vessel in the brain. It can drastically reduce the level of post-stroke disability by restoring blood flow and therefore limits brain damage.
So far, thrombectomy trials have included highly selected groups of stroke patients – those with only small blood infarcts in the brain. This means that thrombectomy treated is limited and only available to small number of people.
The TENSION project aimed to determine if thrombectomy was safe to use in patients who had a severe stroke i.e. where a large blood clot had caused the stroke.
The trial results which were simultaneously unveiled at the World Stroke Congress and published in The Lancet, found that using thrombectomy can significantly help patients with severe strokes caused by blocked blood vessels in the brain. The study’s findings are likely to pave the way for broader consideration of this approach for a greater number of patients in the future.
“This is great news and if the results drives treatment guidelines updates, more patients should experience improved outcomes after a severe stroke” says Prof Dr Götz Thomalla, Principal Investigator of the study.
TENSION has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 754640.
Funded by the EU
The European Life After Stroke Forum on 11-12 March in Dublin, has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®). This means that healthcare professional delegates will be awarded 6.5 European CME credits (ECMEC®s) following the completion of our post-event survey.
As part of our new member spotlight series, the Estonian team have shared their news with us.
Greetings from the Estonian Stroke Patients’ Society!
Over the past six months, our organisation has undergone a period of huge change that has been touching almost every aspect of the Society. The reason for this overhaul was the realisation that we wouldn’t be able to create the organisation we wanted, by doing what we had always done. We needed to revert to basics and build a solid foundation to continue to build on to achieve our new vision, mission and goals. Here are some of the key actions we have undertaken to lay these foundations and continue to respond to the unmet needs of stroke survivors in Estonia:
We launched a ‘Science and Development Team’ consisting of nine specialists from various fields, ranging from those with strategic and technical knowledge to health specialists, including one doctoral student in neuroscience. The goal of the team is to support our continued development, using their knowledge to drive activities, so that we are sustainable, the voice of stroke patients is heard, and we are considered as an equal partner in stroke in the future.
We have also updated our visual look and feel with a new logo, a new colour scheme and a brand-new website. This new visual style has also been applied to our information materials, including a guide that supports stroke patients to access therapy.
One of our proudest moments was hosting our information day, “Informed Patient”, on December 15. It was aimed at stroke patients and their needs, and featured lecturers from state institutions, medical facilities, and collaboration partners and it was all well received by stroke survivors. These efforts did not go unnoticed, the event received coverage in the media, including TV, newspapers, and health portals.
To further solidify our commitment to patient advocacy, we were honoured to be re-elected as a member of the North Estonian Regional Hospital’s patient advisory board for the period 2024-2027.
As we move into 2024, our Society will continue our focus on science, innovation, and collaborations with patient associations, both within Estonia and abroad.
Elen Kirt, Estonian Stroke Patients’ Society
If you have any questions about Estonia’s activities, please contact Elen Kirt elen@insuldiselts.ee
If you have news to share about your organisation, please e-mail Anna Scott on anna.scott@safestroke.eu
Last week saw five SAFE members travel to Strasbourg to join the European Alliance for Cardiovascular Health (EACH) and European Stroke Organisation (ESO) to come together to jointly advocate for population-wide access to cardiovascular risk assessments and care pathways that focuses on individual patients needs and goals. SAFE and ESO have committed to ensure that any EU CVH plan will also include the principles of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe.
