Researchers Seek Solutions to Treat Nation’s Third Leading Killer ‘Faster and Better’

The UCLA Stroke Center announced today a new program funded by a five-year, $5 million National Institutes of Health grant to integrate research and education to develop innovative therapies for acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

UCLA is among 4 centers nationwide participating in the “Specialized Program of Translational Research in Acute Stroke” (SPOTRIAS) NIH-funded grant to promote rapid diagnosis and effective new treatments for stroke.

The UCLA SPOTRIAS Center will focus on three major stroke research projects in efforts to improve the early diagnoses and successful treatment stroke patients:

Project I – “MR Rescue” (Magnetic Resonance and Recanalization of stroke clots using embolectomy). This project will determine whether magnetic resonance imaging can identify acute stroke patients who may benefit from having their blocked blood vessels reopened by a corkscrew device inserted into their blood vessels up to eight hours from onset of symptoms. This study will be the first randomized trial ever performed of the promising Concentric clot retriever device. Dr. Chelsea Kidwell, assistant professor of neurology and Dr. Reza Jahan, assistant professor of interventional neuroradiology, will lead this study.

Project II – “HEME Surgery” (Hemorrhage Evacuation Employing Magnetic Resonance Guided Endoscopic Surgery trial). This project will test an innovative, minimally invasive surgical technique applied early after onset of stroke. In this trial, innovative fiber optic and magnetic resonance techniques will be used to remove the intracerebral hemorrhage from the brain through a small burr hole drilled in the skull-- avoiding the disruption to normal brain tissue that typically occurs with standard brain surgery. Currently, there is no specific proven treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage, and the advantages of surgical treatment versus conservative medical therapy have not yet been decided, despite more than 50 years of
investigation. Dr. Neil Martin, professor and chief of neurosurgery, and Dr. Paul Vespa, associate professor of neurosurgery, will lead this study.

Project III – “Optimizing and Accelerating Pre-hospital Care of Acute Stroke.” This project will study strategies for the rapid assessment, triage, and treatment of acute stroke in the field and will include three simultaneous studies in coordination with the Los Angeles City Fire Department Emergency Medical Services Agency. These studies will focus on three areas including: testing a new tool for pre-hospital characterization of stroke severity called the Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS); improving dispatcher recognition of stroke-related 911 calls by developing and testing a simplified version of the Los Angeles Pre-hospital Stroke Screen-Dispatch specifically adapted for dispatcher use; and testing the feasibility, accuracy, and impact of paramedics’ use of a new point-of-care device that rapidly assesses five promising serum markers of acute stroke. Dr. Jeffrey Saver will lead this study.

Acute stroke is a common and devastating disorder, the third leading cause of death, and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. Over 750,000 Americans sustained an acute symptomatic stroke last year, and more than 11 million an asymptomatic stroke. These numbers are projected to increase dramatically, doubling in the next 50 years.

To date, the only approved treatment of proven benefit is tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), but it carries significant risks, and is not used in most patients because it must be administered within 3 hours of symptom onset. New treatments to reverse or reduce the harmful effects of stroke are urgently needed.

The UCLA SPOTRIAS Center will collaborate its efforts with the UCLA Stroke Center, the UCLA Stroke Network and Los Angeles City and County Emergency Medical Systems. The center will include a multidisciplinary alliance of investigators from the specialties of stroke neurology, emergency medicine, pre-hospital care, vascular neurosurgery, neuropathology, stroke genomics, diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology, magnetic resonance physics, and functional imaging.

“Our team is confident that strides made at UCLA over the next few years will revolutionize the treatment of stroke patients,” added Dr. Sidney Starkman, professor of emergency medicine and neurology, and co-director of the UCLA Stroke Center.

Recognized as one of the world's leading centers for the management of cerebral vascular disease, the UCLA Stroke Center treats simple and complex vascular disorders by incorporating recent developments in emergency medicine, stroke neurology, microneurosurgery, interventional neuroradiology, stereotactic radiology, neurointensive care, neuroanesthesiology, and rehabilitation neurology. This program is unique in its ability to integrate clinical and research activities across multiple disciplines and leading departments. A center without walls, the UCLA Stroke Center was founded in 1994.