JAMA Intern Medicine: May 13, 2013 Prior studies have shown that 25% to 50% of clinical trials are never published.1– 4 However, among those published, we know little about the length of time required for publication in the peer-reviewed biomedical literature after study completion. Ioannidis5 previously demonstrated that a sample of randomized phase 2 and 3 trials conducted between […]
STROKEAHA: May 9, 2013 Background and Purpose—Two randomized trials suggested that transcranial laser therapy (TLT) may benefit patients with acute ischemic stroke, although efficacy has not been confirmed. Supportive proof of concept could be demonstrated if TLT reduces the volume of cortical infarction. Methods—The NeuroThera Efficacy and Safety Trial-2 (NEST-2) was a randomized trial of TLT […]
STROKEAHA: May 9, 2013 Background and Purpose—High blood pressure is common in the acute phase of stroke and is associated with poor outcome. We examined whether blood pressure–lowering treatment with candesartan in the acute phase affects long-term cognitive function and quality of life. Methods—Scandinavian Candesartan Acute Stroke Trial was a randomized-controlled and placebo-controlled trial of candesartan […]
JACC: May 14, 2013 Objectives This study sought to investigate the outcomes following cardioversion or catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with warfarin or rivaroxaban. Background There are limited data on outcomes following cardioversion or catheter ablation in AF patients treated with factor Xa inhibitors. Methods We compared the incidence of electrical cardioversion (ECV), pharmacologic […]
CIRCULATIONAHA: May 2, 2013 Background—In the ARISTOTLE trial apixaban compared with warfarin, reduced stroke and systemic embolism, major bleeding, and mortality. We evaluated treatment effects in relation to two predictions of time in therapeutic range (TTR). Methods and Results—The trial randomized 18,201 patients with atrial fibrillation to apixaban 5 mg twice daily or warfarin for at […]
STROKEAHA: May 2, 2013 Background and Purpose—Drop foot after stroke may be addressed using an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) or a foot drop stimulator (FDS). The Functional Ambulation: Standard Treatment versus Electric Stimulation Therapy (FASTEST) trial was a multicenter, randomized, single-blinded trial comparing FDS and AFO for drop foot among people ≥3 months after stroke […]
STROKEAHA: May 2, 2013 Background and Purpose—Little research regarding genotypes and clopidogrel response related to acute ischemic stroke has been published. This study was conducted to investigate whether the polymorphisms of receptors or enzymes involved in the metabolic process of clopidogrel affect clopidogrel response and prognosis related to acute stroke. Methods—A total of 259 patients […]
Mayo Clinic Proceedings: May 1, 2013 “Clinical trials and the consequent benefits to society are in jeopardy in the United States because of a decline in the ability to recruit patients in a timely manner to trials addressing key clinical issues.”1 So states a recent commentary in a leading medical journal, reflecting widespread concern in the […]
STROKEAHA: April 30, 2013 Background and Purpose—In the Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial-1 (ACST-1), 3120 patients with tight asymptomatic carotid stenosis were randomly assigned to medical treatment alone or to carotid endarterectomy and appropriate medication. Successful carotid endarterectomy significantly reduced 10-year stroke risk in younger patients. This study was undertaken to determine the risk of new occlusion […]
Eur Heart J.: April 17, 2013 Aims It is uncertain whether the benefit from apixaban varies by type and duration of atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and results A total of 18 201 patients with AF [2786 (15.3%) with paroxysmal and 15 412 (84.7%) with persistent or permanent] were randomized to apixaban or warfarin. In this pre-specified secondary analysis, […]
