The University of Cincinnati and UC Health have been renovated because the National Institutes of Health (NIH) StrokeNet National Coordinating Center, which provides the foundational infrastructure for NIH-funded multicenter stroke research and a pipeline for brand new potential treatments for adults and kids with stroke and people in danger for stroke.

Established in 2013, NIH StrokeNet conducts clinical trials and research to advance the treatment, prevention, recovery and rehabilitation of acute stroke. The national network includes 27 regional centers or coordinating centers linked to greater than 200 hospitals participating in its trials.

The University of Cincinnati has served because the National Coordinating Center for NIH StrokeNet since its inception in September 2013, with renewal every five years, most recently in October 2023, under the leadership of Joseph Broderick, M.D., physician-investigator and director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute as Principal PI and Pooja Khatri, MD, physician-investigator, associate director of the Gardner Neuroscience Institute on the University of California and vice chair for research within the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine on the University of California as co-PI.

In December 2023, Dr. Khatri will receive a competitive grant for the position of Principal PI. The renovated infrastructure is home to 21 or future studies and currently collaborates with researchers in seven countries and 7 corporations to assist advance stroke care around the globe. NIH StrokeNet may have recent features, including enhanced patient representation and advocacy activities and variety, equity and inclusion initiatives, in addition to a recent training initiative for clinical research professionals.

The NIH StrokeNet neuroimaging team, led by Dr. Achala Vagal and Dr. Vivek Khandwala, can also be recent to NIH StrokeNet, which might be formally named the NIH StrokeNet Imaging Management Center. Their work has already provided efficiency and expertise in developing the imaging features of trial designs and collecting and analyzing brain images around the globe.

It is actually an honor to leverage our leadership and experience in stroke research to develop and execute high-quality, multi-site clinical trials, in addition to collaborate with other stroke networks around the globe. We’re also proud to bring our expertise to the area people each day using a cutting-edge perspective.”

Pooja Khatri, MD, physician-researcher, associate director of the Gardner Neuroscience Institute on the University of California

Since 2013, greater than 11,000 patients have participated in NIH StrokeNet trials. This research has led to significant advances in patient care around the globe. For instance, the DEFUSE-3 trial published in 2018 improved acute stroke care by showing that endovascular therapy produced higher long-term outcomes than medical therapy alone in patients with acute ischemic stroke outside conventional time windows with at-risk brain tissue. The study received an award from the US Congress for its significant impact on patient care.

“StrokeNet brings together executives and researchers from across the country to work more efficiently and avoid duplication of efforts under one centralized infrastructure,” Broderick said. “This research network has significantly advanced the sphere of stroke and has directly resulted in improved patient care and outcomes in our region and around the globe over the past decade. We’re excited to proceed this vital work.”

Khatri is a number one international researcher in the sphere of stroke. She conducted research that helped develop and optimize mechanical clot removal, which is now a longtime treatment for more serious ischemic strokes. Ischemic strokes are essentially the most common type of stroke and occur when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is blocked. Her research has also modified clinical practice guidelines to enhance take care of individuals with the mildest ischemic stroke.

“Clinical outcomes have improved dramatically during the last decade due to clinical trials that systematically and thoroughly examine what works and what doesn’t amongst the several individuals who would receive them,” Khatri said. “Furthermore, these advances are made possible due to patients who decide to take part in clinical trials. I’m especially excited that we have found ways to do our research more efficiently to speed up the pace of progress in stroke treatment. Lots of our 21 studies have resulted in highly progressive designs.”

Broderick, also a top researcher, was a part of the University of Cincinnati team that conducted groundbreaking research within the Eighties that led to the usage of the clot-busting drug tPA as the primary proven treatment for ischemic stroke. He also led key research to develop mechanical clot removal for severe stroke.

“I would love every stroke patient to have the chance to take part in a research study that might help them or patients like them in the longer term,” Broderick said. “I counsel patients to be proactive. As doctors, we also have to be proactive.”

UC and UC Health’s role as StrokeNet’s National Coordinating Center also includes pharmacy services and one institutional review board (IRB), in addition to contract management with all network clinical trial sites. Over the past five years, the University of California’s NIH StrokeNet Research Pharmacy, led by Noor Sabagh, PharmD, has shipped greater than 12,000 investigational drugs to U.S. research sites and provided leadership within the design and management of drug-related trials around the globe. The University of California IRB Center is certainly one of the central IRBs of the NIH StrokeNet and brings together over 350 institutions under the leadership of Dr. Michael Linke. Within the last five years alone, UC has signed greater than 1,000 recent clinical trial agreements under the leadership of David Gearring, Sr., MHA.

UC and UC Health may even proceed to serve because the Ohio Valley Regional Coordinating Center for NIH StrokeNet, providing expertise and access to clinical trials at hospitals in southwestern Ohio and beyond, including The Ohio State University. The Ohio Valley Regional Network is among the many leading StrokeNet study registrants nationwide. UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute physician-investigators Dr. Eva Mistry and Stacie Demel are principal investigators on the Ohio Valley Regional Coordinating Center.

NIH StrokeNet is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The University of California expects to receive greater than $14 million in funding over the subsequent five years because the national coordinating center.

Along with being a frontrunner in clinical research, UC Health is a complicated comprehensive stroke center and certainly one of only 4% of U.S. hospitals with specific capabilities to treat essentially the most complex stroke cases. Stroke experts from the University of California, Gardner Neuroscience Institute seek the advice of with physicians and care teams at community hospitals throughout the Greater Cincinnati region. UC Health also houses the region’s first and only mobile stroke unit, bringing emergency department care on to stroke patients after they need it most.

A stroke occurs when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain (ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel within the brain bursts (haemorrhagic stroke). In response to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading explanation for death and the leading explanation for disability in the US. In 2020, greater than 160,000 people died from stroke in the US.