2nd June 2023

New research could help predict risk of future strokes

Cardiff Metropolitan University has become the first Welsh university in almost 30 years to be awarded Project Grant funding from the Stroke Association to conduct research which aims to provide critical insight into stroke prevention and treatment after a patient’s first ‘mini-stroke’.

The study, known as PREDICT-EV, will test new biomarkers in patients who suffer a ‘mini-stroke’, otherwise known as a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA). The research will be carried out in collaboration with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB), where patients will be screened for levels of microscopic vesicles in the blood, that if present in large numbers can render certain patients at significant risk of blood clotting.

Annually, 46,000 British people suffer their first ‘mini-stroke’, which is a temporary block of the oxygen-rich blood supply to the brain. Patients present the usual stroke signs, recognised by the FAST campaign, which resolve very quickly and can often go unnoticed. Despite the best current treatment, individuals are four times more likely to suffer from a major stroke in the following 12 months, because of their increased risk of forming new blood clots that can cause permanent brain damage. Currently, there is no robust way of predicting which patients are more at risk.

Jayne Goodwin, National Head of Research Delivery at Health and Care Research Wales, said: “This is fantastic news for the PREDICT-EV team and very welcome funding from the Stroke Association. We are delighted to be supporting our partners at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and Cardiff Metropolitan University as they work on such critical insight into stroke prevention and treatment.”

Professor John Geen, Assistant Director for Research and Development, at CTMUHB said:  “We are very excited to be the clinical partner and provider of the delivery support for this high quality research study. The CTMUHB R&D team, Clinical Laboratory and Stroke Physician Dr James White have worked closely with the Professor of Cardiovascular Metabolism, Philip James and his team at Cardiff Metropolitan University to design and progress the study. Our team members highlighted the importance of the early stage pilot study that provided early data and an invaluable insight that has helped inform and evolve the pathways required to optimise recruitment, patient follow-up and design of the planned larger study, supported by the Stroke Association funding.

The study is an excellent example of academia, the NHS and third sector partners, working collaboratively, sharing resources and common strategic objectives to undertake research that has the potential to have an impact on patient care and benefit the population of Wales and beyond.”

The £250,000 funding from the Stroke Association will allow researchers at Cardiff Metropolitan University and CTMUHB, to further expand recruitment and follow patients over time, to determine if increased vesicles and altered clotting is evident in patients who go on to suffer a full stroke.

The project has been supported throughout by Stroke Hub Wales and the Welsh Government Stroke Implementation Group.