Important step towards stroke cure
The Stroke Foundation has today welcomed the publication of a new series of papers calling for an agreed global approach to stroke recovery research.
Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sharon McGowan said the papers were an important step forward in finding a cure for stroke, and Federal Government investment was now needed to continue the journey.
“Stroke kills more women than breast cancer, more men than prostate cancer and leaves thousands with an ongoing disability,’’ Ms McGowan said.
“There is one stroke in this country every nine minutes.
“Despite the shocking statistics and devastating impact of stroke on the Australian community, stroke related research is woefully under represented nationally in Federal Government funding support.
“Our researchers now have an agreed global approach to tackle recovery from this disease, they now need the Government to stand with them in fighting stroke,” she said.
This year there will be more than 56,000 new and recurrent strokes in Australia. Stroke is no longer a death sentence for many but for the more than 475,000 stroke survivors living in our community its impact is far reaching.
In 2015 funding for stroke research by the Federal Government through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) represented just 4.1 percent of the total investment in medical research – well behind other chronic diseases such as cancer (21.5 percent) or heart and other cardiovascular conditions (13.6 percent).
The number of people who have a stroke every year; stroke survivors, related deaths, and the overall global burden of stroke is increasing. Clinicians and researchers have long been aware of the limited evidence for stroke recovery and rehabilitation.
Australian researchers came together with the world’s top neurorecovery researchers at the first Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable to build consensus on how to develop, conduct and report stroke research.
The recommendations from this timely and much needed roundtable, published in the International Journal of Stroke, are pivotal for the progression and growth of a unified vision for stroke recovery and rehabilitation research. They will provide an impetus for the development of strong international partnerships to tackle this important global challenge to improve stroke recovery.