Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre / Our research / Stroke and dementia

Stroke and dementia

The ethos of the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre is to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors and improve clinical care pathways.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, with around 100,000 people having a stroke each year, meaning a person has a stroke approximately every five minutes.

There are also currently around 1.3 million stroke survivors living in the UK, requiring a greater focus on rehabilitation and reduction of long-term disability. Learn more about our research within rehabilitation and our focus on reducing long term disability.

Survival rates following a stroke have improved. The national focus looks at how stroke can be prevented, treated quickly and how people can be supported following a stroke.

Stroke is also a risk factor for vascular dementia, and the risk of cognitive impairment is doubled post stroke. Currently, there are very limited treatments for both stroke and dementia, highlighting a huge unmet need within this area.

Our research

Our research covers both ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke and vascular dementia. Our research also looks to cover the whole translational pathway, from basic science to clinical care and further into community care.

We aim to understand:

the basic biology behind stroke and dementia;
how to minimise brain damage post stroke;
promoting repair and recovery of brain function;
managing long-term disability with rehabilitation.

Clinical research

Stroke-IMPaCT

Stroke-IMPaCT is a network of European and North American researchers working together to discover how inflammation and immune responses contribute to post-stroke cognitive decline.

We want to help develop treatments that completely stop or reduce a person’s risk of developing dementia after a stroke.

Learn more about Stroke-IMPaCT.

SC IL-1 RA in SAH

The SC IL-1 RA in Subarachnoid haemorrhage aims to test whether a drug called Kineret can improve recovery following a SAH.

This has the potential to make a profound difference to quality of life following a haemorrhagic stroke.

Learn more about SC IL-1 RA in SAH.

Chlorhexidine or toothpaste, manual or powered brushing to prevent pneumonia complicating stroke (CHOSEN)

The CHOSEN study investigates whether oral healthcare following stroke reduces the likelihood of stroke associated pneumonia (SAP).

SAP is associated with poor clinical outcomes, this study aims to look at whether different types of toothpaste and toothbrushes can reduce SAP and stroke patients, and subsequently improve clinical outcomes.

Learn more about CHOSEN.

Acute Bundle of Care for Intracerebral Haemorrhage (ABC-ICH)

Previous funders: Health Foundation, Connected Health Cities
Current funders: Health Innovation Manchester, Stroke Association, Innovation Agency, Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, AHSN for the North East and North Cumbria
Local researchers: Adrian Parry-Jones, Hiren Patel, Matt Sutton, Paul Wilson, Lisa Brunton, Emma McManus, Kate Woodward-Nutt, Khalil Kawafi, Appu Suman
External researchers: Martin James (SSNAP), Karla Hemming (University of Birmingham)

The ABC-ICH project was designed to improve survival and recovery from bleeding in the brain or intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), improving the delivery of acute care for all ICH patients using the ABC care bundle. This was implemented at Salford in 2015-16 and reduced 30-day deaths by a third, saving around 29 lives a year.

Research identified what worked well and what barriers were encountered, refining our approach for the next phase. To provide clinicians with key information at the bedside and allow simple, real-time capture of key performance indicators, we developed the clinician-facing ABC-ICH app and dashboard.

A phased scale-up of the ABC-ICH project across the north of England commenced in 2021, covering 25 hospitals and a population of around 10 million. A Stroke Association Project Grant (2021-23) will allow us to determine whether long-term disability is reduced.

Learn more about ABC-ICH:

Can a new treatment package improve survival and life after stroke caused by a bleed in the brain? (Stroke Association)
Scale-up of ABC care bundle for intracerebral haemorrhage across two hyperacute stroke units in one region in England (BMJ Open)
Video: Patient story – Ann Bamford (YouTube)

Basic science research

Kasher Lab

The Kasher Lab is a zebrafish lab with interests in stroke, neuroinflammation, genetics and neurological disease.

Twitter: @KasherLab

Brain Inflammation Group

The Brain Inflammation Group focuses on stroke. It also investigates other cerebrovascular diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

The team works to understand the inflammatory mechanisms in healthy versus diseased brains to identify novel therapeutic targets.