See also Awards and Honours in the CSC News section!

• February 11, 2004
  Dr. Michael Hill (Calgary) has been selected as this year's Michael S. Pessin Stroke Leadership Prize winner. This award recognizes emerging neurologists who have a strong interest in and have demonstrated a passion for learning and expanding the field of stroke research Applicants should have an active involvement in providing patients with the highest quality of compassionate care. Michael will receive a prize of $1,500, complimentary registration for the 56th Annual Meeting to be held in San Francisco and recognition at the awards luncheon there. Dr. Andrew Demchuk (Calgary) won this award in 2003.
   
• September 26, 2003
  A Province-wide campaign to increase awareness of the symptoms of stroke - as well as the importance of getting immediate medical treatment - was unveiled on Tuesday morning in Thunder Bay.  The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, will kick off the new campaign featuring spokesperson Walter Gretzky this coming Monday (Sept. 29). A recent survey conducted by the HSFO found nearly one-third of Ontarians over the age of 45 could not name one of the five warning signs of stroke. Only 20-25% of people having a stroke get medical attention within three hours of the onset of the stroke. The ministry hopes to improves these numbers with TV ads and public education through so-called regional stroke centres. Last September, the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital was designated as the Northwestern Ontario Regional Stroke Centre - one of 9 across the province.  CSC member - Dr. David Howse (who is the medical director of the RSC in Thunder Bay) says "In the past five to 10 years a series of advances in several areas have provided effective measures for stroke prevention and treatment. There is a higher mortality and morbidity rate in Northwestern Ontario from stroke compared to the rest of Ontario". The only CT scanner in Northwestern Ontario is in Thunder Bay.
   
• August 6, 2003
  Canadian Stroke Consortium long time member - Dr. Henry J. M. Barnett has been named a Companion of the Order of Canada by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada. The Order of Canada recognizes people who have made a difference to our country and it is the country's highest honour for lifetime achievement. The announcement was made yesterday. Dr. Barnett is an international leader in stroke research. He has changed the practice of medicine through his studies into Aspirin and stroke prevention, as well as carotid endarterectomy. Many of today's leaders in stroke research have been mentored by Dr. Barnett. Dr. Barnett was one of 7 Companions of the Order of Canada announced. I'm sure that all members of the Canadian Stroke Consortium will want to congratulate Dr. Barnett on this prestigious honour.
     
• July 7,  2003
  Dr. Andrew Demchuk (Calgary) recently was successful in his CIHR grant application of a prospective cohort study evaluating modern neurovascular imaging techniques for predicting clinical outcome and recurrent events in patients presenting early after stroke or TIA. The study is entitled VISION (Vascular Imaging of acute Stroke for Identifying predictors of clinical Outcome and recurrent ischemic eveNts.  Congratulations Andrew - well done!
     
• July 1 2003, Volume 34, Issue 7, 1681-1683 - Stroke
  Reliability of Assessing Percentage of Diffusion-Perfusion Mismatch - Shelagh Coutts, Jessica Simon, Anna Tomanek, Philip Barber, Jean Chan, Mark Hudon, Ross Mitchell, Richard Frayne, Michael Eliasziw, Alastair Buchan, Andrew Demchuk
     
• June 24 2003, Volume 60, Issue 12 - Neurology
  Neuro Images - Syncope and cerebral hypoperfusion - Shelagh Coutts, William Hu, Michael Hill
     
• June 4, 2003
  Globe and Mail:  Younger patients push stroke rehabilitation to new frontier.  Excerpt: Age-specific data was not collected until recently, but anecdotal evidence suggests that soaring rates of hypertension and high cholesterol are placing far more people at risk of stroke at a younger age. ... younger patients are pushing scientists to come up with new methods of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.  To deal with the new demands, the Heart and Stroke Foundation has created the Ontario Centre for Stroke Recovery (the first entity of its kind in North America). The virtual institution (shared by 3 hospitals) is designed to streamline research, stroke care and recovery. ... Dr. [Sandra] Black (Co-director of the Centre) is also head of neurology at Sunnybrook and Women's College H.S.C. in Toronto, said the recovery centre is working on a number of exciting projects, including developing new scanning tools to map brain activity in the aftermath of stroke, which should allow individualized, tailor-made treatment. ... "This is the new frontier of stroke care: optimizing rehabilitation and facilitating brain recovery," Dr. Black said. ... Dr. Black said the secondary impact of stroke is also signficant because family members and women in particular are called upon to be caregivers. As the population ages, the number of people living with stroke will invariably rise quickly. After 55, the risk of stroke doubles every 10 years. "As the boomers age, we're going to see the numbers rise exponentially", Dr. Black said.
     
• May 27 2003 - CMAJ
  The eyes have it conjugate eye deviation on CT scan aids in early detection of ischemic stroke- Michael Hill - Jessica Simon, James Kennedy, J. H. Warwick Pexman, Alastair Buchan
     
• May 17 2003 - BMJ, Volume 326
  Letter to the Editor "Case Fatality rates after hospital admission for stroke" - Michael Hill
     
• May 2003, Volume 13, Issue 3 - Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
  Case Report: Vasospasm-induced stroke in a varsity athlete secondary to Ephedrine Ingestion - Robert Foxford, Demetrios Sahlas, Kristin Wingfield
     
• May 2003 - CJNS
  What is Causing Crescendo Transient Ischemic Attacks? - Shelagh Coutts, Jessica Simon, Mark Hudon, Andrew Demchuk
     
• May 2003 - CJNS
  Stroke Secondary to Post-Partum Coronary Artery Dissection - Cheryl Jaigobin, Frank Silver
     
• May 2003 - CJNS
  Basilar Artery Stenosis Mimicking the Lacunar Syndrome of Pure Motor Hemiparesis - David Chan, Frank Silver
     
• April 17, 2003
  CSC member Dr. Sylvain Lanthier's application for a clinical researcher salary from the Fonds de Recherche en Sante du Quebec (FRSQ) has been accepted. He's doubly happy because he's recently found out that he's going to be a daddy again (baby #2).
    
• April 17, 2003
  CSC member - Dr. Michael Hill successfully defended his Master's Thesis the other day and has obtained MSc status. His thesis title Treatment Surveillance, the baseline CT scan and a Clinical Prediction Rule for Prognosis in the Thrombolytic Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke. Congratulations Michael!
    
• March 28, 2003
  The Canadian Stroke Network, Heart and Stroke Foundation, the CIHR Inst. of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and the CIHR R & D Program along with AstraZeneca Canada are pleased to announce the results of the Focus on Stroke Training initiative. This competition was launched to increase capacity for stroke research in Canada and to address the shortage of highly qualified personnel working in this important area. This initiative represents an investment of over $3 million over 5 years. A total of 60 applicatns were reviewed.
    
  Our very own CSC member - Dr. James Kennedy in Calgary, Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Alastair Buchan was granted a renewal award for Postdoctoral Fellowship. Congratulations James!
    
• February 18th, 2003 - CMAJ
  Correspondence - Neuroimaging Misinformation - Northern Medical School's sights remain set on 2004 Opening - Dr. Allan Fox, Sunnybrook
     
• February 2003, Stroke
  Infection, Inflammation and Atherosclerosis - J. David Spence, John W. Norris
  Costs and Caregiver Consequences of Early Supported Discharge for Stroke Patients - Nancy Mayo, Robert Cote, et al
  Letter to the Editor:  Improving the Assessment of Outcomes in Stroke Use of a Structured Interview to Assign Grades on the MRS - Michael Hill, et al
  Ever Decreasing Circles Advances in Antiplatelet Therapy and Anticoagulation - James Kennedy and Alastair Buchan
    
• (January-February 2003), Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Volume 12, No. 1
  Strategic Involvement of Cholinergic Pathways and Executive Dysfunction Does Location of White Matter Signal Hyperintensities Matter? - Richard Swartz, Demetrios Sahlas, Sandra Black