Oxford

Address

Stroke Prevention Research Unit
University Department of Clinical Neurology
Radcliffe Infirmary
Gibson Building
Woodstock Road
Oxford, OX2 6HA
UK

Contact

Principle Investigator
Peter M. Rothwell, MD, PhD, FRCP
Professor of Neurology
Stroke Prevention Research Unit
Phone: 44-1865-2316-07
Fax: 44-1865-2346-29
E-mail: peter.rothwell@clneuro.ox.ac.uk

Link

Stroke Unit Oxford

Overview

The Stroke Prevention Research Unit (SPRU) was set up in 2000.

The group has been build up to 20 people, currently including 8 clinical research fellows, 3 statisticians/epidemiologists, 4 research nurses, a programmer, a study coordinator and a secretary.

SPRU aims to be disease-specific rather than technique-specific. The programme therefore spans several different research techniques, ranging from large-scale epidemiology to brain imaging, histopathology and molecular studies of risk factors for thrombosis. Although we are consequently open to criticism for being unfocussed, each project is directly related to stroke prevention. It is also essential that clinical studies be performed by groups with a detailed clinical understanding of stroke and the importance of accurate clinical phenotyping, rather than just by technique-specific research groups with little knowledge of stroke.

Furthermore, stroke research in several areas, such as brain imaging, histopathology and thrombosis, has often been technically excellent but has lacked epidemiological rigour (e.g. study design, power, statistical analysis etc). In addition to clinical expertise in stroke, the SPRU has expertise in clinical epidemiology, clinical research methods, and statistical analysis. Thus, by collaboration with established technique-specific research groups we aim to do research that is of high technical quality, clear clinical relevance, and rigorous epidemiological quality. We have already shown that the SPRU can make useful contributions in the proposed areas of research.

In addition to research, the unit makes an important contribution to the clinical care of patients with TIA and stroke in Oxford and the surrounding area. Prof Rothwell is a clinical neurologist and does stroke prevention clinics, and has responsibility for urgent inpatient admissions. He is also on the Oxford Radcliffe Trust Stroke Strategy Group and the National Service Framework for the Elderly Group. Research fellows from the unit do Rapid Access TIA and Stroke Clinics at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, and at Wycombe General Hospital.

Selected Publications

(please go to Pubmed for full list)

Giles MF, Rothwell PM.
Substantial underestimation of the need for outpatient services for TIA and minor stroke. Age Ageing. 2007 Jul; 26

Rothwell PM.
Transient ischaemic attacks: time to wake up.
Heart. 2007 Aug; 93(8):893-4

Koton S, Rothwell PM.
Performance of the ABCD and ABCD2 Scores in TIA Patients with Carotid Stenosis and Atrial Fibrillation.
Cerebrovasc Dis. 2007 Jun 28; 24(2-3):231-235

Lovelock CE, Molyneux AJ, Rothwell PM;
Oxford Vascular Study. Change in incidence and aetiology of intracerebral haemorrhage in Oxfordshire, UK, between 1981 and 2006: a population-based study.
Lancet Neurol. 2007 Jun; 6(6):487-93

Flossmann E, Rothwell PM;
British Doctors Aspirin Trial and the UK-TIA Aspirin Trial.
Effect of aspirin on long-term risk of colorectal cancer: consistent evidence from randomised and observational studies.
Lancet. 2007 May 12; 369(9573):1603-13

Redgrave JN, Coutts SB, Schulz UG, Briley D, Rothwell PM.
Systematic review of associations between the presence of acute ischemic lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging and clinical predictors of early stroke risk after transient ischemic attack.
Stroke. 2007 May; 38(5):1482-8

Giles MF, Flossman E, Rothwell PM.
Patient behavior immediately after transient ischemic attack according to clinical characteristics, perception of the event, and predicted risk of stroke.
Stroke 2006; 37: 1254-60.

Rothwell PM, Coull AJ, Silver LE, Fairhead JF, Giles MF, Lovelock CE, Redgrave JNE, Bull LM, Welch SJV, Cuthbertson FC, Binney LE, Gutnikov SA, Anslow P, Banning AP, Mant D, Mehta Z for the Oxford Vascular Study.
Population-based study of event-rate, incidence, case fatality and mortality for all acute vascular events in all arterial territories (Oxford Vascular Study).
Lancet 2005; 366: 1773-83.

Fairhead JF, Mehta Z, Rothwell PM.
Population-based study of delays in carotid imaging and surgery and the risk of recurrent stroke.
Neurology 2005; 65: 371-5.

Rothwell PM, Mehta Z, Howard SC, Gutnikov SA, Warlow CP.
Treating individuals 3: from subgroups to individuals: general principles and the example of carotid endarterectomy.
Lancet. 2005 Jan 15; 365(9455):256-65.

Rothwell PM, Giles MF, Flossmann E, Lovelock CE, Redgrave JNE, Warlow CP, Mehta Z.
A simple score (ABCD) to identify individuals at high early risk of stroke after a transient ischaemic attack.
Lancet 2005; 366: 29-36.

Harrison P, Segal H, Blasbery K, Furtado C, Silver L, Rothwell PM.
Screening for Aspirin Responsiveness After Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke: Comparison of 2 Point-of-Care Platelet Function Tests With Optical Aggregometry.
Stroke. 2005 May; 36(5):1001-5.