Bayraktutan Dunhill Medical Trust EPC Study

Stroke is a life-threatening medical condition that occurs due to a sudden disruption of blood supply to the brain. Although it may affect all age groups including children, the elderly are at a greater risk of having strokes. Indeed, three-quarter of all strokes are seen in people over the age of 65. Unfortunately, due to short therapeutic window (4.5 h of stroke onset), only 2-3% of patients can receive the currently available single medical therapy with rt-PA, a clot-busting agent. As recent studies show that bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells, a type of stem cells, may migrate to the site of injury to repair the damaged brain vessels and tissue, it is possible that their numbers and functional capacity may determine the clinical outcome of stroke patients i.e. severely disabled, moderately disabled or no signs at all. This study will assess these parameters in elderly stroke patients compared to their age-matched stroke-free counterparts and healthy young volunteers.