Stroke prevention, treatment and rehabilitation have come a long way in the time since Neurologist Dr. David Spence of Western University began treating patients. “My first day on call, I was paged to the emergency department for a patient with a stroke. When I answered the page, from the cafeteria, I was told to go ahead and finish my dinner. There was nothing that could be done for him.” Now doctors know “time is brain,” and the faster an ischemic stroke is treated, the less irreversible damage it will cause. As well, much more is known about preventing stroke in the first place.
Two leading authorities on stroke, Dr. David Spence and Dr. Henry Barnett have teamed up to write and edit Stroke Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation (McGraw Hill Medical), a comprehensive guide for doctors to help their patients minimize the risk of stroke. A book launch for Stroke Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation will be held Wednesday, April 4 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the atrium of Robarts Research Institute with both of the authors.
Dr. David Spence, who trained with Dr. Barnett, is a Professor of Neurology and Clinical Pharmacology at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and the Director of the Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre (SPARC) at Schulich’s Robarts Research Institute. He has dedicated his career to stroke prevention and in 2006, wrote a book for the public How to Prevent Your Stroke (Vanderbilt University Press). He also pioneered ultrasound measurement of carotid plaque.
Dr. Barnett is a Professor Emeritus at Western, and a former chair of Clinical Neurological Sciences. He is most famous for proving aspirin can prevent stroke, and for the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET), which evaluated whether or not clearing a clogged neck artery in the hopes of averting stroke actually reduced a patient’s risk of stroke or dying. He also co-founded the Robarts Research Institute and served as its first scientific director. Dr. Barnett is now 90, and in addition to this book, has just finished one about the Meds Class of ’44 from the University of Toronto. He’s also writing his memoirs, and jokes that he might slow down when he reaches 100. In June, Dr. Barnett will travel to the U.K. to receive an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.
Media contact: Kathy Wallis, Media Relations Officer, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 519-661-2111 ext. 81136, c 519-777-1573, Kathy.wallis@schulich.uwo.ca
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