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Southampton awarded NIHR Hyperacute Stroke Research Centre status

The stroke team at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) have just been awarded NIHR Hyperacute Stroke Research Centre (HSRC) status in recognition of increasing numbers of patients being recruited into clinical trials within the first nine hours of suffering a stroke, and plans to expand recruitment in the future.

As new treatments such as mechanical thrombectomy and different drugs for thrombolysis emerge, advanced imaging techniques such as specialised CT and MRI brain scans are being used to determine which patients will most benefit. New research is needed to refine time windows for these treatments and the most effective devices and brain scans needed to deliver them. 

Dr Richard Marigold, HSRC lead and stroke physician at UHS said, “This is an exciting time to be in hyperacute stroke care, and in combination with increasing access to thrombectomy, this award will enable the Wessex Stroke CRN and University Hospital Southampton to be at the cutting edge of acute stroke research and means we can enrol more of our patients into the very latest clinical trials.”

Professor Robert Peveler, Clinical Director of CRN Wessex, added: "We're delighted that UHS has been recognised as a Hyperacute Stroke Research Centre. With just 12 HSRCs across the country, the award recognises Southampton as a leader within stroke research. This provides Wessex with a fantastic opportunity to grow stroke research across the region and we look forward to future collaborations which will increase opportunities for our patients to participate in research."