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Published On January 6, 2016
TECHNOLOGY
Turning a Corner in Stroke Care
Neurologist Lee Schwamm looks at 10 pivotal years in the treatment of stroke victims.
When Proto published its first issue in 2005, researchers who study stroke were just beginning to clarify the benefits of the therapeutic protein named tissue plasminogen activator (TPA). Massachusetts General Hospital had also just started a TeleStroke Program, which allowed neurologists to remotely offer their expertise to help diagnose and treat stroke patients within a critical time window.
Both ideas have made a major impact in how stroke victims are treated. MGH’s own TeleStroke program has expanded to 30 hospitals covering 6.5 million patients, and similar programs have taken root around the world. In this video, Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the department of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, examines those and other treatments, including a revolutionary new use of catheters.
“Stroke affects about 800,000 patients each year and is the number one cause of adult disability in the United States," he says. “We are on the edge of an epidemic of stroke care if we don’t figure out ways to improve the health of our population."
From Mass General

What a Hospital is Built For As COVID-19 first swept through Boston, the people of Massachusetts General Hospital responded. Their efforts offer a portrait of medicine in motion.

Our Response to a Pandemic Peter L. Slavin and Timothy G. Ferris discuss how Massachusetts General Hospital is tackling COVID-19.

The Changing Landscape of Primary Care Peter L. Slavin and Timothy G. Ferris discuss a shortage of primary care physicians and how to address the problem.

A Safe and Controversial Place Physician Mark Eisenberg discusses the furor over (and the desperate need for) safer injection sites.

Next-Generation Vaccines Peter L. Slavin and Timothy G. Ferris discuss the revolution of rational vaccine design.

Climate Change Meets an Aging Population The most common victims of extreme weather events are older people. New research looks into how the health system fails them, and how it can be fixed.

A Revolution in Cancer Treatment Peter L. Slavin and Timothy G. Ferris discuss the promise of CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors.

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