December 2020 | Issue 40
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Grant Mair Evaluating artificial intelligence-based stroke scoring software
Profile Timo Krings Future of Neuroradiology page 16
Global drive to increase awareness, action and access to mechanical thrombectomy for stroke patients Mission Thrombectomy 2020+ (MT2020+), a global campaign of SVIN (Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology), recently published Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke. Building Thrombectomy Systems of Care in Your Region: Why and How—a white paper targeted towards health policymakers. The paper examines the widespread inaccessibility and geographical disparities in receiving mechanical thrombectomy, and calls for sweeping increase in awareness, accessibility to thrombectomy, and action on a worldwide level.
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VIN notes that currently, the US is a global leader in mechanical thrombectomy use, but that the burden of care is almost four to five times greater in many lower- to middle-income countries. According to MT2020 (now re-named MT2020+ due to ongoing work into 2021 and beyond), the data on stroke patients and the level of care they receive are as follows. Each year, approximately 13.67 million people suffer from strokes worldwide 20–30% of all ischaemic stroke cases are due to a large vessel occlusion stroke, which makes them eligible for mechanical thrombectomy Less than 10% of eligible large vessel occlusion stroke patients receive thrombectomy, leaving Dileep Yavagal
approximately two million people in need for this procedure but unable to receive it. One of the main goals set forth by the initiative and detailed in the report are to implement public health interventions to double global access to mechanical thrombectomy every two years for the next decade. Dileep Yavagal, Global Chair MT2020+ and Global Executive Committee (GEC) co-chair and past-president of SVIN, points out that the campaign is well on its way to increasing the annual rate of stroke thrombectomy for eligible patients to 202,000 annually by the end of last year. “Large vessel occlusion stroke is a longstanding silent global crisis that now has a highly-effective solution since the last five years: mechanical thrombectomy. However, thrombectomy care is not widely accessible with colossal geographic disparities on a global level,” said Yavagal, “We are calling on public health policymakers to increase physical, financial and diagnostic access to thrombectomy for patients with disabling stroke to prevent a lifetime of suffering and death.” Continued on page 4
Phagenyx study shows benefits for neurogenic dysphagia patients page 25
Bimodal neuromodulation can significantly reduce tinnitus symptoms, new trial finds In what is being billed as the largest clinical trial of its kind, researchers show that combining sound and electrical stimulation of the tongue can significantly reduce tinnitus symptoms. They also found that therapeutic effects can be sustained for up to 12 months post-treatment. THE RESULTS OF THE TENT A1 (Treatment Evaluation of Neuromodulation for Tinnitus) trial, published in journal Science Translational Medicine, revealed that a large majority of participants reported reduced symptom severity at the end of 12 weeks of treatment, which persisted for 12 months. “Results support the safety and potential utility of bimodal neuromodulation for tinnitus,” the authors report. The clinical trial was conducted between 2016 and 2019 and was designed to track changes in tinnitus symptom severity. The trial investigated the bimodal neuromodulation approach, using Neuromod’s non-invasive stimulation device that delivers sound to the ears and electrical stimulation to the tongue. According to the company, this represents the largest and longest followed-up clinical Continued on page 2