Asher J. Albertson, MD, PhD: Getting Interventions to Stroke Patients

“Right now, people doing the work to maximize the therapies we have, I think, are crucially important…All of these things to try to bring the therapy—which really works, it really helps people—to more people and give them an opportunity to live a life much freer of disability from stroke.”

In stroke, much of the research is currently focused on better understanding the mechanisms of the condition and the subcortical structures of the brain with the long-term hope of improving stroke recovery. Asher J. Albertson, MD, PhD, a neurocritical care fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is doing some of that work.

Although, he noted that importantly, one of the biggest challenges remains in simply getting treatment to patients who experience strokes. With the majority of patients living out of range from stroke centers, simply transporting them to the best place for their care has become an issue, especially considering the window to apply treatment is small—even with recent advances expanding it.

At the American Neurological Association’s 143rd Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Albertson sat with NeurologyLive to discuss this facet of stroke care, and all the things being done outside just the clinic to help improve outcomes.