A new Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded project will test the efficacy of a new treatment for stroke sufferers.
A new Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded project, involving the University of Kent and clinicians from Kent and Canterbury Hospital, William Harvey Hospital and Margate Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, will test the efficacy of a new treatment for stroke sufferers diagnosed with a visual-spatial impairment known as hemi-spatial neglect. Dr David Wilkinson from the University’s School of Psychology and an affiliate to KentHealth will be the principal researcher on the project, with Professor Patrick Pullicino (School of Biosciences), Professor Simon Coulton (Centre for Health Services Studies) and clinicians from the hospitals’ stroke and neuro-rehabilitation services assisting throughout.
Dr Wilkinson, whose research interests revolve around the cognitive and biological bases of visual perception, explained the aim of the project. He said: ‘Advances in acute medical care have increased the number of stroke survivors, yet many are left with debilitating and refractory conditions for which there is little effective treatment.
‘Our new treatment seeks to restore lost function to damaged areas of the visual brain via trans-cranial electrical stimulation, a procedure in which sub-sensory levels of electrical current are injected through electrodes placed on the overlying scalp.’
Post-doctoral research associate Olga Zubko, who will help administer the intervention, added: ‘After a stroke, the effects of hemi-spatial neglect are often over-shadowed by more observable impairments affecting movement or communication, yet neglect is far more predictive of general functional recovery. So far, it has proved very difficult to remediate.’
The research is the first MRC-funded stroke study in which East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust personnel have been directly involved. It will compliment other neuro-stimulation work conducted by Dr Wilkinson who, in conjunction with School of Psychology colleague Dr Heather Ferguson, recently received funding from the British Academy to explore the possibility that trans-cranial electrical stimulation can enhance the visual recognition ability of neurologically healthy individuals.
The grant, which totals £313,752, represents a new phase of research activity between the University and the MRC.