- Researchers have identified a potential cause for lacunar strokes, a type of stroke affecting 35,000 people in the UK annually.
- A study by experts at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute suggests these strokes may stem from the widening of tiny brain arteries, rather than narrowing.
- This discovery could explain why current treatments, such as anti-platelet drugs, are often ineffective for lacunar strokes.
- Patients with widened arteries were found to be four times more likely to suffer a lacunar stroke and also had a higher risk of “silent strokes”.
- The findings, published in Circulation, are being used in ongoing trials to develop new therapies targeting the underlying microvascular damage.
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