Underfunding of Stroke Research

Abstract

Background and Purpose-Previous studies in the United States and the United Kingdom have shown that stroke research is underfunded compared with coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer research despite the high clinical and financial burden of stroke. We aimed to determine whether underfunding of stroke research is a Europe-wide problem. Methods-Data for the financial year 2000 to 2001 were collected from 9 different European countries. Information on stroke, CHD, and cancer research funding awarded by disease-specific charities and nondisease-specific charity or government-funded organizations was obtained from annual reports, web sites, and by direct communication with organizations. Results-There was marked and consistent underfunding of stroke research in all the countries studied. Stroke funding as a percentage of the total funding for stroke, CHD, and cancer was uniformly low, ranging from 2% to 11%. Funding for stroke was less than funding for cancer, usually by a factor of Ն10. In every country except Turkey, funding for stroke research was less than that for CHD. Conclusions-This study confirms that stroke research is grossly underfunded, compared with CHD and cancer, throughout Europe. Similar data have been obtained from the United States suggesting that relative underfunding of stroke research is likely to be a worldwide phenomenon.

For en bedre akuttmedisinsk tjeneste i Norge

“…av forskningen på hjertesykdommer og kun 2 pst. av den samlede kreftforskningen (Pendlebury et al, 2004). Hjerneslag er en sykdomsgruppe som krever store ressurser, og med de muligheter som befinner seg innenfor diagnostikk og behandling på slagområdet, vil en intensivert forskningsinnsats og en styrking av fagmiljø-ene vaere av stor betydning.…”

The 2008 William M. Feinberg Lecture

“…A similar disconnect has been reported for European countries with substantial research investments. 3 In responding to public concerns about research funding priorities, the Institute of Medicine proposed in 1998 that the NIH track measures of disease burden and use them to strengthen the association with disease-related funding. 4 We are currently re-evaluating the alignment between research funding and disease burden now a decade after this recommendation.…”

Performing Permanent Distal Middle Cerebral with Common Carotid Artery Occlusion in Aged Rats to Study Cortical Ischemia with Sustained Disability

“…Stroke is currently the third most common cause of death worldwide and the leading cause of disability 1 . Ischemic stroke, which comprises 80% of all strokes, often results in infarcts in the cortex causing loss in sensation (e.g., proprioception), in motor function and in attention to the affected side [2][3][4] .…”