FRIDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Preliminary results from a German study suggest that stroke patients' use of anti-anemia drugs such as Aranesp, Procrit and Epogen might end up boosting their risk for death, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned on Friday.

The goal of the study was to see if high doses of the anti-anemia drug epoetin alfa could improve the ability of stroke patients to take care of themselves after recovering from a stroke.

The hope was that the drug would be neuroprotective, but use of epoetin alfa now appears linked to a near-doubling of mortality.

LONDON (Reuters) - Using a mirror to create the illusion that a person's paralyzed limb moves in tandem with a healthy one appears to speed recovery from stroke, a Japanese researcher said Friday.

The finding showed the optical illusion works faster than conventional treatment and suggests the mind plays a powerful role in the body's recovery, Kazu Amimoto of Tokyo Metropolitan University told the World Stroke Conference in Vienna.

Read full story

LOS ANGELES - Stroke sufferers can still benefit from clot-busting medicine even if they receive it an hour or so beyond the current three-hour window after symptoms start, an important new study suggests.

The finding could potentially extend treatment to thousands more people each year and prevent many from being left disabled. However, it does not change long-standing advice that stroke victims seek immediate help if they feel sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg.

(HealthDay News) -- Common drugs prescribed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems, researchers report.

These inhaled anticholinergic agents, such as Spiriva and Atrovent, are the most commonly prescribed once-daily treatment for COPD, a respiratory illness that's the fourth largest killer in the United States.

(HealthDay News) -- American Indians have a higher incidence of stroke than blacks or whites, and their first strokes may be more deadly, a new study suggests.

The study included 4,507 members of 13 American Indian tribes in Arizona, Oklahoma and North and South Dakota. It found that American Indians have a stroke rate of 679 per 100,000, compared to 607 per 100,000 for blacks and 306 per 100,000 for whites.

None of the participants, ages 45 to 74, had a history of stroke when they were recruited for the study from 1989 to 1992. Almost 60 percent of the volunteers were women.

THURSDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Not only do antibiotics not help pregnant women experiencing premature labor without ruptured membranes and no sign of infection, they may increase the risk of cerebral palsy in some children.

Two new studies followed children whose mothers had taken antibiotics at the end of their pregnancies. The children were followed up to the age of 7.

Greetings,

I have Migraine's 2-3 times a week! My precious Grandmother gave them to me. I do not know how she did it on Excedrin alone for 79 years.

MONDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Human stem cells derived from bone marrow can cut the brain damage caused by an interruption in blood supply, such as what happens after a heart attack, scientists report.

Although these initial results were seen in mice, researchers are hopeful the breakthrough will one day help humans struck by cardiac arrest or stroke.

SUNDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- European researchers who showed that the clot-dissolving drug tPA could safely be used within three hours after a stroke now say the limit can be extended to four-and-a-half hours.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Fever in young children can be reduced for a longer period of time by giving them ibuprofen first, followed by paracetamol plus ibuprofen, according to British researchers.

The study included 156 children, ages 6 months to 6 years, who had a temperature of between 37.8 and 41 degrees Celsius (100.04 to 105.8 F) due to an illness that could be managed at home. The children were randomly selected to receive either paracetamol plus ibuprofen, just paracetamol, or just ibuprofen.