65% of stroke survivors suffer a disability. Fatigue is the most common post-stroke problem affecting recovery. The Greater Charitable Foundation is funding Hunter Medical Research Institute’s research to help stroke survivors fight fatigue.
The Greater Charitable Foundation’s support has enabled HMRI to open the clinical trial internationally to over 400 participants. The results from this will directly benefit the recovery of stroke survivors.
Fiona’s post-stroke fatigue made even simple tasks like cooking impossible.
Greater Charitable Foundation’s long term support funded HMRI’s ‘Modafinil therapy’ trial, which has dramatically improved her quality of life.
The Greater Charitable Foundation is again supporting the work of the HMRI Stroke Research Team as they undertake a Phase 3 clinical trial of ‘modafinil therapy’ in stroke survivors to assist in alleviating post-stroke fatigue and improving post-stroke quality of life.
One in 5 Australians will experience a stroke in their lifetime and 50% of people who have suffered a stroke experience severe and debilitating fatigue. Fatigue has been shown to be a predictor of patients needing help in the activities of simple daily living, and is consequentially associated with a poor quality of life, poor mood and a reduced feeling of self-worth. Current therapies to assist patients to manage post-stroke fatigue generally involve lifestyle changes or physical activity, which have very limited evidence of success.
Modafinil is an existing drug currently used safely in conditions, such as Multiple Sclerosis and narcolepsy, to promote wakefulness by stimulating pathways in the brain to increase the release of neurotransmitters. The team have recently concluded a phase 2 clinical trial testing whether modafinil could treat post-stroke fatigue with results from this trial representing a major medical breakthrough. This funding will now support a phase 3 clinical trial testing of Modafinil in a larger number of people, in order to provide the evidence required to change clinical practice.