Canadian Stroke Rehabilitation Guidelines

CANADA'S HEALTHCARE IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

In the recent publication “The Best Countries Survey” by U.S. News & World Report Canada was ranked as the number one country in the category Most Well-Developed Public Health Care System.

Such a ranking is not available for stroke rehabilitation services, yet one can assume that Canada is a leading country also in this field of medicine, which all the more highlights the importance of the recently published Canadian Evidence-Based Review of Stroke Rehabilitation (EBRSR).

THE CANADIAN EBRSR – RESEARCH OF GLOBAL IMPORTANCE

The EBRSR can be considered one of the most thorough reviews of more than 4,500 studies, of which 2170 are RCTs.

It is also important to note the close collaboration with the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, a joint initiative of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canada’s leading stroke research centres, which is the first of its kind worldwide, dedicated to stroke recovery.

CEREBROLYSIN - EVALUATED AS THE BEST PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENT FOR MOTOR RECOVERY WITH EVIDENCE 1!

Stroke recovery is an important research focus for Cerebrolysin^®, highlighted by the internationally widely acknowledged CARS and E-COMPASS studies. It is a positive development that these Cerebrolysin^® studies and the respective treatment concepts are nowadays also positively evaluated in practice guidelines.

The Canadian experts found 1a evidence for Cerebrolysin^® and its improvement of motor functions in the EBRSR.

Especially upper motor complications occur in more than 80% of stroke patients and affect the activities of daily living and thus the quality of life significantly. The Canadian Guidelines also made a recommendation for Cerebrolysin^® in the improvement of ADL.

THE CLINICIAN'S HANDBOOK - A PRACTICAL REFERENCE FOR YOU

We would like to draw your attention to the Clinician’s handbook edited by Prof Robert Teasell and his collaborators summarizing the evidence and the specific recommendation clearly.

In comparison to other medicinal drugs in stroke rehabilitation these recommendations mean:

• Cerebrolysin^® is the most effective pharmacological agent in motor recovery
• Cerebrolysin^® is one of the best evidenced drug in improving activities of daily living
• Cerebrolysin^® is one of the best ranked drugs in the domain stroke severity

SUMMARY

Clinicians worldwide trust their own clinical experience and increasingly appreciate when this experience is evaluated without bias by independent guideline committees. Cerebrolysin^® is not marketed in Canada but nevertheless highly regarded for the strong evidence from highly conclusive clinical trials, which showed that Cerebrolysin^® is a drug that is effective and safe in the recovery treatment of important stroke parameters, particularly motor function. Also confirmed in recently published German guidelines.