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Source: ONE News -
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Quality of life for stroke survivors could be drastically improved thanks to a new recovery clinic opened by Auckland University.
It offers free access to the country's leading researchers, and the opportunity to take part in cutting-edge trials.
Strokes are a lot more common than many people think, with one person suffering one every two seconds globally.
Mike Brown, 57, suffered a stroke when a blood vessel burst in his brain, damaging cells.
"Basically I was in a meeting, I sort of lost part of my voice, and fell over to my left and fell on the floor," Brown recalls.
He had to re-learn how to move the whole left side of his body.
Around 45,000 New Zealanders are like Brown - recovering.
And now the new University of Auckland research clinic is opening doors.
"People in the community can gain access to new and developing treatments much more quickly than if they have to wait for them to get into widespread clinical practice," said Dr Cathy Stinear from the Brain Recovery Clinic.
Referred patients start out with a three-hour assessment with speech therapists, optometrists and neurologists who specialise in strokes.
And some are invited to take part in cutting-edge research trials.
"This is called transcranial magnetic stimulation. What it does is create a very brief magnetic field that passes through the skull and scalp, and activates the cells in the surface of the brain, so that it's more receptive when the person then goes to do their physiotherapy," said Stinear.
The instrument is working for Brown, who sought out the research team before the clinic was actually up and running.
"I've learnt so much about what went wrong, where my brain is affected, [and] what I might do to help myself," he said.
He is also happy that other stroke sufferers can now access the science that will help them move forward.
