sifap1
Stroke in young Fabry patientsStroke in Young Fabry Patients (sifap1): Frequency of Fabry Disease in Young Stroke Patients |
 |
| Total enrollment: | 5000 (finished) |
| Study start date: | January 2008 |
| Study completion date: |
January 2010 (Final data collection date) |
| Study homepage: |
www.sifap.eu |
| Main publications: |
Protocol and methodology of the Stroke in Young Fabry Patients (sifap1) study; Cerebrovasc Dis. (Feb 2011) |
| Project overview In sifap 46 international neurological centres are joining a multicenter study headed by the Albrecht-Kossel-Institute at the University of Rostock. The goal of sifap is to clarify the prevalence of Fabry disease in young stroke patients, and to characterize stroke rehabilitation in young patients with Fabry disease. The main study phase sifap1 examines the prevalence of underlying Fabry disease in an unselected group of about 5,000 young stroke patients. Patients can decide whether their blood should be further analyzed with respect to stroke and Fabry. Consequently, one of the biggest and best defined BioBanks (containing DNA, clinical data, MRI data) will be established. This will enable scientists to conduct further studies on the cause of stroke with information from a well defined sample pool. To further unravel the prevalence of Fabry disease in and its etiology, sifap1 and subsequent sifap2 follow-up have been initiated and are yet one of the biggest studies of stroke in the young and its causes. |
| Background Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Europe and a leading cause of acquired disability in adults. Each year, about 1,250,000 people experience stroke in Europe. Stroke is the second leading cause of dementia in western countries and the second leading cause of mortality worldwide. Fabry disease is assumed to be a further possible cause for stroke in young patients as it leads to the excessive deposit of neutral glykosphingolipids in the vascular endothelium of different organs. The progressive endothelial accumulation of the glycosphingolipids is the cause for associated clinical anomalies in skin, eyes, kidneys, heart, brain and the peripheral nervous system. Because Fabry disease impairs several organ systems, one has to regard morbidity and mortality towards combined effects of kidney, heart failure and stroke. Recent publications (Lancet 2005; 366: 1794-96) from our group show that Fabry disease must be considered as possible cause for all cases of unexplained stroke in young patients, especially in cases with the combination of infarction in the vertebrobasilar artery system and proteinuria. We demonstrated a high frequency (4%) of Fabry syndrome in a cohort of patients with cryptogenic stroke aged between 18 and 55 years. This corresponds to about 1.2 % of all stroke patients. |
| Study contact Sabine Rösner (ScO)  Fon: +49 381 494 47 97 Fax: +49 381 494 47 48 |
| This study is officially registered under NCT00414583 on clinicaltrials.gov providing additional study information. |