Media Release
Date: 1 June 2023
RUH appeals for stroke patients to support key research study
Researchers at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust are appealing to people who have had a stroke to help with an important study looking at speech and language recovery.
The Predicting Language Outcome and Recovery After Stroke (PLORAS) study, run by University College London (UCL), aims to help clinicians predict how soon after a stroke a patient might be able to recover their speech and language ability.
The study looks at scans of stroke patients' brains to identify which area of the brain has been affected and, alongside patient questionnaires, aims to more accurately predict when patients may be able to speak again.
Stroke Research Nurse Telma Costa said: "One of the questions that we hear the most from stroke patients is when will they be able to speak again, understand what's being said to them, or read again too.
"This study aims to help clinicians understand why different types of strokes can have different recovery times when it comes to speech and language, and help us to give patients a clearer timeline about when they might expect to recover these skills.
"If you've had a stroke and been a patient at the RUH, please do get in touch if you can help with this research. All we need you to do is fill in a questionnaire that you can do from home - there's no need to visit the hospital."
If you could help with the research, please email ruh-tr.strokeresearch@nhs.net or call 01225 824120.
You can find out more about our research into strokes on our website.
And there's lots more information about the PLORAS study on the University College London website.
ENDS