StrokeNet Takes Off: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Organizational Update.

The 2012 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Priority Setting process highlighted the need for a stable, well-organized, clinical trial organization to increase the effectiveness of NINDS in advancing stroke treatments (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/find_people/ninds/OSPP/Stroke-Research-Priorities-Meeting-2012.htm). Lessons learned from NINDS Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials and the phase 2 biomarker-informed trials network (NeuroNext) demonstrated the value of an organization of dedicated trialists that harnessed a team science approach. In September 2013, National Institutes of Health (NIH) StrokeNet was established to conduct clinical trials in a centrally coordinated network that includes 25 regional centers that are linked to nearly 300 stroke hospitals across the United States. Busy from the start in executing NIH-funded stroke research, the group is now about to launch the first trial designed specifically for StrokeNet. The Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for Ischemic Stroke 3 (DEFUSE 3) trial will determine whether an imaging signature can be used to select patients who can benefit from thrombectomy treated after 6 hours of stroke onset. The …