* Please observe media embargo dates and times noted in the copy

Newswise — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The annual American Stroke Association 2013 International Stroke Conference begins Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will contribute newsworthy presentations and moderators, and it has a number of experts available to weigh in on the news coming out of the conference. UAB experts available: • Donna Arnett, Ph.D. – Arnett is president of the American Heart Association. She is professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the UAB School of Public Health.• George Howard, Dr.P.H. – Howard is the principal investigator (PI) of the statistical analysis center for the Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy Stenting Trial (CREST) and is PI of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. He is a professor in the Department of Biostatistics in the UAB School of Public Health. • Virginia Howard, Ph.D. – Howard is a co-PI on the REGARDS study and a professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the UAB School of Public Health.• Suzanne Judd, Ph.D. – Judd is a program manager for the REGARDS study and an assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics in the UAB School of Public Health.

UAB presentations include (Please observe noted media embargo dates and times.): • Could the Southern diet pattern raise your risk of stroke? (Embargoed until noon ET, Thursday, Feb. 7) – Suzanne Judd, Ph.D., will present her findings on a possible linkage between eating Southern-style foods and a higher risk of stroke. Diet is one of many potential factors proposed to explain racial and regional differences in stroke; prior research has shown that blacks are at a higher risk of stroke, and there is higher stroke mortality in the southeastern portion of the United States. Judd and her team examined the association of diet patterns with risk of stroke in the REGARDS study.

• Stroke Symptoms and Risk of Future Hospitalization (Embargoed until 9:15 p.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 7) – Virginia Howard, Ph.D., will present her findings on whether or not the presence of a stroke symptom – such as sudden weakness, numbness, unilateral or general loss of vision, and loss of ability to communicate or understand – was associated with a greater risk of hospitalization for stroke. In addition, Howard and her team examined whether or not having a stroke symptom could help identify clinically undetected vascular conditions, as well as what these associations could mean for potential interventions to reduce risk.

• Risk Factors for Intracerebral Hemorrhage and the Racial Differences in the Impact of Age on Risk – (Embargoed until 9:15 p.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 7) – George Howard, Dr.P.H., will present his findings on risk factors for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), which have been largely identified in case-control studies, with few longitudinal studies available. Using the REGARDS study cohort, Howard and his team examined differences in ICH risk between races based on age.

About UABKnown for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is the state of Alabama’s largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center; its professional schools and specialty patient-care programs are consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50. Find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabmedicine.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a separate, independent institution from the University of Alabama, which is located in Tuscaloosa. Please use University of Alabama at Birmingham on first reference and UAB on all consecutive references.

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