Professor Joanna Wardlaw and colleagues have just published a paper that challenges the current understanding of the causes of lacunar ischaemic stroke. The study found that the build-up of fatty deposits in arteries does not appear to cause lacunar ischaemic stroke, which accounts for around a quarter of all ischaemic strokes – strokes caused by a blocked blood vessel – in the UK each year.Instead, researchers identified a different vascular abnormality – enlargement and widening of arteries in the brain – as being strongly linked to lacunar stroke.Experts say the findings help explain why aspirin and other antiplatelet drugs, commonly used to prevent stroke, are not so effective in preventing lacunar ischaemic stroke.The results are now helping to inform new treatment approaches, including the LACunar Intervention Trial 3 (LACI-3), which is testing drugs that directly target the brain’s small blood vessels.Read the full article on the University of Edinburgh's news page:Artery widening, not blockages, linked to common stroke Access the published paper from the link below:Implications of Cranial Arterial Stenosis and Dolichoectasia for Cerebral Small-Vessel Disease Etiopathogenesis: Findings From a Prospective Mild Stroke Cohort Further information:Not sure what a lacunar stroke is? You can find out more from the following pages:What is cerebral Small Vessel Disease? What is LACI-3? Publication date 08 May, 2026
