The National Institutes of Health StrokeNet: A User's Guide.
See related article, p 304. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) established the National Institutes of Health (NIH) StrokeNet to facilitate the rapid initiation and efficient implementation of small and large multisite exploratory and confirmatory clinical trials focused on promising interventions for stroke prevention, treatment, and recovery, as well as validation studies of biomarkers or outcome measures. The network is open to execute high effect trial ideas that can come from any corner of the wide stroke community. This network, which was initiated in the Fall of 2013, currently involves 288 hospitals across the United States and is designed to serve as the infrastructure and pipeline for new potential treatments for patients with stroke and those at risk of stroke. NIH StrokeNet also provides a tremendous educational platform for stroke physicians and other healthcare professionals, particularly those individuals in training and focused on an academic career. To maximize the effect of NIH StrokeNet, it is important for the larger stroke community to know its structure and the process and timeline by which stroke trials are developed and implemented. For more detailed information on the NIH StrokeNet, its ongoing trials, and educational webinars, one can visit the website https:/www.nihstrokenet.org/ The NIH StrokeNet is a cooperative research program supported by the NINDS. The main components include the National Coordinating Center (NCC) at the University of Cincinnati, the National Data Management Center (NDMC) at the Medical University of South Carolina, and 25 academic regional coordinating centers (RCCs) across the United States. The NCC is responsible for the network infrastructure, initiation of collaborative relationships, facilitation of the design, oversight, and management of network studies. Operationally, the NCC is the home for a Central Institutional Review Board (IRB) for NIH StrokeNet. Each participating network hospital signs a reliance agreement with the
Stroke