The Stroke Specialist Network (SN Stroke) within the NUM Study Network has reached an important milestone in the conduct of the Stroke-CORE cohort study : On 2 July 2026, the final ethical approval was granted by the Medical Ethics Committee of Würzburg University Hospital. Of particular note is the positive decision regarding the ‘broad consent’-based consent procedure for patients who are acutely unable to give consent (broad consent for representatives). This has established a key regulatory prerequisite for the conduct of Stroke-CORE.
At the same time, this decision represents a significant step forward for clinical research involving patients who are acutely unable to give consent – extending far beyond stroke research. This is because patients who are more severely affected by a stroke are often unable to decide for themselves whether to take part in a study during the acute phase. However, if these patients are excluded and only those with milder stroke symptoms are included, this could lead to a bias in the study results. The option of proxy consent enables even those more severely affected to take part in the study. In this way, the study can better reflect the full spectrum of stroke and deliver results that are relevant to a wider range of patients.
Recruitment for the Stroke-CORE study is expected to begin officially in August and will thereafter follow both adult and paediatric patients with ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage in Germany throughout all phases of care.
The SN Stroke Steering Committee was also constituted on 2 July 2026. The establishment of this central steering body marked another important milestone in the development of the network. The Steering Committee creates the organisational framework for the coordinated and efficient implementation of the network’s activities and clinical trials. The committee comprises 11 voting members and 2 advisory members (each with a deputy) and will meet every four weeks in future.