An observational study in Ischemic Stroke, Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Recruiting at 31 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-14.
Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Observational
The overall goal of the DISCOVERY study is to better understand what factors contribute to changes in cognitive (i.e., thinking and memory) abilities in patients who experienced a stroke. The purpose of the study is to help doctors identify patients at risk for dementia (decline in memory, thinking and other mental abilities that significantly affects daily functioning) after their stroke so that future treatments may be developed to improve outcomes in stroke patients. For this study, a "stroke" is defined as either (1) an acute ischemic stroke (AIS, or blood clot in the brain), (2) an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, or bleeding in the brain), (3) or an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH, or bleeding around the brain caused by an abnormal bulge in a blood vessel that bursts).
The investigators hypothesize that:
This is a prospective, multi-center, observational, nested-cohort study. A total of 8,000 patients hospitalized at the DISCOVERY clinical sites with acute-onset AIS, ICH or aSAH and no history of dementia will be enrolled.
All participants will undergo baseline screening for evidence of pre-stroke dementia. Those who pass baseline screening will complete a blood draw and a series of cognitive and functional assessments at baseline.
Participants will undergo in-person (3-6 months, 18 months) and telephone (annual) follow-up visits for the duration of the study to assess for longitudinal cognitive and functional outcomes. In addition to Tier 1 procedures, at each in-person follow-up visit, Tier 2 participants will also undergo brain MRI scanning, comprehensive cognitive assessment batteries and longitudinal blood collection; and Tier 3 participants will also complete a specialized imaging of the brain (amyloid- and tau-PET/CT scans), which is intended to identify special biomarkers of dementia.
2,612 studies on the registry are indexed under Ischemic Stroke; 971 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 8,000 is above the median of 300 across 771 observational studies indexed under Ischemic Stroke.
Browse Ischemic Stroke studies →Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.
Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Patients with recent (≤ 6 weeks) acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage or aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and no history of dementia.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Unable to complete study protocol (advanced directives such as comfort measures only, or inability to complete the study due to severe medical/behavioral co-morbidities), as determined by physician investigator during screening process
Additional exclusion criteria for Tier 2 participants:
to MRI: presence of electrically, magnetically, or mechanically activated implants (such as cardiac pacemakers, cochlear implants, implanted pumps); or metallic clips in the brain
Additional exclusion criteria for Tier 3 participants:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Change in post-stroke cognitive impairment and dementia (PSCID) diagnosis status
Time frame: Baseline to 48 months post-index stroke
Change in cognitive function
Time frame: Baseline to 3-6, 12, 18, 24, 36 and 48 months post-index stroke
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Plan to share: Undecided — Contingent upon approval from the DISCOVERY Project Steering Committee and Sharing Subcommittee, or the NINDS (upon completion of the study), data, imaging and/or samples from consenting participants may be shared with other external researchers for future research. All identifiers and study-specific codes will be removed and assigned a second randomized identifier. The key linking each identifier to a study-specific code will be in the possession of the DISCOVERY Repository Core and will not be shared with external researchers. Upon completion of the study, the study database will be available to NINDS along with a data dictionary and all information needed to utilize the data in future research in accordance with the informed consent. De-identified genetic information derived from this study will be deposited in the US NIH genomic database (dbGAP and future iterations) and used for future research.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
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