Stroke-CORE: master study protocol of the national cohort of the specialty network stroke within the network university medicine in Germany

@article{wiegand2026strokecore,
  title = {{Stroke-CORE: master study protocol of the national cohort of the specialty network stroke within the network university medicine in Germany}},
  author = {Flora Noelle Wiegand and Angelika Alonso and Heinrich J Audebert and Jessica Barlinn and Martin Bendszus and Folke Brinkmann and Bastian Cheng and Mark Dzietko and Katharina Feil and Agnes Flöel and Christina Franzisket and Lucia Gerstl and Christian Grefkes and Kai Günther and Kathrin Harringa and Steffi Jiru-Hillmann and Johanna-Luise Kanwisch and Lucia Kerti and Martin Köhrmann and Anna Kopczak and Claudia Kunze and Jennifer Linn and Annerose Mengel and Dominik Michalski and Jens Minnerup and Christian H Nolte and Christian Otte and Jan Purrucker and Dorothee Saur and Wolf Schäbitz and Stefan Schwab and Kristina Szabo and Timo Uphaus and Rolf Wachter and Markus Wagner and Peter U Heuschmann and Karen Gertz and Götz Thomalla},
  journal = {Neurological Research and Practice},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1186/s42466-026-00547-8},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-026-00547-8},
  note = {CC BY},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Stroke-CORE: master study protocol of the national cohort of the specialty network stroke within the network university medicine in Germany
AU  - Flora Noelle Wiegand
AU  - Angelika Alonso
AU  - Heinrich J Audebert
AU  - Jessica Barlinn
AU  - Martin Bendszus
AU  - Folke Brinkmann
AU  - Bastian Cheng
AU  - Mark Dzietko
AU  - Katharina Feil
AU  - Agnes Flöel
AU  - Christina Franzisket
AU  - Lucia Gerstl
AU  - Christian Grefkes
AU  - Kai Günther
AU  - Kathrin Harringa
AU  - Steffi Jiru-Hillmann
AU  - Johanna-Luise Kanwisch
AU  - Lucia Kerti
AU  - Martin Köhrmann
AU  - Anna Kopczak
AU  - Claudia Kunze
AU  - Jennifer Linn
AU  - Annerose Mengel
AU  - Dominik Michalski
AU  - Jens Minnerup
AU  - Christian H Nolte
AU  - Christian Otte
AU  - Jan Purrucker
AU  - Dorothee Saur
AU  - Wolf Schäbitz
AU  - Stefan Schwab
AU  - Kristina Szabo
AU  - Timo Uphaus
AU  - Rolf Wachter
AU  - Markus Wagner
AU  - Peter U Heuschmann
AU  - Karen Gertz
AU  - Götz Thomalla
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Neurological Research and Practice
DO  - 10.1186/s42466-026-00547-8
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-026-00547-8
AB  - Introduction Although Germany has a strong history of stroke research, it currently lacks a national harmonised infrastructure for clinical stroke research. To address this gap, the stroke-specific Specialty Network (SN Stroke) of the Network University Medicine (NUM) was established as a comprehensive research platform. Hereby we present the protocol of the Stroke-CORE cohort (COhort for REsearch in Stroke) within SN Stroke enrolling a large representative cohort of patients with acute ischeamic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage in Germany. Methods Stroke-CORE is a national, prospective, longitudinal, multi-centre cohort study with a decentralised biobank, structured as a modular umbrella protocol. Adult patients with acute ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage, and paediatric stroke patients are enrolled at participating hospitals. Data collection follows four adaptive levels, ranging from a core clinical data set (Level 1) to modules covering the whole stroke care pathway (Level 2), biosamples (Level 3), and voluntary additional modules (Level 4), with follow-up at discharge, 90 days, 180 days (optional), and annually. Enrolment started in August 2026 across 12 initial sites, with a target of 12,750 patients being recruited by 2030. Perspective Stroke-CORE represents a nationally harmonised cohort spanning prehospital care, acute treatment, rehabilitation, prevention, aftercare, and paediatric stroke. Its adaptive modular design allows continuous expansion with new modules, data streams, and biobanking initiatives without protocol revision. As a sustainable national research platform, Stroke-CORE aims to address key knowledge gaps, facilitate recruitment for clinical trials, and accelerate translational, clinical and outcomes research. Trial registration The protocol is registered at German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00039775, July 8th, 2026).
SN  - 2524-3489
ER  -