[Ethical approach to informed consent for participation in clinical studies in acute cerebral infarct].

This study shows that most French stroke victims and their closest relatives are unaware of the law protecting persons in biomedical research and have poor knowledge of medical data after being given appropriate information. Even so, the quality of information increases the quality of the patient-physician relationship. Patients want to be free to make their own decision to consent to biomedical research, but their desire was more for good information than for the power to make their decision alone. Being asked to give informed consent in order to participate in a clinical study accentuates the affective and psychological consequences of stroke, a factor which should be taken into consideration during follow-up.