Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Multicenter Study
Differences in aneurysm and patient characteristics between cohorts of Finnish and Dutch patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage: time trends between 1986 and 2005.
The high incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) in Finland may be related to genetic or environmental factors, which may also influence patient and aneurysm characteristics. We compared these characteristics in 2 cohorts in Finland (Kuopio) and the Netherlands (Utrecht). ⋯ The cohorts of aSAH patients differed with respect to age at onset and the number and sites of aneurysms. The decline in the proportion of men in Kuopio coincided with increased smoking and alcohol use in women and decreased smoking in men. The differences in aneurysm characteristics remained stable, which suggests that these factors are less influenced by environmental factors.
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We examined patient demographic and hospital characteristics and clinical predictors of delay time from hospital arrival until CT among 20 374 patients enrolled in the North Carolina Collaborative Stroke Registry (January 2005 to April 2008). ⋯ Most patients do not arrive to the hospital in a timely manner and cannot be considered for time-dependent therapies. Among those that do, disparities exist in time to receipt of CT scan, suggesting room for improvement in hospital-level stroke systems of care.
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Thrombolysis with tPA is the only FDA-approved therapy for acute ischemic stroke. But its widespread application remains limited by narrow treatment time windows and the related risks of cerebral hemorrhage. In this study, we ask whether minocycline can prevent tPA-associated cerebral hemorrhage and extend the reperfusion window in an experimental stroke model in rats. ⋯ Combination therapy with minocycline may extend tPA treatment time windows in ischemic stroke.
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We describe the clinical, diagnostic, and outcome features of a cohort of white patients with idiopathic moyamoya disease treated in a German institution. ⋯ Clinical features and course of moyamoya disease of whites analyzed in this German study are comparable to American results. Moyamoya disease in whites differs clearly from Asian moyamoya disease in timing of onset of vasculopathy and lower rate of hemorrhages.
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Waist circumference has been shown to be a better predictor of cardiovascular risk than body mass index (BMI). Our case-control study aimed to evaluate the contribution of obesity and abdominal fat mass to the risk of stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIA). ⋯ Markers of abdominal adiposity showed a graded and significant association with risk of stroke/TIA, independent of other vascular risk factors. Waist circumference and related ratios can better predict cerebrovascular events than BMI.