Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Letter
Caspase-1 inhibitor prevents neurogenic pulmonary edema after subarachnoid hemorrhage in mice.
We examined the effects of a caspase-1 inhibitor, N-Ac-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-chloromethyl ketone (Ac-YVAD-CMK), on neurogenic pulmonary edema in the endovascular perforation model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in mice. ⋯ We report for the first time that Ac-YVAD-CMK prevents lung cell apoptosis and neurogenic pulmonary edema after SAH in mice.
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Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for stroke seems to be beneficial independent of the underlying etiology. Whether this is also true for cervical artery dissection (CAD) is addressed in this study. ⋯ IVT-treated patients with CAD do not recover as well as IVT-treated non-CAD patients. However, intracranial bleedings and recurrent ischemic strokes were equally frequent in both groups. They do not account for different outcomes and indicate that IVT should not be excluded in patients who may have CAD. Hemodynamic compromise or frequent tandem occlusions might explain the less favorable outcome of patients with CAD.
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Acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion (LVO)-vertebral, basilar, carotid terminus, middle and anterior cerebral arteries-likely portends a worse prognosis than stroke unassociated with LVO. Because little prospective angiographic data have been reported on a cohort of unselected patients with stroke and with transient ischemic attack, the clinical impact of LVO has been difficult to quantify. ⋯ Large vessel intracranial occlusion accounted for nearly half of acute ischemic strokes in unselected patients presenting to academic medical centers. In addition to age and baseline stroke severity, occlusion of either the basilar or internal carotid terminus segment is an independent predictor of outcome at 6 months.
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A low ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI) is an established risk marker for cardiovascular disease and mortality in the general population, but little is known about its prognostic value in individuals with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). ⋯ A low ABI independently predicted subsequent cardiovascular risk and mortality in patients with acute stroke or TIA. ABI measurement may help to identify high-risk patients for targeted secondary stroke prevention.
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Pulmonary embolism is thought to be associated with a small but definite risk of paradoxical embolism in patients with a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Although neurological complications are infrequent, the incidence of clinically silent brain infarction is unknown. We assessed the rate of clinically apparent and silent cerebral embolism in patients with pulmonary embolism in relation to the presence or not of a PFO. ⋯ In pulmonary embolism, cerebral embolic events are more frequent than the apparent neurological complication rate. The prevalence of silent brain infarcts is closely related to the presence of a PFO suggesting a high incidence of unsuspected paradoxical emboli in those patients.