Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
How accurate is CT angiography in evaluating intracranial atherosclerotic disease?
Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is regarded as the gold standard in assessing degree of stenosis in intracranial vessels. However, it is invasive and can only be carried out at specialized centers. We sought to compare CT angiography (CTA) to DSA for detection and measurement of stenosis in large intracranial arteries. ⋯ Compared to DSA, CTA has high sensitivity and specificity for detecting >or=50% stenosis of large intracranial arterial segments. CTA is minimally invasive and may be a useful screening tool for intracranial arterial disease and occlusion.
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Vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains a leading cause of death and disability after aneurysm rupture. Decreased availability of nitric oxide (NO) may be crucial in its pathogenesis. We hypothesized that endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms may determine susceptibility to vasospasm in SAH patients. ⋯ These findings suggest that genetic variation influencing NO regulation contributes to the risk of angiographic vasospasm in patients with SAH. The specific role of the promoter SNP (-786T-->C) may determine the effect of NO regulated by this pathway, distinct from other known eNOS polymorphisms.
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In 1998, 2947 patients in metropolitan Phoenix were hospitalized for acute cerebral infarction. Only 2 of the 26 regional hospitals satisfied criteria for primary stroke center (PSC) designation. Fewer than 1% of patients with ischemic stroke received tissue plasminogen activator for thrombolysis. We sought to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a metropolitan prehospital emergency medical system for effectively identifying and transporting patients with acute stroke to a matrix of predesignated PSCs and increasing to 20% the proportion of all such patients receiving tissue plasminogen activator. ⋯ It is feasible to develop and operationalize a successful metropolitan-wide matrix of PSCs to accommodate emergency medical system-identified and transported patients with acute stroke in a 9000-square-mile region with a population of 3.5 million people.