Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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It is not known whether preischemic exposure to anesthetic agents affects the amount of damage from transient focal ischemia that occurs after cessation of the anesthetic. We compared the effect of prior exposure to halothane or propofol on infarction size after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) induced in the awakening animal to test the hypothesis that anesthetic type and exposure duration would independently affect the amount of brain injury. ⋯ These data demonstrate that short-duration halothane exposure before MCAO in the awakening animal attenuates infarction volume compared with propofol. This protection by halothane is not mediated through preservation of intraischemic CBF. Longer durations of halothane exposure may activate secondary injury pathways, which negate the protective effects of short-term halothane preischemic treatment.
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Recently, there has been great interest in adult neurogenesis. We investigated whether transient forebrain ischemia could influence the proliferation of neuronal progenitor in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the rat hippocampus and whether aging could influence the neurogenesis after ischemia. ⋯ Our results indicate that ischemic stress stimulated the proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells in the SGZ of both young and old rats but resulted in increased neurogenesis only in young animals. Our findings will be important in developing therapeutic intervention to enhance endogenous neurogenesis after brain injury.
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Evidence suggests that an alteration in cerebral hemodynamics plays a relevant role in the occurrence of stroke in patients with carotid occlusion. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationships among baseline characteristics, type and number of collateral pathways, cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR), and outcome of patients with carotid occlusion. ⋯ These data suggest that cerebral hemodynamic status in patients with carotid occlusive disease is influenced by both individual anatomic and functional characteristics. The planning of strategies to define the risk profile and any attempt to influence patients' outcome should be based on the evaluation of the intracranial hemodynamic adaptive status, with particular attention to the number of collateral vessels and the related VMR.
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Comparative Study
Trends in incidence and case fatality rates of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in Izumo City, Japan, between 1980-1989 and 1990-1998.
With aging of the population, the profile of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is likely to change; however, evaluation of long-term trends for incidence and case fatality rates of SAH is still limited. ⋯ The age- and sex-adjusted incidence rates of aneurysmal SAH were stable over the 19-year period since 1980 and, despite improvement of outcome in patients aged
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Plaque formation at arterial bifurcations depends on vessel anatomy, particularly the relative sizes of the branches, and the ratio of the outflow to inflow area. The facts that carotid plaque is more common in men and that carotid bruits in the absence of stenosis are more frequent in women raise the possibility that there are sex differences in carotid bifurcation anatomy. We studied 5395 angiograms from the European Carotid Surgery Trial. ⋯ Sex differences in carotid bifurcation anatomy are not limited to absolute vessel size. In addition, the outflow to inflow area ratio is bigger in women, and relative to the CCA and ECA, women have larger ICAs than men. Irrespective of whether these differences are congenital or acquired, they may partly explain the sex differences that we found in the distribution of plaque and the sex differences in the prevalence of carotid atheroma in the general population.