Cerebrovascular diseases
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialLong-term treatment with citicoline may improve poststroke vascular cognitive impairment.
Cognitive decline after stroke is more common than stroke recurrence. Stroke doubles the risk of dementia and is a major contributor to vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia. Nonetheless, few pharmacological studies have addressed vascular cognitive impairment after stroke. We assessed the safety of long-term administration and its possible efficacy of citicoline in preventing poststroke cognitive decline in patients with first-ever ischemic stroke. ⋯ Citicoline treatment for 12 months in patients with first-ever ischemic stroke is safe and probably effective in improving poststroke cognitive decline. Citicoline appears to be a promising agent to improve recovery after stroke. Large clinical trials are needed to confirm the net benefit of this therapeutic approach.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyIncreased benefit of alteplase in patients with ischemic stroke and a high body temperature.
In observational studies, a high body temperature has been associated with unfavorable outcome. In in vitro studies, the fibrinolytic activity of alteplase decreased 5% per degree Celsius reduction in temperature. The modifying effect of body temperature on treatment with alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke is unclear. We assessed the influence of baseline body temperature on the effect of alteplase on functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke, included in the Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) in Stroke (PAIS) trial. ⋯ Patients with ischemic stroke and a high body temperature may have a larger benefit of treatment with alteplase than patients with lower body temperatures. These findings are in line with those from in vitro studies, in which lowering temperature decreased the fibrinolytic activity of the enzyme alteplase. This interaction should be explored further in randomized clinical trials of thrombolytic therapy or modification of body temperature. Trials of therapeutic hypothermia should be controlled for treatment with thrombolytics, and trials of thrombolytic treatment should consider body temperature as a potential effect modifier.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyIs isolated aphasia a typical presentation of presumed cardioembolic transient ischemic attack or stroke?
Previous studies have suggested that patients with a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor ischemic stroke and isolated aphasia should be carefully screened for a potential cardiac source of embolism. Most of these publications, however, were case reports or small-series. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between isolated aphasia and atrial fibrillation (AF) as the cause of presumed cardioembolic TIA or stroke within the setting of 2 large multicenter trials. ⋯ Isolated aphasia is an independent sign of AF in patients with a TIA or minor ischemic stroke. Careful cardiac screening seems warranted in patients with isolated aphasia, as secondary prevention is different in patients with a cardiac source of embolism.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialDiscontinuation of antiplatelet study medication and risk of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events: results from the PRoFESS study.
Several case control studies have reported an increased risk of cardiovascular events following discontinuation of antiplatelet agents in high-risk patients. We therefore sought to investigate the risk of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events following discontinuation of antiplatelet study medication in the Prevention Regimen for Effectively Avoiding Second Strokes (PRoFESS) trial, a large randomized secondary stroke prevention study. ⋯ Discontinuation of antiplatelet medication after ischemic stroke should be advocated only when the risk and severity of bleeding clearly outweigh the risk of cardiovascular events.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialProof of concept study: relating infarct location to stroke disability in the NINDS rt-PA trial.
The summed Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) for noncontrast head CT scan represents the extent of early brain ischemia and has been shown to be useful for predicting stroke outcome. The ASPECTS template contains information on anatomical location which so far has not been used in analysis. This may not have been done because adjacent brain regions have related functions and share vascular territory. The task of relating neurological deficit to infarct localization requires brain imaging analysis tools which deal with this issue of relatedness or collinearity. We have previously used partial least squares with penalized logistic regression (PLR) to handle this problem of collinearity. A disadvantage of this method is that it cannot be performed at the bedside and requires processing and analysis in the imaging laboratory. PLR is a simpler analytic tool compared to partial least squares with PLR for dealing with this issue of relatedness (collinearity). It provides results in terms of β coefficients related to specific infarct locations in a manner that is intuitively understood by clinicians. In this exploratory analysis, we hypothesized that infarct location as represented by the individual ASPECTS region may be independently related to disability. ⋯ At an older age, specific infarct locations may be associated with a poorer outcome in this exploratory re-analysis of the NINDS rt-PA Study.