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Objective To explore the impact factors on early neurological deterioration(END)in patients with cerebral infarction combined with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Methods The clinical characteristics and laboratory of patients with acute ischemic stroke and COVID-19 in Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed from December 15,2022 to January 15,2023.According to whether or not END occurred,all patients were divided into END group and non-END group.The clinical data of two groups were analyzed.Results A total of eligible 56 patients were included in this study,with 16 cases in END group and 40 cases in non-END group.The average age of END group(74.31±12.04)was older than non-END group(67.18±8.15)(P＜0.05).The proportion of previous history of coronary heart disease and diabetes were higher than non-END group(all P＜0.05).In terms of laboratory examination,the number of monocytes,C-reactive protein,glycated hemoglobin,lactate dehydrogenase,myoglobin,albumin,D-dimer,and fibrin degradation products in END group were significantly higher than that in non-END group(all P＜0.05).Logistic analysis showed that C-reactive protein is an independent risk factor for cerebral infarction combined with COVID-19(OR =1.084,95%CI:1.002-1.173,P＜0.05).Area under the ROC curve was0.825(95%CI:0.709-0.941,P＜0.001).Conclusions For patients with cerebral infarction combined with COVID-19,early neurological deterioration is more likely to occur in elderly patients with multiple underlying diseases,abnormal coagulation and inflammation indicators.Increased C-reactive protein has good predictive ability.
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Objective:To investigate the imaging characteristics and diagnosis of thalamic dementia caused by medial tentorial dural arteriovenous fistula (TDAVF).Methods:The clinical and imaging data of 4 patients with medial TDAVF diagnosed at Nanjing Brain Hospital from August 2022 to September 2023 were retrospectively collected, summarized and analyzed.Results:Four patients were all males, with an average age of 67 years. The duration of cognitive impairment varies from 13 days to 2 months, with an average of about 1 month. The average score on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was 13, while the average score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was 15. One patient was unable to complete these tests. MRI showed bilateral thalamic swelling, with scattered microbleeding lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging and susceptibility-weighted imaging ( n=3). Enhanced scans showed patchy or clumpy enhancement of the bilateral thalamus. Magnetic resonance angiography showed abnormal blood vessels along the straight sinus area ( n=4), while magnetic resonance venography showed no straight sinus development ( n=4). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed neuronal swelling and damage ( n=3), with no increase in choline peak. Arterial spin labeling perfusion imaging showed decreased perfusion in the lesions. Digital subtraction angiography confirmed TDAVF with straight sinus thrombosis. Two patients underwent embolization, with significant improvement in postoperative memory impairment. One patient underwent surgical clipping, while the other was transferred to other hospital for treatment. Conclusions:Patients with medial TDAVF often present with thalamic dementia. Imaging examinations show typical bilateral thalamic swelling with microbleeds, and early visualization of vascular shadows, without development of straight sinus. These features would be beneficial for the early diagnosis of TDAVF.
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Objective:To investigate the predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Methods:Consecutive patients with AIS without performing intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy admitted to the Cerebrovascular Disease Treatment Center, the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from December 2015 to December 2020 were enrolled. The clinical, imaging and laboratory examination data were collected. HT was defined as the first imaging examination of AIS patients without finding bleeding signs, but the imaging reexamination after hospitalization found intracranial hemorrhage. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent correlation between NLR and HT. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of NLR for HT. Results:A total of 805 patients with AIS were included. The median age was 67 years (interquartile range, 63-71 years), the median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 4 (interquartile range, 2-9), the median NLR was 3.84 (interquartile range, 2.66-5.30). Seventy-ywo patients (8.9%) had HT. There were significant differences in age, baseline systolic blood pressure, baseline NIHSS score, time from onset to admission, time from onset to blood collection, time from onset to imaging reexamination, NLR, atrial fibrillation, history of previous stroke and transient ischemic attack and stroke etiology between the HT group and the non-HT group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NLR was an independent risk factor for HT in patients with AIS after adjusting for confounding factors (odds ratio 1.355, 95% confidence interval 1.099-1.672; P=0.005). The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of NLR predicting HT was 0.852, and the optimal cut-off value was 4.75. Its sensitivity and specificity of predicting HT were 88.3% and 71.8% respectively. Conclusion:High NLR is an independent risk factor for HT in patients with AIS during hospitalization, and had better predictive value for HT risk.
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Objective:To investigate the effect of exosomes (Exo) secreted by brain vascular endothelial cell bEnd.3 after ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on neurons suffering from oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD).Methods:bEnd.3 was exposed to OGD for 3 h to simulate IPC in vivo. After 48 h of reoxygenation, the Exo (IPC Exo) in the conditioned medium were extracted and identified by Western blot and transmission electron microscopy. IPC Exo were incubated with primary cultured mouse cortical neurons for 24 h. Confocal microscope was used to observe whether Exo could be uptaked by primary cultured mouse cerebral cortical neurons. The primary cultured cortical neurons were divided into control group, OGD group, OGD+ IPC Exo (5 μg/ml, 10 μg/ml, 20 μg/ml) groups and sham OGD group (treated with Exo secreted by bEnd.3 cultured under normoxia conditions). The cell viability was detected by CCK-8 and cell survival/death detection kit.Results:Transmission electron microscopy showed that the extract of bend.3 culture medium showed typical morphology of Exo, i. e., a double concave disc-shaped vesicle with a diameter of 30-100 nm. Western blot analysis showed that the extract of bEnd.3 medium highly expressed Exo markers Alix and Tsg101. Confocal microscopy showed that Exo could be uptaked by primary cultured mouse cortical neurons, and the uptake of Exo was widely distributed in the cytoplasm and synapses. Compared with the OGD group, the addition of 10 and 20 μg/ml IPC Exo could significantly increased the neuronal viability ( P<0.05), while the addition of sham Exo had no neuroprotective effect. Conclusion:Exo released by cerebral vascular endothelial cells after IPC have protective effect on neurons suffering from OGD.
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Objective To investigate the enlarged perivascular space (EPVS) and its clinical significance in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD).Methods One hundred seventy-four patients with CSVD and 86 patients without CSVD admitted to Jinling Hospital,Clinical School of Nanjing University School of Medicine from October 2011 to February 2012 were recruited.All patients underwent cranial MRI examination (including diffusion-weighted imaging and fluid attenuated inversion recovery sequences).The numbers of EPVS and anatomic distribution in all the subjects of both groups were analyzed.The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to investigate its diagnostic critical value of anatomic distribution.Results Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that EPVS in basal ganglia region (odds ratio [OR] 1.491,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.165-1.909; P =0.002) and EPVS in centrum semiovale (OR 1.279,95％ CI 1.022-1.601;P=0.032) were independently associated with CSVD.EPVS in the basal ganglia region and the centrum semiovale in patients with CSVD was significantly more than that in patients with non-CSVD (all P ＜0.001).Its corresponding diagnosis cut-off points of CSVD were 4 and 6 respectively.The area under the ROC curve and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 0.859,72.4％,93.0％ and 0.808,65.5％,95.3％,respectively.Conclusions EPVS contributes to the diagnosis of CSVD.When using EPVS to diagnose CSVD,the anatomical sites need to be distinguished and establish appropriate diagnostic critical value.