Activador del plasminógeno tisular intravenoso en el tratamiento del infarto cerebral agudo: factibilidad, seguridad y eficacia en los primeros dos años de práctica clínica / Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator in acute ischemic stroke: feasibility, safety and efficacy in the first 2 years of clinic practice

Background: The only effective therapy for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke is the infusion of tissue plasminogen activator in the first three hours after the onset of symptoms. Aim: To report the experience with tissue plasminogen activator infusion in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. Patients and methods: Ten males and 10 females, aged 52 to 85 years old with an acute ischemic stroke, admitted within 89 min after the onset of symptoms were studied. Tissue plasminogen activator was infused following the guidelines designed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Patients were assessed according to Rankin scale after three months of follow up. Results: All patients had normal CAT scans. The delay between the onset of symptoms and the infusion ranged from 75 to 180 min. One patient had a gastrointestinal bleeding due to a gastric ulcer and one patient had a fatal intracranial hemorrhage. After three months of follow up, 38 percent of patients had a good recuperation (Rankin 0 to 1), 33 percent had a mild to moderate disability (Rankin 2 or 3) and 14 percent had a moderate to severe disability (Rankin 4). There was a 15 percent mortality. Conclusions: This series show that treatment of acute ischemic stroke with tissue plasminogen activator is feasible and safe. The obtained results are similar to those reported abroad

Estudio de ingesta y niveles séricos de cobre como factor de riesgo de enfermedad ateromatosa / Copper intake and blood levels as risk factor for atherosclerosis

Zinc and copper intake, plasma levels and serum lipid levels were measured in 20 patients with cerebrovascular disease, 20 patients with an acute myocardial infarction and 40 subjects hospitalized for elective surgery, that served as controls. Results: Copper and zinc intake was below recommended allowances in all subjects. Serum zinc and copper levels did not differ in the three study groups. In patients with myocardial infarction a weak correlation was found between serum copper and total cholesterol (r = 0.24; p < 0.05) and LDL cholesterol (r = 0.31; p < 0.05). Conclusions: No differences in copper levels were found in subjects with atherosclerosis and controls. The correlation between serum copper and cholesterol deserves further investigation

Crisis isquémicas transitorias en Chile y su relación con el patrón de enfermedad cerebrovascular chileno / Transient ischemic attacks in Chile and it relation with chilean cerebrovascular disease standard

Patients and methods: One hundred forty nine patientes admitted to a Neurology service of a public hospital in Santiago, with an acute stroke, were studied. Patients and close relatives were interrogated about previous symptoms of TIA using a structured questionnaire. Results: One hundred nine patients had an ischemic and 40 patients a hemorrhagic stroke. Twenty patients with ischemic stroke had a history of TIA (18 percent). Fifteen out of 74 patients without a cardiac source of emboli (20 percent) and five out of 354 cases with an embolic source (14 percent) had a TIA preceding their stroke. Three out of 40 patients (8 percent) with hemorrhagic stroke had a history of TIA. Conclusions: This study does not support nor reject the hypothesis of a Chilean pattern of cerebrovascular disease unlike that found in Northern Caucasians