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Objective To investigate the differences of risk factors,imaging features,etiologies,and long-term outcomes in young adults with anterior and posterior circulation ischemic stroke.Methods Consecutive young patients (15-45 years) with ischemic stroke were divided into an anterior circulation group and a posterior circulation group.They were followed up regularly for a long term,and the endpoint events included stroke,cardiovascular events,and death.Results A total of 289 patients were enrolled in the study,including 220 males.Their mean age was 38.0 ±6.5 years.There were 213 patients (73.7％) in the anterior circulation group and 76 (26.3％) in the posterior circulation group.In terms of risk factors,valvular heart disease was more common in the anterior circulation group (6.6％ vs.0.0％;Fisher's exact test,P =0.025),while hypertension (51.3％ vs.36.6％;x2 =5.021,P=0.025) and prodromic infection (6.6％ vs.1.4％;Fisher's exact test,P =0.018) were more common in the posterior circulation group.In the etiologies of stroke,large-artery atherosclerosis was more common in the anterior circulation group (32.4％ vs.13.2％;x2 =10.435,P =0.001),while small vessel occlusion (26.3％ vs.15.5％;x2 =4.381,P =0.036) and arterial dissection (19.7％ vs.9.9％;x2 =5.012,P =0.025) were more common in the posterior circulation group.There was no significant difference in the incidence of 5-year cumulative end-point events between the anterior circulation group and the posterior circulation group (20.2％ vs.18.5％;log-rank test P =0.614).Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age and gender,the independent predictors of end-point events in the posterior circulatory group included hypercholesterolemia (hazard ratio [HR] 3.622,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.216-17.766;P =0.030),old infarction (HR 6.045,95％ CI 1.602-29.580;P =0.016),and CE (HR 8.256,95％ CI 1.398-27.302;P=0.029).Conclusion There were significant differences in the risk factors,etiologies,and influencing factors of long-term outcome between the anterior circulation and posterior circulation in Chinese young patients with ischemic stroke,suggesting that the different diagnosis and treatment strategies should be adopted for the two types of patients.
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Objective To investigate the risk and predictors of stroke recurrence in patients with symptomatic intracranial internal carotid artery(IICA)stenosis.Methods Consecutive patients with first-ever ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) caused by IICA atherosclerotic stenosis were enrolled prospectively. The patients were regularly followed up to assess stroke recurrence. Results A total of 70 patients were enrolled, 49 patients were males, and the mean age was 68.2 ± 12.3 years. The mean follow-up time was 34 ± 17 months (median, 33 months). Twenty-seven patients (38.6%) experienced recurrent events during the follow-up period (5 TIAs and 22 ischemic strokes);92.6% of recurrent events occurred in the original symptomatic stenotic IICA territory. Internal watershed infarction in patients with recurrent stroke was more common than those without stroke recurrence(74.1% vs. 44.2%,P=0.025). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the risks of stroke recurrence at 1,3 and 5 years were 26.8%, 42.5%, and 46.9%, respectively in patients with symptomatic IICA stenosis. Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression analysis showed that the predictors for stroke recurrence in patients with symptomatic IICA stenosis included diabetes (hazard risk [HR] 3.68,95% confidence interval[CI] 1.43-9.46; P=0.007), combined asymptomatic intracranial artery occlusive disease(HR 2.95,95% CI 1.16-7.50;P=0.023),and internal watershed infarction (HR 4.50, 95% CI 1.43-14.17; P=0.010) after adjusting for sex, age and traditional vascular risk factors. Conclusions The risk of long-term stroke recurrence in patients with symptomatic IICA stenosis is still high under the current drug treatment. Diabetes, combined asymptomatic intracranial arterial occlusive disease, and internal watershed infarction are closely associated with stroke recurrence.
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Objective To investigate clinical, imaging features, and long-term outcomes in patients with isolated anterior cerebral artery (ACA) territory infarction due to ACA atherosclerosis, and compare with isolated ACA territory infarction due to other etiologies. Methods The consecutive patients with acute isolated ACA territory infarction confirmed by diffusion-weighted imaging were enrolled prospectively. According to their stroke etiology, they were divided into ACA atherosclerotic stroke and non-ACA atherosclerotic stroke. The infarction patterns were classified as single infarction including perforating artery infarction (PAI), small branch infarction (SBI) and cortical branch infarction(CBI), and multiple infarctions (a combination of PAI,SBI or CBI).The clinical,imaging features and long-term outcomes were compared between the ACA atherosclerotic stroke group and the non-ACA atherosclerotic stroke group. Results A total of 86 patients (47 males) were enrolled, ages ranging from 39 to 88 years (mean 67.5 ± 12.5 years). There were 56 patients in the ACA atherosclerotic stroke group, and 30 patients in the non-ACA atherosclerotic stroke group (12 carotid atherosclerosis, 6 cardioembolism, 2 internal carotid artery dissection, 10 undetermined etiology). The proportions of females (53.6% vs. 30.0%; P= 0.043), progressive onset of stroke(58.9% vs. 20.0%;P=0.001),SBI alone(21.4% vs. 3.3%;P=0.029)and infarction involving small branches(80.4% vs. 46.7%;P=0.001)in the ACA atherosclerotic stroke group were higher than those in the non-ACA atherosclerotic stroke group, and CBI alone (17.9% vs. 55.3%, P=0.001) was lower. The follow-up times in the ACA atherosclerotic stroke group and the non-ACA atherosclerotic stroke group were 29.8 ± 16.5 months and 30.4 ± 18.5 months, respectively (P=0.534). Five-year cumulative incidence of adverse events (stroke, cardiovascular events and death) in the ACA atherosclerotic stroke group and the non-ACA atherosclerotic stroke group were 36.3% and 69.9% respectively(log rank test,P=0.021).Conclusions ACA atherosclerosis is the common etiology for isolated ACA territory infarction. The isolated ACA territory infarction due to ACA atherosclerosis had distinctive infarction patterns and a lower long-term incidence of adverse events compared with those due to non-ACA atherosclerosis.
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[Objective] To study the factors relative to the delayed diagnosis of spontaneous dual arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) and its influence on the prognosis.[Methods] We included 102 continuous patients diagnosed DAVF in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University,and analyzed the correlative factors and impact on outcome of diagnostic delay.Outcome was whether symptoms were non-improvement,improvement or restoration at discharge.[Results] Median delay from onset to diagnosis was 3 months (interquartile range,1 to 6).Compared with patients diagnosed carlier(diagnose time≤3 months),patients diagnosed later (diagnose time ＞ 3 months) had a lower frequency of headache (P =0.012),ptosis (P =0.035) and parenchymal lesions (P =0.001),a higher frequency of conjunctival congestion (P =0.004),tinnitus (P =0.021),visual dysfunction (P ＜ 0.001),isolated visual dysfunction (P =0.007) and delayed imaging scan (P ＜ 0.001),a higher frequency of endovascular treatment,and a lower frequency of improvement or restoration at discharge (P =0.033),in which patients with visual dysfunction had a lower frequency of improvement or restoration than those without visual dysfunction (P =0.023).Compared to those with visual dysfunction and other symptoms,patients with isolated visual dysfunction had a higher frequency of onset with paroxysmal blurring or blinding (P ＜ 0.001),two eyes involved (P ＜ 0.001) and more severe visual loss (P =0.057),a higher frequency of draining into transversesigmoid sinus (P ＜ 0.001) instead of cavernous sinus (P ＜ 0.001),and suffered intracranial hypertension all (median intracranial pressure,405 mmH2O;interquartile range,370 ～ 512 mmH2O).However,no statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of improvement or restoration at discharge between two groups (P =0.739).[Conclusion] Diagnostic delay was considerable in this cohort and was associated with outcome,especially in patients with visual dysfunction.
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Objective To investigate the clinical and imaging characteristics in cryptogenic stroke with right-to-left shunt (RLS). Methods Fifty-two patients with cryptogenic ischaemic stroke were included in the study and divided into two groups according to transcranial Doppler (TCD) bubble test: RLS group (twenty-five patients) and non-RLS group (twenty-seven patients). The demographic data, traditional risk factors of stroke and characteristics of le?sion patterns were compared between two subgroups. Results There was no significant difference between the groups in age or sex ratio. The percentage of patients with no risk factors was significantly higher in RLS group than non-RLS group (44%vs. 14.8%, P=0.015). The lesion was more frequently observed in the vertebrobasilar artery territory in RLS group (56%vs. 14.8%, P0.05). Conclusions Vertebrobasilar Stroke without traditional cerebrovascular risk factors is more likely to be RLS-associated, which requires an advanced TCD bubble test to find the potential cause of stroke.
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[Objective]To provide the mechanical evidence of self manufactured metallic-rectangular frame on the reconstruction of the stability of occipitocervical junction.[Method]Seven of the adult cervical spinal specimens which were entire wet-cadavers(from occipitale to C_6) were made to simulate the C_(0～2) fracture dislocation.These of specimens dislocated were fixed by metallic-rectangular frame and Occipito-cervical plate respectively.The three dimensional movements of C_(0～2) were recorded through photogrametry with a pure moment of 1.53 Nm.The range of motion(ROM) of each specimens in two fixation was caculated.[Result]Loaded by 1.53Nm,In metallic-rectangular frame fixation,the ROM in flexion,extension,lateral bending and axial rotation were 5.9?、7.7?、5.6?、11.2? respectively,decreased by 157.6%、68.8%、58.9%、131.3%,compared with occipitocervical plate fixation group.[Conclusion]Metallic-retangular frame fixation can reconstruct the stability of Occipitocervical junction immediatey,and is a relativity effective internal fixation for occipitocervical fusion.