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Advances in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treatment have been contingent on innovations in neuroimaging. Neuroimaging plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and prognosis of ischemic stroke and large vessel occlusion, enabling triage decisions in the emergent care of the stroke patient. Current imaging protocols for acute stroke are dependent on the available resources and clinicians’ preferences and experiences. In addition, differential application of neuroimaging in medical decision-making, and the rapidly growing evidence to support varying paradigms have outpaced guideline-based recommendations for selecting patients to receive intravenous or endovascular treatment. In this review, we aimed to discuss the various imaging modalities and approaches used in the diagnosis and treatment of AIS.
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Background@#and Purpose The optimal management of patients with acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) is uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) compared to medical management (MM) for acute BAO through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). @*Methods@#We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of patients with acute BAO. We analyzed the pooled effect of EVT compared to MM on the primary outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] of 0–3 at 3 months), secondary outcome (mRS 0–2 at 3 months), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and 3-month mortality rates. For each study, effect sizes were computed as odds ratios (ORs) with random effects and Mantel-Haenszel weighting. @*Results@#Four RCTs met inclusion criteria including 988 patients. There were higher odds of mRS of 0-3 at 90 days in the EVT versus MM group (45.1% vs. 29.1%, OR 1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–3.80; P=0.04). Patients receiving EVT had a higher sICH compared to MM (5.4% vs. 0.8%, OR 7.89, 95% CI 4.10–15.19; P<0.01). Mortality was lower in the EVT group (35.5% vs. 45.1%, OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.99; P=0.05). In an analysis of two trials with BAO patients and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) <10, there was no difference in 90-day outcomes between EVT versus MM. @*Conclusion@#In this systematic review and meta-analysis, EVT was associated with favorable outcome and decreased mortality in patients with BAO up to 24 hours from stroke symptoms compared to MM. The treatment effect in BAO patients with NIHSS <10 was less certain. Further studies are of interest to evaluate the efficacy of EVT in basilar occlusion patients with milder symptoms.
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Objective To investigate the correlation between the serum ferritin levels and the post-stroke depression (PSD). Methods From July 2014 to October 2015, the inpatients with the first-ever acute ischemic stroke were colected consecutively. Chemiluminescence microparticle immune assay was used to measure the serum ferritin levels within 24 h after admission. Depressive symptoms were screened by using the 17-item Hamilton depression scale (HAMD-17) at 3 months after onset. In patients with a HAMD-17 score ≥7, the depression was further diagnosed according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition. Results A total of 200 patients with the first-ever acute ischemic stroke were enroled, 55 (27. 5% ) of them were diagnosed as PSD. There were significant differences in the body mass index (BMI), years of education, waist circumference, high sensitive-C-reactive protein, homocysteine, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (at baseline, discharge, and day 90), mRs score (at discharge and day 90), BI (at discharge and day 90), and the proportions of widowed or solitary patients between the PSD group and the non-PSD group (al P 136. 375 μg/L was an independent risk factor for PSD (odds ratio 1. 041 per 1-quartile increase, 95%confidence interval 1. 009-1. 239; P = 0. 045). Conclusions The elevated baseline serum ferritin level is associated with PSD.
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Objective There is little research focusing on the expression and function of bradykinin 1 receptor ( B1R ) and bradykinin 2 receptor ( B2R) after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion on the basis of diabetes .The aim of this study was to compare the ex-pression difference and function change of B 1R and B2R in non-dia-betic and diabetic rats . Methods The cerebral ischemia/reperfu-sion model was established on 41 non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic rats, the weight and the biochemical index were measured on these two types of rats .8 non-diabetic rats and 8 diabetic rats were respec- tively assigned to two groups according to random number tables:control group and I/R 24 h group, 4 in each group.Real-time PCR was performed to observe the expressions of two receptors at 24 h after reperfusion .Then, 33 non-diabetic rats and 33 diabetic rats were randomly divided into 4 groups respectively, including sham group (n=6), saline group (n=9), B1R antagonist group (n=9) and B2R antagonist group (n=9).At 24 hours after cerebral I/R, neurological deficiency was evaluated by neurological severity scores ( NSS);infarct volume was observed by TTC staining;cell apoptosis was determined by TUNEL staining;neuron degeneration was de-tected by Fluoro-Jade C staining. Results Glucoses of diabetics at 3, 7, 14 d after model establishment [(23.45 ±5.01), (23.71 ±4.87), (22.72 ±4.11) mmol/L] were obviously elevated compared with non-diabetics [(5.77 ±0.75), (6.05 ±0.69), (7.15 ±1.09) mmol/L];blood cholesterin [(4.59 ±3.43) mmol/L] and insulin [(67.26 ±12.02) pmol/L] at 14 d after model establishment were evidently incresaed in comparison to those in non-diabetics [(1.58 ±0.37) mmol/L, (25.34 ±4.88) pmol/L] (P0.05).Compared with non-diabetics, diabetics suffered from more apparent up-regulation of B1R mRNA (P<0.01) but relatively less B2R mRNA (P<0.05) at 24 h after I/R.NSS score, infarction volume, damaged and apoptotic cells in B2R antagonis-treated non-diabetic rats at 24 h after I/R conspicuously decreased compared with saline-treated non-daibetic rats.Those indicators in B1R antagonis-treated diabeics were strikingly lessened compared with saline-treated daibetics . Conclusion I/R induced distinct up-regulation of B2R mRNA in non-diabetics and inhibiton of B 2R effectively ameliorated the infarct volume and cell injury after I/R in non-diabetics; I/R induced more notable up-regulation of B1R mRNA in diabetics and B1R antagonist exerted neuroprotective effects instead of B 2R antagonist af-ter I/R in diabetics.
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Objective Clinical studies show that the level of C-reactive protein ( CRP ) markedly increases in the acute phase of cerebral hemorrhage .However , the correlation of the CRP level with early neurological deterioration ( END) in patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage remains unclear .This study investigated the correlation between CRP and END in basal ganglia hemorrhage . Methods This study included 142 cases of basal ganglia hemorrhage diagnosed by cranial CT between Jan 2010 and Dec 2012 .END was defined as any decrease in Canadian Stroke Scale ( CSS) score≥1 point in the first 48 hours after stroke onset .We compared the baseline data between the END and non-END patients and evaluated the correlation between CRP and END by logistic regression analy -sis. Results END was found in 31 (21.8%) of the 142 patients.Univariate analysis of the END versus non-END cases showed that hyperglycemia (29.03 vs 11.71%, P=0.018), neutrophil count ([11.8 ±1.2] vs [7.8 ±7.7] ×109/L, P=0.019), CRP (P=0.001), hematoma expansion (54.83 vs 19.81%, P=0.001), hematoma volume ([23.6 ±21.9] vs [14.8 ±12.7] mL, P=0.005), and intraventricular hemorrhage (68.75 vs 28.83%, P<0.001) were significantly associated with END .Logistic regression a-nalysis indicated that the CRP level (OR=1.072, 95%CI:1.034-1.112, P=0.001), intraventricular hemorrhage (OR=4.162, 95%CI: 1.498 -11.564, P =0.006), and hematoma expansion (OR=5.297, 95%CI:1.906-14.723, P=0.001) were correlated with END in the patients during their hospital stay .ROC analysis man-ifested the predictive value of the CRP level for END in basal ganglia hemorrhage (OR=0.812, 95%CI: 0.732 -0.891, P <0.001). Conclusion The elevated level of CRP is significantly correlated with END in patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage and therefore can be re-garded as a predictive factor for this condition .
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Objective To investigate the effect of progressive neurological deterioration ( PND) of cerebral watershed infarction on early prognosis. Methods The consecutive patients with cerebral watershed infarction admitted in the Department of Neurology,Jinling Hospital,Nanjing University School of Medicine and their cerebral watershed infarctions confirmed by the imaging examination from March 2009 to March 2014 were enrolled. The clinical features, laboratory indicators and imaging features of internal watershed infarction,cortical-type watershed infarction,and mixed watershed infarction were identified and analyzed. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was used to score neurological deficit. The modified Rankin scale ( mRS) was used to score the prognosis of patients. Single factor analysis was used to compare the differences between the groups. At the same time,the correlation between PND and poor prognosis of cerebral watershed infarction at day 90 was analyzed by multivariable Logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 89 patients with cerebral watershed infarction were enrolled,including 43 cortical-type watershed infarctions,36 internal watershed infarctions, and 10 mixed watershed infarctions. Single factor analysis indicated that the incidences of PND of internal watershed infarction and mixed watershed infarction were significantly higher than the cortical-type watershed infarction (36. 1% [n=13],50. 0% [n=5], and 16. 3% [n=7],respectively;P=0. 018). At day 90,28 patients had poor prognosis,and mRS was (3.4±1. 0) scores at day 90. There was significant difference in the types of infarction between the patients with poor prognosis and patients with good prognosis (P<0. 05). In patients with poor prognosis, most of them were internal watershed infarctions,accounting for 50. 0% (14/28),while in patients with good prognosis,most of them were cortical-type watershed infarctions(57. 4% [35/61]). The incidence of PND in patients with poor prognosis was significantly higher than that in patients with good prognosis (57.1% [16/28] vs. 14. 8% [9/61];P<0. 05). The result of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjustment for confounding factor, PND was independently associated with the poor prognosis of cerebral watershed infarction at day 90 (OR 6. 969,95%CI 2. 451-19. 869;P<0. 01). Conclusion Compared with the cortical-type watershed infarction, the patients with internal watershed infarction is more prone to have PND, and PND is independently correlate with the poor prognosis at day 90.
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Objective To investigate the clinical effect of angioplasty for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. Methods Eighty-two patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis whom underwent angioplasty after the failure of standard medical therapy were enrolled from Nan-jing Stroke Registry Program from September 2010 to June 2013.Nine of them underwent routine balloon angioplasty alone and 73 underwent intracranial stenting.The median time from onset to surgery was 24.5 days.The occurrence of endpoint events (any stroke ≤30 d after procedure,death and ischemic stroke >30 d in guilty vessels or original stenosis had restenosis and needed to be treated again)was assessed. The incidence of restenosis was followed up with imaging (CTA or DSA). Results (1)In the 82 patients, the success rate of operation was 92.7%(n=72 ),and 78 (95.1%)received follow-up,4 were lost to follow-up.The median follow-up time was 22.5 months (range 9 to 29 months ).Ten patients had an endpoint event,7 of them were ischemic stroke,1 was cerebral hemorrhage,and two were severe asymptomatic restenosis who underwent stenting again.The endpoint events of 3 patients occurred at day 30 after procedure (at ≤24 h after procedure).Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the incidences of cumulative endpoint events at 1,6,12,and 24 months were 3.7%,8.6%,11%,and 13%,respectively.(2)60 patients (73.2%)received imaging examination (11 CTA and 49 DSA ).Restenosis occurred in 17 patients (28.3%),among them the incidence of symptomatic restenosis was 5%(n =3 ),and asymptomatic restenosis was 23.3%(n=14). Conclusion After a comprehensive assessment and a rigorous screening, the safety is high and the mid- and long-term efficacy are satisfactory in patients with symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis who are treated with angioplasty when their medical treatment is invalid.