Antepartum cerebral angiopathy presenting as middle cerebral artery aneurysm rupture – A rare case report from India

The incidence of middle cerebral artery aneurysm rupture in pregnancy is rare. Rupture of an intracranial aneurysm is the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage in pregnancy and during puerperium. Intracranial aneurysm rupture during pregnancy is disastrous for the mother as well as the fetus. We report a case of a dissecting left middle cerebral artery aneurysm in a 25-year-old woman, G2P1L1, at 18 weeks of gestation, who presented with a 1-day history of giddiness, slurring of speech, and facial deviation to the left.

Long-term clinical outcomes of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in Yunnan Province / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) after surgeries in Yunnan Province.@*METHODS@#We retrospectively analyzed the demographic features, vascular risk factors, severity at admission, and aneurysm locations in 85 patients with aSAH receiving surgical interventions in Yunnan Province. All the patients were treated by aneurysm clipping or coiling and followed up for clinical outcomes and recovery of daily activities evaluated by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale, respectively.@*RESULTS@#Thirty-four of the patients (40.0%) underwent aneurysm clipping and 51 (60.0%) underwent aneurysm coiling. During a median follow- up period of 66.23 months (IOR, 12.03 months), 84.7% of the patients had low mRS scores, and 78.8% lived independently. The WFNS grade at admission was significantly correlated with the follow-up mRS scores (95%: 1.48-19.09, =0.011) and ADL (95%: 2.55-28.77, 0.05), but the cost of hospitalization was significantly higher in coiling group than in the clipping group ( < 0.001).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Both aging and a high WFNS grade at admission are associated with a poor prognosis of aSAH, for which aneurysm clipping and coiling have similar long- term outcomes, but for patients with a high WFNS score, aneurysm clipping is favored over coiling in terms of health economics.

Endovascular treatment of ruptured tiny aneurysms

OBJECTIVE: Endovascular coiling of ruptured tiny aneurysms (RTAs) in the brain has been known to be technically challenging owing to the higher rate of adverse events, such as thromboembolism and intraoperative rupture. The aim of this study was to report our ex-periences of endovascular treatment of RTAs (size, ≤3 mm).METHODS: From January 2006 to December 2017, 35 RTAs in 35 patients were treated at our institution with an endosaccular coiling. Procedural data and clinical and angiographic results were retrospectively reviewed.RESULTS: The mean size of the RTAs was 2.53 mm (SD: 0.38). The neck remodeling technique was applied to 14 aneurysms, including stent-assisted coiling (n=7) and balloon-assisted coiling (n=7). Procedure-related complications included intraprocedural rupture (n=2), thromboembolic event (n=1), and early rebleeding (n=2), which needed recoiling. Regarding immediate angiographic control, complete occlusion was achieved in 25 aneurysms (71.4%), small neck remnant in 5 (14.3%), and definite remnant in 5 (14.3%). At the end of follow-up, 31 of the 35 patients (88.6%) were able to function independently. Twenty-two of the 35 patients underwent follow-up conventional angiography (mean, 468 days). Stable occlusion was achieved in 20 of the 22 patients (90.9%), minor recanalization in 1 (4.5%), and major recanalization, which required recoiling, in 1 (4.5%).CONCLUSION: Our experiences demonstrate that endovascular treatment for RTAs is both feasible and effective. However, periprocedural rebleedings were found to occur more often (11.4%) than what is generally suspected.

Clinical Outcomes of Treatment for Intracranial Aneurysm in Elderly Patients

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical course of intracranial aneurysm in patients aged 65 years and older and the immediate outcome after its aggressive management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis using the medical records of 159 elderly patients managed at our institute from September 2008 to December 2013. Obtained clinical information included age, sex, Hunt and Hess grade (HHG), aneurysm location, Fisher grade (FG) and the treatment modality. Concomitant clinical data aside from cerebrovascular condition (hypertension, diabetes, previous medication) were evaluated to determine risk factors that might affect the functional outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 108 patients (67.9%) presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and 51 (32.1%) with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs). Coiling was performed in 101 patients and 58 patients underwent clipping. In the SAH population, 62 patients (57.4%) showed favorable outcomes, with a mortality rate of 11.3% (n = 18). In the UIAs population, 50 (98%) patients achieved 'excellent' and one (2%) achieved 'good' outcome. Factors including high-grade HHG (p < 0.001), advanced age (p = 0.014), and the presence of intraventricular hematoma (IVH) (p = 0.017) were significant predictors of poor outcome. CONCLUSION: SAH patients with high grade HHG and IVH are associated with poor outcome with statistical significance, all the more prominent the older the patient is. Therefore, the indication for aggressive therapy should be considered more carefully in these patients. However, as the outcomes for elderly patients with UIAs were excellent regardless of the treatment modality, aggressive treatment could always be considered in UIAs cases.

Clinical Outcome of Paraclinoid Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysms After Microsurgical Neck Clipping in Comparison with Endovascular Embolization

OBJECTIVE: Because of the complex anatomical association among vascular, dural, and bony structures, paraclinoid internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms remain a major challenge for vascular neurosurgeons. We studied the clinical outcomes of 61 paraclinoid ICA aneurysms after microsurgical clipping in comparison with endovascular coiling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2008 and December 2012, we treated 61 paraclinoid ICA aneurysms created by surgical clipping or endovascular coiling. Preoperative neurologic status and postoperative outcome were evaluated using the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and the modified Rankin scale (mRS). Postoperative hydrocephalus and vasospasm were reviewed using the patients' medical charts. RESULTS: Most patients were in good clinical condition before the operations and had good treatment outcomes. Clinical vasospasm was observed after the operation in five patients, and hydrocephalus occurred in six patients. No statistically significant difference regarding aneurysm size, sex, GCS score, H-H grade, and mRS was observed between the surgical clipping group and the endovascular coiling group. In addition, the treatment results and complications did not show statistically significant difference in either group. CONCLUSION: Surgical occlusion of paraclinoid ICA aneurysms is difficult; however, no significant differences were observed in the treatment results or complications when compared with coil embolization. In particular, use of an adequate surgical technique may lead to better outcomes than those for coil embolization in the treatment of large and/or wide-neck paraclinoid ICA aneurysms.

Clinical Analysis of Giant Intracranial Aneurysms with Endovascular Embolization

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to perform a clinical analysis of nine patients with giant aneurysms managed with endovascular embolization. METHODS: From March 2000 to September 2009, nine cases of giant intracranial aneurysms were treated (five unruptured and four ruptured). The nine patients included two males and seven females who were 47 to 72 years old (mean, 59.2 years old). The types of giant intracranial aneurysms were eight internal carotid artery aneurysms and one vertebral artery aneurysm. Treatment for each aneurysm was chosen based on anatomic relationships, aneurysmal factors, and the patients' clinical state. Three patients underwent endovascular coiling with stent and six initially underwent endovascular coiling alone. Medical records, operation records, postoperative angiographies, and follow-up angiographies were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Eight out of nine patients showed good clinical outcomes. (six were excellent and two were good) after a mean follow-up period of 27.9 months. Six (67%) of the nine patients had a near-complete occlusions on the post-operative angiogram (mean, 13.5 months after the procedure). Occlusion rates of 90% or higher were obtained for eight (89%) of all the patients. One patient died due to multiple organ failure. Stents were ultimately required at some point for managing four aneurysms. Two patients needed additional procedures because of aneurysm regrowth. CONCLUSION: Endovascular treatment could be an alternative option for managing giant aneurysms adjuvant to surgical intervention.

A Comparative Study of Microsurgical Clipping and Endovascular Coiling in the Treatment of Ruptured Cerebral Aneurysms / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

OBJECTIVE: Recently the treatment of endovascular coil embolization is gradually increasing compared to the traditional method of microsurgical clipping. However, both methods carry certain risks. The aim of this study was to compare each method's morbidity and complications in patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms. METHODS: We investigated patients who underwent surgery for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to cerebral aneurysm rupture between January 2007 to December 2009 in our hospital. Patients' medical records and radiologic images were referenced and initial grade, location and size of aneurysm, treatment method, complications, prognosis, hospital stay and the cost were retrospectively investigated. We divided the patients into two groups according to surgical METHODS: clipping group and coiling group. Treatment results were evaluated using Modified Rankin Scale (MRS). RESULTS: Total 187 aneurysms were treated in 149 patients. Sixty-five and 84 patients were classified as clipping group and coiling group, respectively. The ratio of patients with good outcome in clipping vs. coiling was 83.6% vs. 80.8%. The incidence of vasospasm was significantly lower in the coiling group compared to the clipping group. The length of hospitalization was shorter in the coiling group. The cost and operation time was also less in the coiling group. However, higher numbers of remnant sac and coil compaction were observed in the coiling group. CONCLUSION: Endovascular coil embolization for ruptured cerebral aneurysms had fewer vasospasms and complications. Also, it reduced the hospital stay, operation time, and cost compared with the clipping group. So, in addition to traditional microsurgical neck clipping, we think that endovascular coiling is a good alternative method to treat ruptured aneurysms.

Treatment Outcome of Ruptured Cerebral Aneurysms in the Elderly / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the results of surgical and endovascular treatments in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients older than 70 years. METHODS: This study included 18 patients, more than 70 years of age, treated for ruptured cerebral aneurysms between April 2004 and March 2009. In most cases, patients underwent the early obliteration procedure for each aneurysm, and we compared the clinical results according to the obliteration method (clipping or coiling). We assessed neurological outcomes at 6 months post-procedure according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS): favorable (mRS score > 2) or unfavorable (mRS score > 2). RESULTS: Of the 18 patients, 12 (66.6%) underwent obliteration of the aneurysm sac via microvascular clipping patients, and 6 (33.3%) underwent endovascular coiling. At 6 months post-procedure, the clinical outcomes were favorable in 6 patients (33.3%), 5 (41.7%) who received microvascular clipping and 1 (16.7%) who underwent endovascular coiling. Unfavorable outcome was not statistically associated with poor initial clinical state, poor Fisher grade, occurrence of stroke, or hydrocephalus, although we frequently noted these variables in the unfavorable outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, aneurysm obliteration method (microvascular clipping vs. endovascular coiling) did not seem to significantly affect clinical outcomes. A poor initial clinical state, poor Fisher grade, occurrence of stroke, and hydrocephalus seemed to be associated with poor clinical outcomes.

Treatment of the Posterior Circulation Aneurysms / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

OBJECTIVE: Endovascular treatment is now accepted as an initial treatment modality, especially in cases of posterior circulation aneurysms. The purpose of this study was to review the treatment outcomes and to emphasize the necessity of maintaining the surgical ability for posterior circulation aneurysms. METHODS: During the past 10 years, 570 patients have been treated for cerebral aneurysms at our institute. Among these patients, 34 harbored posterior circulation aneurysms. From January 2004 to June 2008, 13 of the 34 patients were treated by endovascular coiling. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcome, cerebral angiograms, and other radiological imagings through a comparative study of the pre- and post-endovascular treatment periods. RESULTS: Overall, 9 (69.2%) of the pre-endovascular treatment period group and 20 (95.2%) of the endovascular treatment period group had good outcomes. The mean post-operative hospital days for these groups were 38.6 and 21.1, respectively. Patients in the endovascular treatment period group had shorter post-operative hospital periods and better outcomes than those in the pre-endovascular treatment period group. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that multimodality treatment involving microsurgical clipping and endovascular coiling is used to obtain better results in the treatment of posterior circulation aneurysms. These results suggest that although the trend toward endovascular treatment as the initial aneurysm therapy for posterior circulation aneurysms is also enhancing, it might be necessary to maintain the surgical ability for posterior circulation aneurysm.

A comparative analysis of the outcome of surgical clipping and endovascular treatment in the ruptured posterior circulation aneurysms / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

OBJECTIVE: Posterior circulation aneurysms are difficult lesions to treat surgically because they have a potential for high morbidity and mortality. We have used both surgical clipping and endovascular coiling techniques to treat posterior circulation aneurysms and report the comparative results of these two treatment modalities. METHOD: Of 999 patients with intracranial aneurysms admitted between January 1996 and May 2005, 77 (7.7%) had aneurysms of the posterior circulation. Forty-three cases of posterior circulation aneurysms (43/77 [55.8%]) who were treated with clipping or coiling were included in this study. These aneurysms were located in the following sites: 20 cases (46.5%) in the basilar bifurcation artery (BBA), 9 cases (20.9%) in the superior cerebellar artery (SCA), 7 cases (16.7%) in the vertebral artery (VA), 4 cases (9.5%) in the distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA), and 4 cases (9.5%) in the posterior cerebral artery (PCA). Fourteen (31%) aneurysms were treated with surgical clipping and 29 (69%) aneurysms were treated with endovascular coiling. The treatment outcomes from outpatient follow-up 12 months after treatment were analyzed according to Glasgow outcome scale (GOS). RESULT: Overall, 10 patients who were treated with surgical clipping and 22 (74.4%) patients who were treated with endovascular therapy had good outcomes (GOS, 4~5). The mortality of surgical treatment and endovascular coiling was approximately 7.1% (1/14) and 6.9% (2/29), respectively. The postoperative complications included two transient cranial nerve deficits in the patients who underwent surgical treatment, whereas the patients who underwent endovascular treatment had more serious complications (two intra-operative aneurysm ruptures and three embolic infarctions). CONCLUSION: Patients treated with endovascular coiling had more severe intra-procedure rebleeding than patients treated with surgical clipping; however, there was no statistical significant difference in overall outcome between the two treatment groups. Both surgical and endovascular approaches to posterior circulation aneurysms can achieve good outcomes, and appropriate choice depends on the judgment of the surgeon and neurointerventionist based on angiographic findings. More cautious judgment according to patient factors and angiographic findings can improve the final results.

"Brain Stunning" Atypical Feature of tPA Thrombolysis Following Aneurysm Embolization

"Stunning" represents prolonged contractile depression of any muscular component after alleviation of severe ischemia, as shown in reperfusion following acute myocardial ischemia or ischemic stroke. Clinically, it presents with no or delayed recovery past to thrombolytic therapy but its pathogenic mechanism is not fully uncovered yet. We describe a unique case of a 63-year-old woman, who was undertaken endovascular coiling for the aneurysms, deteriorated several hours later without known cause, and showed delayed clinical improvement over the next 3 days following thrombolysis. Immediate post-thrombolysis magnetic resonance imaging scan showed no apparent abnormality except for high signal intensity within the corresponding hemisphere. Reversible, but delayed nature of "brain stunning" can be explained by these images and it seems to be caused by a certain type of reperfusion injury.

Unruptured Aneurysms-Endovascular Treatment / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

The management of unruptured aneurysm is controversial, and two main discussion points are its natural history and the role of endovascular coiling in the repair of this aneurysms. We reviewed our results of treatments using coil embolization for the unruptured intracranial aneurysms. We treated 106 unruptured aneurysms by endovascular coiling for the last 6 years. while 45 unruptured aneurysms were treated by clipping during same period. Seventy-six (71.7%) unruptured aneurysms were distributed in anterior circulation and 30 (28.3%) was in posterior circulation. Aneaurysms of paraclinoid carotid artery and vertebrobasilar artery was the most frequent location of endovascular coiling of UIAs and anticipated surgical difficulty was the most common reason for choosing coiling. Sixty-three (59.4%) aneurysms were smaller than 10 mm in maximum aneurysm size, 30 (28.3%) aneurysms were 11-20 mm, and 13 (12.2%) were over 21 mm. Complete embolization was achieved in 61 (57.5%) aneurysms, neck remnants in 35 (33.0%) aneurysms, incomplete embolization in 7 (6.7%), and attempted and failed was in three (2.8%). There were 9 procedural complications, 6 thromboembolisms, 2 aneurysm perforations and 1 coil migration. Three patients with thromboembolic complication and a coil migration patient remained in permanent neurologic deficit (morbidity : 3.8%). However, three thromboembolic complications and two aneurysm perforation recovered clinically well. In our series, small aneurysms (<10 mm) were involved larger number of preventive interventions of UIAs than large or giant size aneurysms. Although, over all morbidity and mortality of coil embolization for unruptured aneurysms in our series were low, the indications of repairing for small size unruptured aneurysms need to investigated further.

A Comparative Analysis of Endovascular Coiling and Surgical Clipping of Upper Basilar Artery Aneurysms

OBJECTIVE: Despite advances in both operative techniques (endovascular coiling or surgical neck clipping), management of basilar artery aneurysms has not been completed. The goal of this retrospective study is to evaluate endovascular coiling compared with surgical neck clipping of upper basilar artery aneurysms. METHODS: From january of 1990 to December of 2001, the authors treated 31 cases of upper basilar artery aneuryms. Among of those upper basilar artery aneurysms, 22 patients received surgical neck clipping and 9 patients recevied non-surgical endovascular coiling. Results from outpatient follow-ups for 12 months after operation were classified with Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) analyzed respectively. RESULTS: Overall, 11(50%) of the surgical neck clipping patients and 6(66.7%) in endovascular coiling patients were showed good outcomes(GOS 4~5). Morbidity of the surgical clipping is about 22.7%(5/22) and the endovascular coiling is about 22.2%(2/9) There were two death in the surgical clipping group due to vasospasm and brain stem infarction, but none in the endovascular coiling group. The major causes of surgical morbidity were direct brain damage, perforator occlusions, vasospasm and meningitis. Endovascular coiling group was shorter hospital stay and lesser hospital expenses than surgical neck clipping group. CONCLUSION: Non-surgical endovascular coiling of upper basilar artery aneurysms is considered to be useful alternative treatment in improving short-term prognosis(12 months follow-ups) and reducing medical expenses compared to surgical neck clipping although long-term follow-up is needed.

Reduction of Brain Infarct Size and Extracellular Glutamate Accumulation by Dihydrokinate in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat after Transient Forebrain Ischemia

No abstract available.

The Analysis of Procedural Complications of Endovascular Aneurysm Coiling with GDC

OBJECTIVE: The safety and effectiveness of Guglielmi Detachable Coil(GDC) embolization for cerebral aneurysm has been well documented. However, domestically there are few reports. The purpose of this study is to analyze procedural complications that occurred during endovascular coilling performed for cerebral aneurysms retrospectively. METHODS: From January 1996 to December 2003, a total of 453 patients (484 aneurysms) who had undergone GDC embolization for cerebral aneurysm were selected. The aneurysms were classified according to rupture history, location, dome and neck size. Procedural complications such as aneurysmal rupture, thrombosis and occlusion of patent vessels due to coil escape were noted. RESULTS: Procedural complications occurred 49 cases (10.1%). Among these, there were 27 of procedure-related aneurysmal rupture (5.6%), 14 of thrombosis (2.9%), 8 of occlusion of patent vessels due to coil escape (1.7%). Death or severe neurological deficit were seen in 18 cases of procedure-related rupture, 9 cases of thrombosis and 4 cases of coil escape. Procedure-related mortality and morbidity rates for endovascular coiling were calculated to be 2.9% and 3.6% respectively. CONCLUSION: The potential complications associated with shape, size and relationship to parent vessels of each specific cerebral aneurysm must be considered carefully before treatment. In order to reduce complications, proper equipment, knowledge on the hemodynamics and vascular anatomy, and operator's expertise are desired.