Pseudotumor syndrome associated with antiphospholipid antibodies and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

Antiphospholipid antibodies have been recognized as a marker for an increased risk of thrombosis, including cerebral venous thrombosis. This is a clinical study of three patients who presented with features of raised intracranial tension. Investigations revealed normal CT of brain and CSF examination in two patients. MRI of brain revealed dural venous sinus thrombosis in all the patients and positive antiphospholipid antibodies in the blood. All patients recovered with anticoagulant therapy. Antiphospholipid antibodies should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pseudotumor syndrome related to cerebral venous thrombosis.

Current concepts in the management of acute ischemic stroke.

The treatment of stroke is multifaceted, and is governed by three, well established goals: 1) To minimize the extent of brain; 2) To medically support the stroke patient; and 3) To prevent further brain injury secondary to initial event or repeated vascular insults. Certain guidelines for emergency care, based on clinical experience and knowledge of pathophysiology, have been accepted in many institutions as the standard. This article provides guidelines about the current management of acute ischemic stroke based on currently available data from clinical trials. The target audiences for this article are emergency room physicians and neurologists, who manage the patients during the first few hours after stroke.

Neuroprotective agents in acute ischemic stroke.

The concept of neuroprotection relies on the principle that delayed neuronal injury occurs after ischemia. The phenomenon of the "ischemic cascade" has been described, and each step along this cascade provides a target for therapeutic intervention. A wide variety of drugs have been studied in humans. Ten classes of neuroprotective agents have reached phase III efficacy trials but have shown mixed results. They included calcium channel antagonists, NMDA receptor antagonists, lubeluzole, CDP-choline, the free radical scavenger tirilazad and ebselen, enlimomab, GABA agonist clomethiazole, the sodium channel antagonist fosphenytoin, magnesium, glycine site antagonist GV150526 and piracetam. Furthermore, the mechanisms that underlie the development of focal ischemic injury continue to be discovered, opening new therapeutic perspective for neuroprotection that might clinically be applicable in the future.

Ictal hemiparesis: differentiation from stroke.

This is a clinical analysis of four patients who presented with recurrent episodes of weakness on one side, feeling of heaviness, numbness, and inability to walk. Admission diagnosis was transient ischemic attacks in three patients and hemiplegic migraine in one patient. Attacks persisted for few minutes to few hours and were stereotyped for each patient and never became generalized during the course of the disease. Electroencephalography showed focal slowing and epileptiform discharges over parietal region. All patients responded dramatically to antiepileptic therapy. This is the first case report of ictal hemiparesis from this part of country.