Vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging in COVID-19-associated cryptogenic ischemic stroke.
Eur J Neurol
; 29(2): 615-619, 2022 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1438001
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a common complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to describe the prevalence of vessel wall alterations in patients with cryptogenic stroke through vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (vwMRI).METHODS:
All consecutive patients admitted for AIS and COVID-19 to a single neuro-COVID unit from 10 November to 31 December 2020 were prospectively evaluated and underwent a complete etiologic workup for AIS. In patients with cryptogenic stroke, the diagnostic workup was completed with vwMRI study.RESULTS:
After the exclusion of four patients ineligible for MRI, a total of 10 patients were included (median age = 78 years, 50% males), of whom four (40%) had a cryptogenic stroke. vwMRI showed vascular changes consistent with inflammation of intracranial artery walls in three subjects (75%). Two patients had focal and one multifocal involvement.CONCLUSIONS:
vwMRI detected signs of vascular inflammation in the majority of patients with cryptogenic AIS, leading to an etiologic definition with potential therapeutical implications. Our findings are best interpreted as hypothesis-generating, suggesting the possibility of expanding the diagnostic workup of cryptogenic stroke with vessel wall imaging.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Brain Ischemia
/
Stroke
/
Ischemic Stroke
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Eur J Neurol
Journal subject:
Neurology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ene.15128
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