ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cardioembolic stroke (CES), generally known as the most severe subtype of ischemic stroke, is related to many factors, including diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), smoking, hyperlipidemia and atrial fibrillation (AF). Genetic mutations of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T and A1298C have been recently associated with ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of MTHFR gene polymorphisms correlated with cardiovascular risk factors in a selected population of patients with CES due to non-valvular AF (NVAF). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 67 consecutive patients with acute cardioembolic stroke admitted to our hospital. The protocol included general physical examination, neurological clinical status and stroke severity evaluation, imagistic evaluation and genetic testing of MTHFRC677T and A1298C polymorphisms. RESULTS: The prevalence of MTHFR polymorphisms in the study population was 38.2% for C677T and 40.3% for A1298C. The C677T mutation was significantly correlated with increased diastolic blood pressure (DBP) values (p = 0.007), higher total cholesterol (TC) (p = 0.003), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) (p = 0.003) and triglycerides (TGL) (p = 0.001), increased high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) values (p = 0.015), HbA1c (p = 0.004) and left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) (p = 0.047) and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) (p < 0.001) compared to patients without this genetic variant. This genetic profile also included significantly higher CHA2DS2VASC (p = 0.029) and HASBLED (Hypertension, Abnormal liver/renal function, Stroke, Bleeding, Labile INR, Elderly age(>65 years), Drug/Alcohol usage history/Medication usage with bleeding predisposition) (p = 0.025) scores. Stroke severity in patients with MTHFRA1298C mutation was significantly increased when applying National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (p = 0.006) and modified Rankin scale (mRS) (p = 0.020) scores. The presence of A1298C mutation as a dependent variable was associated with significantly higher TGL values (odds ratio (OR) = 2.983, 95%CI = (1.972, 7.994)). CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study demonstrate that MTHFR gene polymorphisms have a high prevalence in an NVAF cardioembolic stroke population. Moreover, an association between C677T mutation and stroke severity was highlighted. The C677T mutation in patients with NVAF was correlated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular comorbidities (hypertension HTN, heart failure (HF), dyslipidemia, type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with high HbA1c and increased inflammatory state). The A1298CMTHFR gene mutation was associated with a higher incidence of previous lacunar stroke and stroke recurrence rate, while dyslipidemia was the main cardiovascular comorbidity in this category.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy of Cerebrolysin administration in Broca's aphasics with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: We registered 2212 consecutive Broca's aphasics following an acute ischemic stroke admitted in four departments of neurology in Romania, between September 2005 and September 2009. Language was evaluated with the Romanian version of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). The following inclusion criteria were used for this study: age 20-75 years, admission in the hospital within 12 hours from the onset of the symptoms, diagnosis of first acute left middle cerebral artery (MCA) ischemic stroke, presence of large artery disease (LAD) stroke, a NIHSS score of 5-22 points, and a therapeutic time window within 72 h. Fifty two patients were treated with Cerebrolysin (Cerebrolysin group) as an adjunctive treatment. A placebo group, which received saline infusions (n=104 patients) were matched to the NIHSS and WAB scores, gender and age of the Cerebrolysin group at baseline. We assessed spontaneous speech (SS), comprehension (C), repetition (R), naming (N), and Aphasia Quotient (AQ) scores of the two groups in an open label design, over 90 days, the mRS scores and mortality. RESULTS: The Cerebrolysin and the placebo groups had similar age (66 +/- 8 versus 65 +/- 8 years) and sex ratio (14/38 versus 30/74). The mean AQ scores and the mean subscores for 3 subtests of WAB (SS, R, N) were similar at baseline and improved in the Cerebrolysin group significantly (p < 0.05) over placebo group at all study time points. The mRS score at 90 days was also lower in the Cerebrolysin group than in the placebo group. Cerebrolysin and placebo were both tolerated and safe, and no difference in the mortality rate was seen (3.8% in each group). CONCLUSION: Cerebrolysin is effective for the treatment of Broca's aphasics with a first acute ischemic stroke of the left MCA territory.
