Autoregulatory cerebral vasodilation occurs during orthostatic hypotension in patients with primary autonomic failure.

It is unclear whether patients with autonomic failure autoregulate cerebral blood flow during hypotension. The objective in this study was to examine cerebral autoregulatory capacity in patients with autonomic failure by studying changes in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography before, during, and after tilt-induced hypotension. Nine patients with primary autonomic failure were evaluated. Mean arterial pressure and middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity were simultaneously recorded while the patients were in the supine position, during 60 degrees head-up tilt, and after they were returned to the horizontal position. The results were as follows: during tilt-induced hypotension, mean arterial pressure decreased significantly more than middle cerebral artery mean blood flow velocity (58% versus 36%, p <0.0002). After return to the horizontal position, mean arterial pressure returned to baseline, and middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity transiently increased above pretilt value (p <0.02). It is concluded that cerebral autoregulatory vasodilation occurs in patients with autonomic failure. This was demonstrated by a more pronounced decline in mean arterial pressure than in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity during hypotension and by a transient increase in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (ie, hyperemic response) after blood pressure was restored.

Clinical improvement related to thrombolysis of third ventricular blood clot in a patient with thalamic hemorrhage.

Intraventricular extension of hemorrhage after intraparenchymal hemorrhage is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Clinical improvement is reported in a patient with thalamic hemorrhage with intraventricular extension after third and fourth ventricular blood clot resolution with instillation of urokinase intraventricularly. A 49-year-old man with hypertension collapsed while at work. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the head revealed a left thalamic hemorrhage with extension into the lateral, third, and fourth ventricles and associated hydrocephalus. A left frontal intraventricular catheter (IVC) was placed and intraventricular urokinase was administered at a dose of 25,000 U every 12 hours. The CT scan revealed resolution of the lateral ventricular dilatation and blood clot but no decrease in third or fourth ventricular hemorrhage. No clinical improvement was noted. The IVC was reinserted on the right side with the catheter tip placed through the foramen of Monroe into the third ventricle. Twelve hours after receiving the first dose of urokinase through the new catheter, the patient's condition improved. The CT scan showed a reduction in the volume of blood of the third and fourth ventricles. This case report shows that treatment of hydrocephalus with an IVC was not sufficient to provide a therapeutic effect. Substantial clinical improvement occurred only after the blood clot was cleared from the third and fourth ventricles.

Antiphosphatidyl serine antibodies are independently associated with ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether elevated titers of antiphosphatidyl serine antibodies (aPS) are associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke in a general stroke population. BACKGROUND: aPS are members of the family of antiphospholipid antibodies that has been associated with increased stroke risk. Although aPS have been demonstrated to occur in 18% of a group of young patients with cerebrovascular symptoms, their prevalence in the general stroke population is unknown, and no controlled study to assess the strength of their association with ischemic stroke has been undertaken previously. METHODS: A case-control study comparing 267 acute ischemic stroke patients and 653 community controls. Sera were obtained immediately after acute stroke in patients. Titers of IgG aPS >16 IgG phospholipid units or IgM aPS >22 IgM phospholipid units were considered positive. Odds ratios (ORs) were obtained by logistic regression, adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and cigarette smoking. RESULTS: The adjusted OR was 5.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8, 18.0) for IgG aPS and 2.9 (95% CI 1.6, 5.3) for IgM aPS. The adjusted OR for either an elevated IgG or IgM aPS was 3.2 (95% CI 1.8, 5.5). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that elevated IgG and IgM antiphosphatidyl serine antibodies titers are associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke. The prevalence of these antibodies is lower, but the associated stroke risk is comparable with that of anticardiolipin antibodies.

Elevated anticardiolipin antibody titer is a stroke risk factor in a multiethnic population independent of isotype or degree of positivity.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous studies have produced conflicting results regarding the putative association between anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) and infarction in the general stroke population. These inconsistencies may be a function of sample size and methodological differences among the studies. The purpose of the present study, the largest case-control study of this issue to date, was to assess aCL status as an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke in a multiethnic, urban population. METHODS: We obtained aCL titers in 524 hospitalized acute stroke patients and 1020 community controls enrolled in the Minorities Risk Factors and Stroke Study. The results were interpreted as negative (30.0 GPL or 15.0 MPL units). Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, history of diabetes, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, and current cigarette smoking. RESULTS: A positive aCL titer was present in 11% (111/1020) of controls and 34% (180/524) of cases. The adjusted OR for any positive aCL titer was 4.0 (95% CI, 3.0 to 5.5). For any positive IgG aCL titer this value was 3.9 (95% CI, 2.8 to 5.5), and for any positive IgM aCL titer it was 3.4 (95% CI, 2.1 to 5.5). There were no significant differences in ORs associated with high- or low-positive IgG or IgM aCL titers. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest study of its kind to date, aCL antibodies were demonstrated to be independent stroke risk factors across the 3 ethnic groups studied, conferring a 4-fold increased risk of ischemic stroke. IgG and for the first time IgM aCL were each shown to be associated with increased stroke risk. The prevalence of these antibodies and the stroke risk associated appear greater than previously reported.

Volume of ventricular blood is an important determinant of outcome in supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prognostic significance and pathophysiologic implication of intraventricular extension of supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Acute stroke and neurointensive care units of a tertiary care hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty-nine patients with supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage, managed medically. INTERVENTIONS: Two patients had intraventricular catheters placed for external drainage. No patient received thrombolytics or surgical evacuation of clot. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 129 patients, 47 had intraventricular extension of their hemorrhages. These patients had larger intraparenchymal hemorrhages (36.6 cm3 vs. 15.0 cm3) and lower initial Glasgow Coma Scale scores (mean, 9.6 vs. 13.7). Their 30-day mortality rate was 43% compared with only 9% among those without ventricular extension. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to assess the prognostic significance of various measures of intraventricular hemorrhage. The presence of intraventricular hemorrhage, the number of ventricles containing blood, fourth ventricular blood, and intraventricular hemorrhage volume were each related to 30-day mortality in a univariate analysis, but only intraventricular hemorrhage volume contributed significantly to outcome prediction in the presence of Glasgow Coma Scale score. CONCLUSIONS: Volume of intraventricular hemorrhage is an important determinant of outcome in supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage.

Spontaneous caudate hemorrhage associated with ingestion of a decongestant containing phenylpropanolamine.

Intracerebral hemorrhage has been associated with phenylpropanolamine, a sympathomimetic agent contained in many over-the-counter medications. Caudate hemorrhage is infrequent, usually related to hypertension, and has not been reported following ingestion of medications containing phenylpropanolamine. We report an unusual case of caudate hemorrhage which developed in a patient taking an over-the-counter nasal decongestant containing phenylpropanolamine.

Stroke recurrence is more frequent in Blacks and Hispanics.

This study was designed to measure recurrent stroke rates and identify their determinants in a mixed ethnic population. A cohort of 299 patients (110 black, 57 Hispanic and 132 white) admitted to a large urban hospital with an acute stroke between November 1, 1991, and July 1, 1993, was followed for a mean of 17.8 months. Demographic and historical data and stroke subtype and severity were recorded at the time of the index stroke. The main outcome measure was stroke recurrence. The unadjusted relative risk of stroke recurrence for blacks, relative to white, was 2.0 (95% CI: 0.9-4.4) and for Hispanics, relative to whites, it was 2.6 (95% CI: 1.08-60). Ethnicity appeared to be associated with recurrence risk only among first-ever strokes: the risk for blacks, relative to whites, was 2.4 (95% CI: 1.02-5.5) and for Hispanics it was 2.9 (95% CI: 1.2-7.4). None of the other putative risk factors for stroke recurrence identified at the time of initial hospitalization were associated with risk of recurrence.

Stroke mechanisms and clinical presentation in large subcortical infarctions.

Large subcortical infarctions may be due to cerebral embolism and cause cortical signs more frequently than small subcortical infarctions, which usually result from small-vessel disease and are not associated with cortical findings. We evaluated 51 consecutive patients with a subcortical infarct on CT that was 1.5 cm or larger for a potential carotid or cardiac source of embolism and determined how frequently aphasia, hemineglect, or gaze paresis occurred. A carotid or cardiac embolic source was identified in 63% of the total population with a carotid source occurring in 23% and a cardiac source occurring in 49%. More than one-half of the patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus had an embolic source, whereas all patients without these risk factors had a possible carotid or cardiac source of embolism. Aphasia or hemineglect occurred in 39% of patients and gaze paresis occurred in 41%. Large subcortical strokes frequently result in a different clinical syndrome and from a different mechanism than small subcortical strokes.

Transesophageal echocardiography: diagnostic and clinical applications in the evaluation of the stroke patient.

OBJECTIVES: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is superior to transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in diagnosing cardiac abnormalities that may result in cerebral embolism. The clinical importance of these abnormalities is unclear. METHODS: We classified 96 consecutive stroke patients into high- or low-risk groups for cardioembolism based on historical criteria. The presence of left atrial thrombus, atrial smoke, patent foramen ovale, atrial septal aneurysm, and plaque in the ascending aorta was assessed with TEE. Stroke type and other possible stroke mechanisms were evaluated. RESULTS: Left atrial thrombus occurred only in the high-risk group. Patent foramen ovale, atrial septal aneurysm, and most cases of left atrial smoke occurred in the presence of another embolic source or were associated with a stroke related to hypertensive small vessel disease. Protruding atherosclerotic plaque in the ascending aorta and aortic arch was the most significant cause of stroke diagnosed by TEE because it frequently occurred in those without other risk factors for stroke. TEE identified aortic plaque in one and left atrial smoke in two patients with lacunar infarction without risk factors for small vessel disease. CONCLUSIONS: TEE should be considered in both lacunar and nonlacunar stroke that occur in the absence of stroke risk factors, although optimal management of most TEE findings is yet to be determined.

The Minorities Risk Factors and Stroke Study (MRFASS). Design, methods and baseline characteristics.

African-Americans and probably Latinos are at increased risk of stroke compared with white, non-Latino Americans. This study seeks to determine if the known risk factors for stroke can account for this increased risk. In this case-control study controls (neighborhood volunteers) were group-matched to acute stroke cases by ethnicity in a ratio of approximately 2:1 for African-Americans and Latinos and 1:1 for whites. Extensive historical, clinical and laboratory data were collected on each subject. For each ethnic group cases were somewhat older and less well-educated than the volunteer controls. Patients in each ethnic group were similar with regard to time from stroke onset to hospital admission, stroke severity, length of stay, discharge disposition and mortality rate. With minor exceptions the distributions of stroke subtypes within each ethnic group appeared similar to those previously reported. Subject recruitment for this case-control study was completed in the manner and time frame planned. Analysis of risk factor information from this sample should provide valuable information regarding the relative risk associated with the major modifiable risk factors for stroke in the minority groups studied.

Validation and comparison of models predicting survival following intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of two previously reported logistic regression models using data independent from those data used to derive the models. DESIGN: Prospective. SETTING: Acute stroke unit of a tertiary care hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty-nine patients with supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Model 1 contains the initial Glasgow Coma Scale score, hemorrhage size, and pulse pressure. The more complex model 2 includes, in addition to those three variables, the presence or absence of intraventricular hemorrhage and a term representing the interaction of intraventricular hemorrhage and Glasgow Coma Scale score. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves generated for each model were statistically indistinguishable. CONCLUSIONS: Model 1 predicts 30-day patient status as well as the more complex model 2. Model 1 provides a valid, easy-to-use means of categorizing supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage patients in terms of their probability of survival.

Aortic plaque in patients with brain ischemia: diagnosis by transesophageal echocardiography.

We evaluated 183 patients with brain ischemia for an embolic source, using transesophageal echocardiography with extensive imaging of the thoracic aorta. There were mobile, frond-like projections of aortic plaque in seven (4%) patients. The plaque originated on a wide base on the posterior aspect of the ascending aorta at its junction with the transverse arch in six patients, and on the aortic root in one. The acute event was a cerebral infarction in five patients, and a transient ischemic attack in two. This type of aortic plaque could be a previously underdiagnosed source of cerebral embolism that is now easily visualized by transesophageal echocardiography.

Mechanisms in lacunar infarction.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Lacunes are thought to occur in patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus as a result of small-vessel disease. This study evaluated the importance of other stroke mechanisms in a population of patients with lacunar infarction. METHODS: We evaluated 108 consecutive patients with a lacune in the lenticulostriate distribution for other stroke risk factors such as carotid and cardiac disease. RESULTS: Hypertension was present in 68% of the patients and diabetes mellitus in 37%; both occurred in 28% and neither occurred in 23%. Noninvasive carotid studies identified atherosclerotic plaque as a possible embolic source in 23%. By previously established criteria, 18% were at high risk for cardioembolism. Of those with hypertension or diabetes mellitus, 36% were at risk for a carotid or cardiac embolus. Of those without hypertension or diabetes mellitus, 32% had a possible carotid or cardiac etiology. CONCLUSIONS: The high incidence of carotid and cardiac disease in those with and without hypertension or diabetes mellitus suggests the importance of other stroke mechanisms in this population. Patients with lacunar infarction should therefore be evaluated for other causes of stroke that may be treatable.

Stroke secondary to carotid occlusion in a young man with nephrotic syndrome: Case description and review of the literature.

We report a case of hemispheric stroke and death secondary to thrombosis of the internal carotid artery in a young adult with minimal-change nephrotic syndrome. Thrombotic complications are common in patients with nephrotic syndrome and may be due to a hypercoagulable state. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cerebral infarction due to thrombosis in the extracranial vasculature in a patient with nephrotic syndrome. We review previous reports of cerebral infarction in association with nephrotic syndrome and discuss possible mechanisms of hypercoagulability in this setting.

Identification of stenosis of the opercular segment of the middle cerebral artery trunk by transcranial color flow duplex doppler.

Transcranial color flow duplex Doppler sonography was able to identify a stenosis of the middle cerebral artery documented by angiography to be just proximal to the start of the sylvian triangle in a 50-year-old woman with progressive aphasia. The lesion was too distal to be detected by traditional transcranial Doppler sonography. Transverse and longitudinal color flow images of the opercular segment of the middle cerebral artery are shown with identification of the branches of the middle cerebral artery trifurcation.

A rare cause of laryngeal distress: chondrosarcoma of the larynx.

Laryngeal chondrosarcomas are much less aggressive lesions than chondrosarcomas that arise elsewhere in the body. Two cases of chondrosarcoma of the larynx encountered during a seven year period are presented, with a review of the literature. Computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings are described. The MRI findings of laryngeal chondrosarcoma are compared to those of cartilaginous tumors elsewhere in the body. The differential diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of laryngeal chondrosarcomas are discussed.

Contraceptive risk-taking in a population with limited access to abortion.

PIP: At a time when abortion was not readily available, among married women over 1/2 of unintended pregnancies occurred with no use or discontinued use of contraception. Many of these contraceptive drifters had prior experience with effective contraception. Contraceptive drifting was more common for low parity births. Different characteristics differentiated drifters from contraception failures in low- (1-2) and high- (3+) parity women. Among low-parity women, more drifting was found where the husband was enthusiastic about having the child, the woman's education or occupation was low, the husband's occupation was craftsman or operative, his education was low or his income was high. Among high parity women, drifting was more common for white mothers, those with a previous marriage or a child by another father, or for mothers or fathers with low education. Policy indications of these findings are discussed. Data are taken from a longitudinal study of 16,067 women, representing a widely diverse population.^ieng