Post-stroke dementia is associated with alpha(1)-antichymotrypsin polymorphism.

Background And Purpose: Alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) is an acute phase protein involved in inflammatory reaction, promoting the assembly of beta amyloid protein into filaments and contributing to its resistance to proteolytic digestion. The aim of our study was to determine ACT signal peptide polymorphism (A/T) as a possible risk factor for post-stroke dementia (PSD).

Methods: 142 consecutive ischemic stroke patients and 188 controls were included in this study.

Factors associated with pre-stroke dementia: the cracow stroke database.

Background: Many stroke patients who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for dementia three months after stroke had a mental deterioration before stroke, implying an underlying neurodegenerative process. The goal of this study was to determine the factors associated with pre-stroke dementia in hospitalised-based population.

Subjects And Methods: Pre-stroke cognitive decline was evaluated in 250 stroke patients using the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE).

Asymmetrical modulation of interleukin-10 release in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

The brain modulates the immune system in an asymmetrical way. Intracerebral hemorrhage triggers IL-6 and IL-10 release into blood. We measured (using ELISA method) serum IL-6 and IL-10 in acute phase of intracerebral hemorrhage in 11 patients with right hemisphere's hematoma and 15 patients with left hemisphere's hematoma.

Dexamethasone inhibits TNF-alpha synthesis more effectively in Alzheimer's disease patients than in healthy individuals.

Inflammatory mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is postulated that cytokine synthesis is altered in AD patients compared with nondemented subjects. Glucocorticoids play an important role in cytokine synthesis.

Is mannitol safe for patients with intracerebral hemorrhages? Renal considerations.

Objectives: Mannitol, a drug widely used to decrease intracranial pressure, can cause renal failure. The goal of this study is to determine the renal safety of mannitol therapy in patients with intraparenchymal hemorrhages.

Material And Methods: 51 patients with intracerebral hemorrhages were treated with mannitol according to guideline of American Heart Association.

Incidence of pre- and poststroke dementia: cracow stroke registry.

Background And Purpose: Dementia after stroke may be caused by vascular lesion, but preexisting degenerative changes can also influence its development. After stroke, the patients with coexisting Alzheimer-type pathology need appropriate treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of prestroke and new- onset dementia in stroke patients.

Intracerebral hemorrhage triggers interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 release in blood.

Background And Purpose: Acute brain insult can cause systemic anti-inflammatory response, including anti-inflammatory cytokine release. The goal of this study was to determine the serum level of interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and interleukin-13 in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and to correlate cytokine concentrations with stroke severity.

Methods: Thirty patients with intraparenchymal hemorrhage and 16 control subjects were included.