Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: A 1-Year Follow-up.

Background And Objectives: Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).

REM sleep and muscle atonia in brainstem stroke: A quantitative polysomnographic and lesion analysis study.

Important brainstem regions are involved in the regulation of rapid eye movement sleep. We hypothesized that brainstem stroke is associated with dysregulated rapid eye movement sleep and related muscle activity. We compared quantitative/qualitative polysomnography features of rapid eye movement sleep and muscle activity (any, phasic, tonic) between 15 patients with brainstem stroke (N = 46 rapid eye movement periods), 16 patients with lacunar/non-brainstem stroke (N = 40 rapid eye movement periods), 15 healthy controls (N = 62 rapid eye movement periods), and patients with Parkinson's disease and polysomnography-confirmed rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder.

Global Impact of COVID-19 on Stroke Care and IV Thrombolysis.

Objective: To measure the global impact of COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of IV thrombolysis (IVT), IVT transfers, and stroke hospitalizations over 4 months at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to June 30, 2020) compared with 2 control 4-month periods.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study across 6 continents, 70 countries, and 457 stroke centers. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases.

Sleep-disordered breathing and stroke: chicken or egg?

The bidirectional interaction between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and stroke has been the subject of many studies. On the one hand, different forms of SDB, and especially obstructive sleep apnea, increase the risk of stroke either directly or indirectly by influencing other known cardiovascular risk factors such as arterial hypertension and arrhythmias. On the other hand, stroke itself can cause either appearance of SDB, aggravate a pre-existing SDB, or trigger a transition from one type of pathological SDB pattern into another.

Sleep-Wake Disorders in Stroke-Increased Stroke Risk and Deteriorated Recovery? An Evaluation on the Necessity for Prevention and Treatment.

Purpose Of Review: Sleep-wake disorders (SWD) are common not only in the general population but also in stroke patients, in whom SWD may be pre-existent or appear "de novo" as a consequence of brain damage. Despite increasing evidence of a negative impact of SWD on cardiocerebrovascular risk, cognitive functions, and quality of life, SWD are insufficiently considered in the prevention and management of patients with stroke. This narrative review aims at summarizing the current data on the bidirectional link between SWD and stroke.

Orbicularis oculi reflex abnormalities in patients with multiple sclerosis: a clinical, EMG, and MRI investigation.

Examination of the orbicularis oculi reflex (OOR) has been used for many years in the diagnostic algorithm of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a few aspects: to define existence and specific location of the lesions and to follow-up dynamic changes in pontine and supranuclear structures of the CNS. Correlation between MRI and electrophysiological data from OOR has not been widely studied in the patients with MS. The aim of the present study is to assess the changes of OOR in patients with MS and their relation to clinical and MRI brainstem findings.