CCSVI and MS: a statement from the European Society of neurosonology and cerebral hemodynamics.

To systematically review the ultrasonographic criteria proposed for the diagnosis of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). The authors analyzed the five ultrasonographic criteria, four extracranial and one intracranial, suggested for the diagnosis of CCSVI in multiple sclerosis (MS), together with the references from which these criteria were derived and the main studies that explored the physiology of cerebrospinal drainage. The proposed CCSVI criteria are questionable due to both methodological and technical errors: criteria 1 and 3 are based on a scientifically incorrect application of data obtained in a different setting; criteria 2 and 4 have never been validated before; criterion 2 is technically incorrect; criteria 3 and 5 are susceptible to so many external factors that it is difficult to state whether the data collected are pathological or a variation from the normal.

Heart rate monitoring on the stroke unit. What does heart beat tell about prognosis? An observational study.

Background: Guidelines recommend maintaining the heart rate (HR) of acute stroke patients within physiological limits; data on the frequency and predictors of significant deviations from these limits are scarce.

Methods: Demographical data, stroke risk factors, NIH stroke scale score, lesion size and location, and ECG parameters were prospectively assessed in 256 patients with ischemic stroke. Patients were continuously monitored for at least 24 hours on a certified stroke unit.

Pain is associated with regional grey matter reduction in the general population.

Regional decreases in grey matter volume as detected by magnetic resonance imaging-based volumetry have been reported in several clinical chronic pain cohorts. Here, we used voxel-based morphometry in a nonclinical cohort to investigate whether grey matter alterations also occur in older individuals (aged 40-85 years) from the general population. Based on self-report of pain, we identified 31 pain-free controls, 45 subjects with ongoing pain (low back pain, headache, or lower extremity joint pain) who had at least moderate pain on more than 3 days/month, and 29 individuals with past pain (stopped for >12 months).

Compression stockings and the prevention of symptomatic venous thromboembolism: data from the Tinzaparin in Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a well-recognized and preventable complication of acute stroke. Although graduated compression stockings reduce the risk of VTE for patients undergoing operation, their benefit in acute stroke remains uncertain.

Methods: The relationship between symptomatic VTE (sVTE) and use of stockings using observational data from the Tinzaparin in Acute Ischemic Stroke Trial, which compared 10 days of treatment with tinzaparin (175 IU/kg(-1) or 100 IU/kg(-1)) with aspirin (300 mg), was assessed using logistic regression adjusted for known VTE risk factors and treatment.

Association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the lysyl oxidase-like 1 gene and spontaneous cervical artery dissection.

Background: Spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD) is a common cause of stroke in patients below 55 years. Dermal connective tissue abnormalities have been observed in up to 60% of patients. A chromosomal locus for connective tissue abnormalities associated with sCAD has been mapped to chromosome 15q24 to a candidate region containing the lysyl oxidase-like 1 gene (LOXL1).