Decreased kidney function relates to progression of cerebral microbleeds in lacunar stroke patients.

Background: It is hypothesized that impaired kidney function and cerebral microbleeds represent microvascular damage in different organs. Several cross-sectional studies found impaired kidney function to be associated with the presence of cerebral microbleeds.

Aim: To further confirm the association between both small vessel diseases, we aimed to determine whether kidney function is related to progression of cerebral microbleeds in a longitudinal study design.

Plasma tPA-Activity and Progression of Cerebral White Matter Hyperintensities in Lacunar Stroke Patients.

Introduction: Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-activity and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) antigen are considered to be haemostasis-related markers of endothelial activation and relate to presence of cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH) as was earlier shown in a cross-sectional study. We investigated whether tPA-activity and PAI-1 levels are associated with WMH progression in a longitudinal study.

Methods: In 127 first-ever lacunar stroke patients in whom baseline brain MRI and plasma levels of tPA-activity and PAI-1-antigen were available, we obtained a 2-year follow-up MRI.

Vitamin B12 and progression of white matter lesions. A 2-year follow-up study in first-ever lacunar stroke patients.

In cross-sectional studies periventricular white matter lesions (WML) were related to low plasma levels of vitamin B12. Whether low vitamin B12 levels are also related to progression of WML is still unknown. We studied baseline vitamin B12 levels and its association with progression of WML over 2 years of follow-up in first-ever lacunar stroke patients.

Disappearing hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign is associated with striatocapsular infarcts on follow-up CT in ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis.

Background: A striatocapsular infarct (SCI) is a subcortical infarct in the territory of the lenticulostriate arteries, most likely due to transient occlusion of the main stem of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Presence of the hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (HMCAS) is a reliable marker of occlusion of the MCA. We hypothesized that SCIs are related to HMCAS at baseline, which subsequently disappears (HMCAS-D) on follow-up CT in stroke patients treated with intravenous rtPA.

Failure of vancomycin treatment for meningitis caused by vancomycin-susceptible Enterococcus faecium.

This case report describes a nosocomial vancomycin-sensitive Enterococcus faecium meningitis with poor response to vancomycin. E. faecium infections continue to represent a therapeutic challenge in Europe, even in countries where vancomycin resistance is still rare.