Prognostic serum biomarkers of synaptic, neuronal and glial injury in patients with acute ischemic stroke of the anterior circulation.

Background: We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of β-synuclein in comparison to that of neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for predicting functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Methods: We measured serum concentrations of β-synuclein, NfL and GFAP 24 h after hospital admission in 213 consecutive patients with moderate-to-severe AIS. We investigated the association between serum biomarkers and radiological/clinical characteristics, 3-months mortality and functional outcome on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

MMP-9 release into collateral blood vessels before endovascular thrombectomy to assess the risk of major intracerebral haemorrhages and poor outcome for acute ischaemic stroke: a proof-of-concept study.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are implied in blood-brain barrier degradation and haemorrhagic transformation following ischaemic stroke, but their local relevance in the hyperacute disease phase is unknown. We aimed to examine ultra-early MMP-9 and MMP-2 release into collateral blood vessels, and to assess its prognostic value before therapeutic recanalisation by endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).

Methods: We report a cross-sectional proof-of-concept study including patients undergoing EVT for large-vessel ischaemic stroke at the University Hospital Würzburg, Germany.

Incremental value of serum neurofilament light chain and glial fibrillary acidic protein as blood-based biomarkers for predicting functional outcome in severe acute ischemic stroke.

Introduction: Blood-based biomarkers may improve prediction of functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The role of neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic (GFAP) as potential biomarkers especially in severe stroke patients is unknown.

Patients And Methods: Prospective, monocenter, cohort study including consecutive patients with severe ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation on admission (NIHSS score ⩾ 6 points or indication for mechanical thrombectomy).

Ability of patients with acute ischemic stroke to recall given information on intravenous thrombolysis: Results of a prospective multicenter study.

Introduction: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is an on label treatment for selected patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). As major bleeding or allergic shock may occur, the need to ensure patients' informed consent for IVT is a matter of debate.

Patients And Methods: Prospective investigator-initiated multi-center observational study to assess the ability of AIS patients to recall information, provided by a physician during a standardized educational talk (SET) on IVT use.

Neurologic manifestations of COVID-19 in critically ill patients: results of the prospective multicenter registry PANDEMIC.

Background: Neurologic manifestations are increasingly reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Yet, data on prevalence, predictors and relevance for outcome of neurological manifestations in patients requiring intensive care are scarce. We aimed to characterize prevalence, risk factors and impact on outcome of neurologic manifestations in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Safety and Effectiveness of the New Generation APERIO® Hybrid Stent-retriever Device in Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke.

Background: It is unknown whether technological advancement of stent-retriever devices influences typical observational indicators of safety or effectiveness.

Methods: Observational retrospective study of APERIO® (AP) vs. new generation APERIO® Hybrid (APH) (Acandis®, Pforzheim, Germany) stent-retriever device (01/2019-09/2020) for mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke.

High Mobility Group Box 1 Protein in Cerebral Thromboemboli.

High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) involved in neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and thrombosis. NETs are regularly found in cerebral thromboemboli. We here analyzed associated HMGB1 expression in human thromboemboli retrieved via mechanical thrombectomy from 37 stroke patients with large vessel occlusion.

Immune Cells Invade the Collateral Circulation during Human Stroke: Prospective Replication and Extension.

It remains unclear if principal components of the local cerebral stroke immune response can be reliably and reproducibly observed in patients with acute large-vessel-occlusion (LVO) stroke. We prospectively studied a large independent cohort of = 318 consecutive LVO stroke patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy during which cerebral blood samples from within the occluded anterior circulation and systemic control samples from the ipsilateral cervical internal carotid artery were obtained. An extensive protocol was applied to homogenize the patient cohort and to standardize the procedural steps of endovascular sample collection, sample processing, and laboratory analyses.

Local Cerebral Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Concentrations During Acute Stroke.

This study evaluates concentrations of local cerebral recombinant tissue plasminogen activator during mechanical thrombectomy treatment in acute stroke.

Immunohistological Analysis of Neutrophils and Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Human Thrombemboli Causing Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Ischemic stroke caused by thromboembolic occlusion of large cerebral arteries, such as the internal carotid (ICA) and/or the middle cerebral artery (MCA), is treated by mechanical thrombectomy (MT). MT allows salvage of the vessel-occluding thrombemboli, which most frequently originate from the left atrium or the left ventricle of the heart or from sites of plaque rupture within large arteries above the heart. Clot composition may influence the efficacy of (intravenous) thrombolysis and MT, respectively.

Human neutrophils dump Candida glabrata after intracellular killing.

Interaction between fungal pathogens and human phagocytes can lead to remarkably variable outcomes, ranging from intracellular killing to prolonged survival and replication of the pathogen in the host cell. Using live cell imaging we observed primary human neutrophils that release phagocytosed Candida glabrata yeast cells after intracellular killing. This process, for which we propose the name "dumping", adds a new outcome to phagocyte-fungus interaction which may be of potential immunological importance as it allows professional antigen presenting cells to take up and process neutrophil-inactivated pathogens that in their viable state are able to evade intracellular degradation in these cells.

Neutrophil activation by Candida glabrata but not Candida albicans promotes fungal uptake by monocytes.

Candida albicans and Candida glabrata account for the majority of candidiasis cases worldwide. Although both species are in the same genus, they differ in key virulence attributes. Within this work, live cell imaging was used to examine the dynamics of neutrophil activation after confrontation with either C.

Automated segmentation and tracking of non-rigid objects in time-lapse microscopy videos of polymorphonuclear neutrophils.

Time-lapse microscopy is an important technique to study the dynamics of various biological processes. The labor-intensive manual analysis of microscopy videos is increasingly replaced by automated segmentation and tracking methods. These methods are often limited to certain cell morphologies and/or cell stainings.