Publications by authors named "Fahad S Al Ajlan"

Background: Little is known about the relationship between lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] and cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH). The aim of the study was to examine if elevated Lp(a) levels are associated with higher burden of WMH.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated associations between Lp(a) and the burden of WMH among patients with confirmed diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attacks.

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Objectives: Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) poses high mortality and morbidity rates with limited evidence-based therapeutic approaches. We aimed to evaluate the current evidence for the role of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in the management of ICH.

Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed recommended guidelines and protocols.

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Background: Systemic therapeutic hypothermia may improve outcomes after acute ischemic stroke but increases complications. Selective intra-arterial hypothermia at the ischemic site during endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) theoretically offers benefits with fewer risks. However, there is little clinical evidence to support this approach.

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Objectives: The benefits of intravenous thrombolysis are time-dependent, with maximum efficacy when administered within the first "golden" hour after onset. Nevertheless, the impact of golden hour thrombolysis has not been well quantified.

Methods: Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched from inception to August 27, 2023.

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Background: Minor ischemic stroke, defined as National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score of 0-5 on admission, represents half of all acute ischemic strokes. The role of intravenous alteplase (IVA) among patients with minor stroke is inconclusive; therefore, we evaluated clinical outcomes of these patients treated with or without IVA.

Materials And Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane library until August 1, 2023.

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Introduction: Neurology senior residents and stroke fellows are first to clinically assess and interpret imaging studies of patients presenting to the emergency department with acute stroke. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of brain CT angiography (CTA) with and without CT perfusion (CTP) between neurology senior residents and stroke fellows.

Methods: In this neuroimaging study, nine practitioners (four senior neurology residents (SNRs) and five stroke fellows (SFs)) clinically assessed and interpreted the imaging data of 50 cases (15 normal images, 21 large vessel occlusions (LVOs) and 14 medium vessel occlusions (MeVOs) in two sessions, 1 week apart in comparison to final diagnosis of experienced neuroradiologist and experienced stroke neurologist consensus.

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Background And Purpose: Isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusions (iPCAO) were underrepresented in pivotal randomized clinical trial (RCTs) of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in ischemic stroke, and the benefit of EVT in this population is still indeterminate. We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis to compare the safety and efficacy of EVT compared to best medical management (BMM) in patients with iPCAO.

Methods: We searched Medline/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane databases up to May 2023 for eligible studies reporting outcomes of patients with iPCAO treated with EVT or BMM.

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Article Synopsis
  • The SPOTLIGHT trial examined the effects of recombinant activated factor VIIa (rFVIIa) versus placebo on limiting hematoma expansion in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage but found no significant reduction in hematoma growth.
  • The study involved measuring hematoma volumes at various points through CT scans, tracking changes before and after administration of the study drug.
  • Results showed that despite the timing of drug administration, the increase in total hematoma volume was similar between the rFVIIa and placebo groups, indicating that rFVIIa did not provide a beneficial impact on reducing hematoma expansion.
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Background And Purpose: There is interest in what happens over time to the thrombus after intravenous alteplase. We study the effect of alteplase on thrombus structure and its impact on clinical outcome in patients with acute stroke.

Methods: Intravenous alteplase treated stroke patients with intracranial internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery occlusion identified on baseline computed tomography angiography and with follow-up vascular imaging (computed tomography angiography or first run of angiography before endovascular therapy) were enrolled from INTERRSeCT study (Identifying New Approaches to Optimize Thrombus Characterization for Predicting Early Recanalization and Reperfusion With IV Alteplase and Other Treatments Using Serial CT Angiography).

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Background: Some patients with ischemic stroke have poor outcomes despite small infarcts after endovascular thrombectomy, while others with large infarcts sometimes fare better.

Aims: We explored factors associated with such discrepancies between post-treatment infarct volume (PIV) and functional outcome.

Methods: We identified patients with small PIV (volume ≤ 25th percentile) and large PIV (volume ≥ 75th percentile) on 24-48-h CT/MRI in the ESCAPE randomized-controlled trial.

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Background: Woodhouse-Sakati syndrome (WSS) is a rare autosomal recessive disease with characteristic neuro-endocrine manifestations. WSS encompasses heterogeneous phenotypes and disease course.

Objective: We aimed to characterize neurological involvement of the disease through subgrouping of core neurological manifestations.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to assess how different measures of blood clot permeability on non-contrast CT and CT angiography relate to the effectiveness of intravenous alteplase in achieving recanalization in patients with anterior circulation occlusion.
  • - Four hundred eighty patients were analyzed, revealing that various measuring methods had similar abilities to distinguish between those who experienced recanalization and those who did not, with a notable finding that a specific measurement threshold (HU ≥ 89) offered optimal discrimination.
  • - Ultimately, the research concluded that simpler methods for gauging thrombus permeability are just as effective as more sophisticated techniques in identifying patients likely to achieve recanalization.
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Background and Purpose- Early hematoma expansion after intracerebral hemorrhage is a potentially modifiable predictor of outcome and a promising therapeutic target. Radiological markers seen on noncontrast computed tomography can help predict hematoma expansion and risk stratify patients presenting with intracerebral hemorrhage. Our objective was to assess the interrater and intrarater reliability of 5 commonly reported noncontrast computed tomographic markers of hematoma expansion.

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Importance: The positive treatment effect of endovascular therapy (EVT) is assumed to be caused by the preservation of brain tissue. It remains unclear to what extent the treatment-related reduction in follow-up infarct volume (FIV) explains the improved functional outcome after EVT in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: To study whether FIV mediates the relationship between EVT and functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

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Background: Evidence regarding whether imaging can be used effectively to select patients for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is scarce. We aimed to investigate the association between baseline imaging features and safety and efficacy of EVT in acute ischaemic stroke caused by anterior large-vessel occlusion.

Methods: In this meta-analysis of individual patient-level data, the HERMES collaboration identified in PubMed seven randomised trials in endovascular stroke that compared EVT with standard medical therapy, published between Jan 1, 2010, and Oct 31, 2017.

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Importance: Recanalization of intracranial thrombus is associated with improved clinical outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The association of intravenous alteplase treatment and thrombus characteristics with recanalization over time is important for stroke triage and future trial design.

Objective: To examine recanalization over time across a range of intracranial thrombus occlusion sites and clinical and imaging characteristics in patients with ischemic stroke treated with intravenous alteplase or not treated with alteplase.

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Background: Follow-up infarct volume (FIV) has been recommended as an early indicator of treatment efficacy in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Questions remain about the optimal imaging approach for FIV measurement.

Objective: To examine the association of FIV with 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score and investigate its dependency on acquisition time and modality.

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In this brief report, computed tomography perfusion (CTP) thresholds predicting follow-up infarction in patients presenting 20 to 23 seconds and cerebral blood flow <5 to 7 ml/min-1/(100 g)-1 or relative cerebral blood flow <0.14 to 0.20 optimally predicted the final infarct.

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Brucellosis is a multisystem zoonotic disease. We report an unusual case of neurobrucellosis with seizures in an immunocompromised patient in Saudi Arabia who underwent renal transplantation. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed diffuse white matter lesions.

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Background And Purpose: Intracerebral hemorrhage is a feared complication of intravenous alteplase therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke. We explore the use of multimodal computed tomography in predicting this complication.

Methods: All patients were administered intravenous alteplase with/without intra-arterial therapy.

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Background And Purpose: Infarct in a new previously unaffected territory (INT) is a potential complication of endovascular treatment. We applied a recently proposed methodology to identify and classify INTs in the ESCAPE randomized controlled trial (Endovascular Treatment for Small Core and Anterior Circulation Proximal Occlusion With Emphasis on Minimizing CT to Recanalization Times).

Methods: The core laboratory identified INTs on 24-hour follow-up imaging, blinded to treatment allocation, after assessing all baseline imaging.

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Over the last few years, improvement in radiological imaging and treatment has changed the management of acute ischemic stroke. We have made significant advances in not only the imaging modalities themselves but also in identifying imaging parameters that can help us predict patient outcomes with both intravascular thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy. In this review, we describe the added utility of baseline vascular imaging including computed tomography angiography and magnetic resonance angiography in the diagnosis and management of patients with acute ischemic stroke.

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Background And Purpose: The goal of reperfusion therapy in acute ischemic stroke is to limit brain infarction. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the beneficial effect of endovascular treatment on functional outcome could be explained by a reduction in post-treatment infarct volume.

Methods: The Endovascular Treatment for Small Core and Anterior Circulation Proximal Occlusion With Emphasis on Minimizing CT to Recanalization Times (ESCAPE) trial was a multicenter randomized open-label trial with blinded outcome evaluation.

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