Should IV Thrombolysis be given in Patients with Suspected Ischemic Stroke but Unknown Symptom Onset and Without Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Lesion? - Results of a Case-Control Study.

Background: Many acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients present with unknown time of symptom onset (UTO). In these situations, wake-up MRI protocols can guide treatment decisions: patients with DWI (diffusion-weighted imaging) but no fluid-attenuated inversion recovery lesion were shown to benefit from IVT (intravenous thrombolysis). However, initial MRI of some stroke patients is DWI negative, leaving it unclear whether this subgroup profits from IVT.

Cognitive Deficits and Related Brain Lesions in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the spectrum of brain lesions seen in heart failure (HF) patients and the extent to which lesion type contributes to cognitive impairment.

Background: Cognitive deficits have been reported in patients with HF.

Methods: A total of 148 systolic and diastolic HF patients (mean age 64 ± 11 years; 16% female; mean left ventricular ejection fraction 43 ± 8%) were extensively evaluated within 2 days by cardiological, neurological, and neuropsychological testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Cerebral Thrombi Retrieved by Mechanical Thrombectomy from Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Mechanical thrombectomy is a novel treatment option for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Only a few studies have previously suggested strategies to categorize retrieved clots according to their histologic composition. However, these reports did not analyze potential biomarkers that are of importance in stroke-related inflammation.

Adherence to oral anticoagulant therapy in secondary stroke prevention - impact of the novel oral anticoagulants.

Background: Oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) potently prevents strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation. Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) have been the standard of care for long-term OAT for decades, but non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have recently been approved for this indication, and raised many questions, among them their influence on medication adherence. We assessed adherence to VKA and NOAC in secondary stroke prevention.

Characterization of Peripheral Immune Cell Subsets in Patients with Acute and Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease: A Case-Control Study.

Immune cells (IC) play a crucial role in murine stroke pathophysiology. However, data are limited on the role of these cells in ischemic stroke in humans. We therefore aimed to characterize and compare peripheral IC subsets in patients with acute ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (AIS/TIA), chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD) and healthy volunteers (HV).

Case-control study of platelet glycoprotein receptor Ib and IIb/IIIa expression in patients with acute and chronic cerebrovascular disease.

Background: Animal models have been instrumental in defining thrombus formation, including the role of platelet surface glycoprotein (GP) receptors, in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, the involvement of GP receptors in human ischemic stroke pathophysiology and their utility as biomarkers for ischemic stroke risk and severity requires elucidation.

Aims: To determine whether platelet GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa receptors are differentially expressed in patients with AIS and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD) compared with healthy volunteers (HV) and to identify predictors of GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa expression.

Regulation of blood coagulation factors XI and XII in patients with acute and chronic cerebrovascular disease: a case-control study.

Background: Animal models have implicated an integral role for coagulation factors XI (FXI) and XII (FXII) in thrombus formation and propagation of ischemic stroke (IS). However, it is unknown if these molecules contribute to IS pathophysiology in humans, and might be of use as biomarkers for IS risk and severity. This study aimed to identify predictors of altered FXI and FXII levels and to determine whether there are differences in the levels of these coagulation factors between acute cerebrovascular events and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD).

Von Willebrand factor regulation in patients with acute and chronic cerebrovascular disease: a pilot, case-control study.

Background And Purpose: In animal models, von Willebrand factor (VWF) is involved in thrombus formation and propagation of ischemic stroke. However, the pathophysiological relevance of this molecule in humans, and its potential use as a biomarker for the risk and severity of ischemic stroke remains unclear. This study had two aims: to identify predictors of altered VWF levels and to examine whether VWF levels differ between acute cerebrovascular events and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD).

Prescription frequency and predictors for the use of novel direct oral anticoagulants for secondary stroke prevention in the first year after their marketing in Europe--a multicentric evaluation.

Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) are alternatives to the use of vitamin K antagonists (VKA) as oral anticoagulant therapies to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Aims: We assembled a representative secondary prevention cohort from four tertiary care stroke centers to identify factors that independently influence therapeutic decision making 1) not to anticoagulate with either VKA or DOAC and 2) to use DOAC if the patient appears suitable for oral anticoagulant therapy.

Methods: We identified all patients discharged with the diagnoses 'ischemic stroke' (ICD-10 code I63) or 'transient ischemic attack' (G45) in combination with 'atrial fibrillation' (I48) during 1 year.

Acute tetraparesis secondary to bilateral precentral gyral cerebral ischemia: a case report.

Introduction: Sudden tetraparesis represents a neurological emergency and is most often caused by traumatic spinal cord injury, spinal epidural bleeding or brainstem ischemia and less frequently by medial disc herniation or spinal ischemia.

Case Presentation: Here we report the rare case of an 82-year-old Caucasian man who developed severe tetraparesis four days after radical cystoprostatectomy. An emergency diagnostic study for spinal cord affection was normal.