Publications by authors named "Michael Ruecker"

Introduction: Dysphagia is a frequent problem in various neurological disorders. However, knowledge on swallowing function in patients with cerebral hypoxia is sparse. The objective of this study is to report the development of swallowing function in a series of adolescent and young-adult patients with cerebral hypoxia.

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Objective: Prominent fibrinogen cleavage by recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and formation of fibrinogen degradation products with anticoagulant properties was proposed to amplify the risk of thrombolysis-related bleeding complications, but supportive evidence mainly derived from studies on myocardial infarction.

Methods: This study included 547 consecutive stroke patients treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, who underwent repeated assessment of fibrinogen levels before and 6 hours after thrombolysis. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages were ascertained using National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke criteria.

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Background: Although extracranial internal carotid artery (e-ICA) occlusion is a common pathology in patients undergoing intravenous thrombolysis for treatment of acute ischemic stroke, no data on e-ICA recanalization rate or potential effects on outcome are yet available.

Methods And Results: This study included 52 consecutive patients with e-ICA occlusion and ischemic stroke undergoing standard intravenous thrombolysis. The rate of e-ICA recanalization was 30.

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Objective: To quantify the risk for bleeding complications after thrombolysis for ischemic stroke in patients on warfarin (international normalized ratio [INR] ≤ 1.7) and to put these data into perspective with previous studies.

Methods: A total of 548 consecutive stroke patients receiving IV recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) were prospectively evaluated and details about warfarin pretreatment were carefully recorded.

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