Publications by authors named "Mirjam R. Heldner"

Imaging can help to diagnose CNS vasculitis. Yet so far, no imaging studies of CNS vasculitis at 7T are available. We share our experience of vessel wall imaging (VWI) at 7T in patients with suspected vasculitis.

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Background And Aims: The clinical evolution of acute ischemic stroke patients with isolated proximal posterior cerebral artery (PCA) occlusion treated with medical management alone has been poorly described. We aimed to determine the clinical and radiological factors associated with poor functional outcome in this population.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter international retrospective study of consecutive stroke patients with isolated occlusion of the first (P1) or second (P2) segment of PCA admitted within 6 h from symptoms onset in 26 stroke centers in France, Switzerland, and the United States, treated with the best medical management alone.

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Background: Acute intracranial occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) can be distinguished into (a) occlusion of the terminal ICA, involving the proximal segments of the middle or anterior cerebral artery (ICA-L/-T) and (b) non-terminal intracranial occlusions of the ICA with patent circle of Willis (ICA-I). While patients with ICA-L/-T occlusion were included in all randomized controlled trials on endovascular therapy (EVT) in anterior large vessel occlusion, data on EVT in ICA-I occlusion is scarce. We thus aimed to evaluate effectiveness and safety of EVT in ICA-I occlusions in comparison to ICA-L/-T occlusions.

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  • * Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are beginning to establish telestroke services, indicating a potential shift in access to specialized stroke care.
  • * The analysis identified significant variations in network structures and technologies used, with 75% employing real-time video and image transfer, and a focus on quality monitoring in 74% of networks.
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  • A significant portion of patients (1 in 10) experience epilepsy after having cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), but it's challenging to predict who will be affected.* -
  • Researchers created the DIAS3 prognostic score using clinical data from over 1,100 patients to assess the likelihood of developing post-CVT epilepsy based on six clinical variables.* -
  • The study found a range of predicted risks for post-CVT epilepsy within one and three years, with successful validation of the score confirming its effectiveness in estimating individual risk.*
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Background And Objectives: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare cause of stroke. While the standard treatment is anticoagulation, the type and duration of anticoagulation depends on the underlying etiology. This study aims to identify prevalence, risk factors, and recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) rates among patients with idiopathic (cryptogenic) CVT and CVT provoked by transient (peripartum, hormonal treatment, infection, trauma) and persistent (cancer, thrombophilia) factors.

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  • The article has a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) that allows it to be easily found online.
  • The DOI number given is 10.3389/fneur.2023.1251581.
  • This correction is important for making sure the information in the article is accurate.
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  • Cervical artery dissection (CeAD) is a leading cause of ischemic strokes in young adults, and this study explored the effects of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) on patients with CeAD and stroke symptoms.
  • Analyzed data from the STOP-CAD study, it found that IVT significantly improved functional independence after 90 days in patients without increasing the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage.
  • The results suggest that IVT is a beneficial treatment for eligible patients with CeAD, aligning with current medical guidelines on its use.
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Right-to-left shunt, mainly due to patent foramen ovale (PFO), is likely responsible for ≈5% of all ischemic strokes and 10% of those occurring in young and middle-aged adults. Randomized clinical trials demonstrated that, in selected young and middle-aged patients with otherwise cryptogenic acute ischemic stroke and high-risk PFO, percutaneous PFO closure is more effective than antiplatelet therapy alone in preventing recurrence. However, PFO is generally a benign finding and is present in about one-quarter of the population.

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  • The study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in acute ischemic stroke patients treated within early (<6 hours) and extended (6-24 hours) time windows after symptom onset.
  • It compared outcomes like good functional recovery, intracranial hemorrhage, and mortality rates between the two groups, finding that while early treatment showed slightly better recovery rates, both time frames had similar safety outcomes.
  • Overall, the findings suggest that EVT remains a viable option for patients up to 24 hours after stroke symptoms, aligning with real-world clinical practices.
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  • The study investigates the timing of endovascular therapy (EVT) for severe cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), comparing early initiation (<24 hours) to late initiation (>24 hours) regarding patients' recovery outcomes.
  • Results showed that early EVT significantly increased the likelihood of functional independence at 3 months (66.7% vs. 27.3%) and was associated with lower mortality rates (16.7% vs. 36.4%) at 90 days.
  • The findings suggest that prompt EVT may lead to better recovery in CVST cases, but further randomized controlled trials are needed to validate these results and support the "time-is-brain" concept.
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  • The study aimed to understand how time from symptom onset affects D-dimer levels in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and transient ischemic attack (TIA), as this knowledge may help identify other thrombotic conditions.
  • A total of 2467 AIS patients and 708 TIA patients were analyzed, finding that D-dimer levels were higher in AIS patients compared to TIA patients, with distinct fluctuations in D-dimer levels over time in AIS patients.
  • The research concluded that while D-dimer levels in AIS patients change significantly after symptoms begin, TIA patients do not show these time-dependent variations, indicating the need for further studies to better utilize D-dimer as a biomarker in acute stroke cases.
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Background: As stroke endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) treatment indications expand, understanding population-based EVT eligibility becomes critical for resource planning. We aimed to project current and future population-based EVT eligibility in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of the physician-adjudicated GCNKSS (Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Stroke Study; 2015 epoch), a population-based, cross sectional, observational study of stroke incidence, treatment, and outcomes across a 5-county region.

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The ELECTRA-STROKE study investigated the potential of EEG for prehospital triage of patients with ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion (LVO), in which fast triage to stroke centers for endovascular treatment is crucial. The study was conducted in 4 phases, and this Journal Club article focuses on the fourth phase in the prehospital setting with suspected stroke patients. An EEG cap with dry electrodes was used to measure brain activity.

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Background: It is uncertain whether antiplatelets or anticoagulants are more effective in preventing early recurrent stroke in patients with cervical artery dissection. Following the publication of the observational Antithrombotic for STOP-CAD (Stroke Prevention in Cervical Artery Dissection) study, which has more than doubled available data, we performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis comparing antiplatelets versus anticoagulation in cervical artery dissection.

Methods: The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023468063).

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Nearly one fifth of patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) have cancer. When both of these conditions occur, especially in cases of cerebral vein thrombosis (CVT), patient management is often challenging. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics and event courses in patients affected by CVT with and without cancer.

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Introduction: The differences in vascular risk factors' and stroke burden across Europe are notable, however there is limited understanding of the influence of socioeconomic environment on the quality of secondary prevention and outcome after acute ischemic stroke.

Patients And Methods: In this observational multicenter cohort study, we analyzed baseline characteristics, reperfusion treatment, outcome and secondary prevention in patients with acute ischemic stroke from three tertiary-care teaching hospitals with similar service population size in different socioeconomic environments: Bern/CH/ = 293 (high-income), Gdansk/PL/ = 140 (high-income), and Lutsk/UA/ = 188 (lower-middle-income).

Results: We analyzed 621 patients (43.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study looked at patients who had a type of serious stroke called large vessel occlusion (LVO) and how their past health problems affected their recovery after a specific treatment called endovascular therapy (EVT).
  • Researchers checked the medical history and data of nearly 1,000 patients over five years to see how many had previous health issues and how they did after treatment.
  • They found that patients with more past vascular problems had a higher chance of dying or not being independent after three months, and men had more bleeding complications than women during their hospital stay.
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  • The study aimed to validate the SINCALC score, which predicts poor outcomes and mortality in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), using an international cohort from the ACTION-CVT study.
  • The ACTION-CVT cohort showed differences from the original International CVT Consortium, being older, having fewer females, and milder symptoms, with a mortality rate of 2.5% at 30 days and 6% at one year.
  • Results indicated the SINCALC score performed reasonably well in predicting outcomes, with AUC values suggesting its effectiveness, and further validation in diverse populations is recommended.
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Background: Acute basilar artery occlusion (BAO) is a severe disease that is associated with an 85% mortality rate if untreated. Several studies have analyzed the use of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in the different scenarios of BAO. However, the results remain conflicting and the role of MT as standard of care for vertebrobasilar tandem occlusions (VBTO) has not been confirmed.

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Introduction: Previous reports and meta-analyses derived from small case series reported a mortality rate of up to 40% in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 associated cerebral venous thrombosis (COVID-CVT). We assessed the clinical characteristics and outcomes in an international cohort of patients with COVID-CVT.

Patients And Methods: This was a registry study of consecutive COVID-CVT patients diagnosed between March 2020 and March 2023.

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  • The text outlines the challenges of conducting research on cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) due to its rarity, emphasizing the need for a prioritized international research agenda to enhance prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for better patient outcomes.
  • The agenda was developed during a summit in June 2023, involving 45 participants from 15 countries, including clinical researchers, former CVT patients, and representatives from funding organizations, focused on key research themes.
  • It categorizes essential research questions into themes like epidemiology, diagnosis, medical treatment, and more, aiming to inspire future research, foster collaboration, and help secure funding to address these critical questions in CVT.
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BACKGROUND Acute ischemic stroke in the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) territory can lead to persistent disabling deficits. The PCA is divided into 4 segments. The P2 segment begins at the posterior communicating artery and curves around the midbrain and above the tentorium cerebelli.

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Background: State-of-the-art stroke treatment significantly reduces lesion size and stroke severity, but it remains unclear whether these therapeutic advances have diminished the burden of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI).

Aims: In a cohort of patients receiving modern state-of-the-art stroke care including endovascular therapy, we assessed the frequency of PSCI and the pattern of domain-specific cognitive deficits, identified risk factors for PSCI, and determined the impact of acute PSCI on stroke outcome.

Methods: In this prospective monocentric cohort study, we examined patients with first-ever anterior circulation ischemic stroke without pre-stroke cognitive decline, using a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment ⩽10 days after symptom onset.

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