Lp(a) lipoprotein and plasminogen activity in patients with different etiology of ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Lp(a) lipoprotein plays an important part in atherothrombogenesis and is considered an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. However, its role in cerebrovascular disease remains unclear, in particular because of the heterogeneous nature of strokes. We investigated whether elevated Lp(a) is more frequent in ischemic stroke related to atherothrombosis than in other etiologies of stroke.

Platelet-leukocyte interaction and platelet activation in acute stroke with and without preceding infection.

Objective: Acute coronary syndromes and ischemic cerebral stroke share similarities regarding elevated platelet activation. In coronary syndromes, the importance of inflammation with platelet-leukocyte interaction has been demonstrated. Recent infection is an established risk factor for ischemic stroke; the role of platelet-leukocyte interaction in these patients had not been investigated.

Periapical and periodontal healing after osseous grafting and guided tissue regeneration treatment of apicomarginal defects in periradicular surgery: results after 12 months.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the periapical and periodontal healing of apicomarginal defects 12 months after periradicular surgery and guided tissue regeneration in a series of consecutively treated patients.

Study Design: Patients with apicomarginal defects who were referred for periradicular surgery were included. Apicomarginal defects were grafted with Bio-Oss bone mineral and covered with a Bio-Gide membrane.

Impaired cerebral glucose metabolism in eclampsia: a new finding in two cases.

The pathophysiology of the reversible neurological manifestation in eclamptic women remains unclear. We report on 2 women with eclampsia who were repetitively examined by (1) transcranial Doppler (TCD), (2) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including T1- and T2-weighted images, fluid attenuated inversion recovery sequence, dynamic susceptibility-weighted perfusion imaging and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and (3) (18)fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). In both cases repetitive TCD revealed no signs of vasospasm; the same was true for MRA.

Echo contrast-enhanced transcranial ultrasound: frequency of use, diagnostic benefit, and validity of results compared with MRA.

Background And Purpose: The present study was undertaken to determine the frequency of use of the ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) Levovist in routine transcranial ultrasound (TU). Additionally, we evaluated the diagnostic validity of contrast-enhanced TU using 3-dimensional time of flight MR angiography.

Methods: Indication for the UCA was an insufficient evaluation of the intracranial arteries after a combined approach with transcranial color-coded Duplex and transcranial Doppler examination.