Structural MRI study of Pareidolia and Visual Hallucinations in Drug-Naïve Parkinson's disease.

Visual hallucinations (VH) and pareidolia, a type of minor hallucination, share common underlying mechanisms. However, the similarities and differences in their brain regions remain poorly understood in Parkinson's disease (PD). A total of 104 drug-naïve PD patients underwent structural MRI and were assessed for pareidolia using the Noise Pareidolia Test (NPT) were enrolled.

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease mechanism indicates poor outcomes of thrombectomy in acute cerebral infarction with large vessel occlusion: A matched cohort study.

Background: Thrombectomy is a standard treatment for acute large vessel occlusion (LVO); however, its effectiveness in treating LVO related to intracranial atherosclerosis disease (ICAD) remains uncertain. This study aimed to compare thrombectomy outcomes in ICAD-related and embolic LVO, focusing on patients with similar symptom severities upon hospital admission.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Jikei University Hospital and Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital between October 2017 and March 2023.

Cerebral Small Vessel Disease is Associated with Prehospital Delay in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Aim: To determine whether the severity of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with prehospital delay in acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: Consecutive patients with ischemic stroke were included in this study. We evaluated the SVD burden using the total SVD score.

Bathing-Related Ischemic Stroke: Association between Stroke Subtype and Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.

Aims: Bathing-related ischemic stroke (BIS) is sometimes fatal. However, its mechanisms and risk factors remain unclear. We aimed to identify the incidence of stroke subtypes in BIS, and clarify the impact of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) on BIS.

Effects and safety of high-frequency rTMS in subacute ischemic stroke patients.

Objective: Although high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) has shown benefits in chronic stroke, its application in subacute ischemic stroke remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate the effects and safety of lesion-side HF-rTMS in subacute ischemic stroke.

Methods: Prospective lesion-side HF-rTMS was conducted on consecutive ischemic stroke patients within 3 days of onset from February 2019 to June 2022.

Relationship between ω3 and ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and atrial fibrillation in acute ischemic stroke.

Background & Aims: Some ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are said to demonstrate a dose-related risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), conversely, some ω6 PUFAs might have AF protective potential. However, few investigated the relation among ischemic strokes. Primarily, we aimed to examine a relation between ω3 and ω6 PUFAs and the presence of AF in ischemic strokes.

Retropharyngeal abscess due to Fusobacterium necrophorum complicated by progressive internal carotid artery stenosis and multiple cranial nerve palsies.

Background: A case of retropharyngeal abscess complicated by both artery and nerve injury has rarely been reported.

Methods: A 36-year-old woman suddenly presented with right eye visual loss, dilated pupil, reduced direct light reflex, ptosis and ocular motility disorder on the side of inflammation progression, and was diagnosed with retropharyngeal abscess due to Fusobacterium necrophorum. The patient was treated only with antibiotics and, no further surgery was necessary but tracheotomy.

Small ischemic lesions accompanying intracerebral hemorrhage: The underlying influence of old lacunes and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Background And Aims: Small ischemic lesions (SILs) accompanying intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) might be induced by small-vessel vulnerability and hypercoagulation. Some polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been associated with hypercoagulation in cardiovascular diseases. Our aim here is to determine how pre-existing small-vessel disease (SVD) and PUFAs may affect SILs.

Thin aortic arch plaque is associated with the development of atrial fibrillation for embolic stroke of undetermined source in patients with an insertable cardiac monitor.

Background And Objective: This study's objective is to investigate whether mild aortic arch plaque is associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in stroke patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) during the first year following the implantation of an insertable cardiac monitor (ICM).

Methods: The participants in this cross-sectional observational study were consecutive patients with ESUS, even after transesophageal echocardiography. We assessed the relationship between the thickness of the participants' aortic arch plaque and AF detected after ICM implantation.

Arachidonic acid level is related to early motor recovery following intracerebral hemorrhage with severe motor paralysis.

Background: Low arachidonic acid (AA) levels are reportedly associated with unfavorable outcomes in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Objective: We aimed to clarify whether serum AA levels might be associated with a good recovery from severe motor paralysis in the early stage of hospitalization.

Methods: From among consecutive ICH patients between October 2012 and December 2021, patients with a sum of upper and lower extremity National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) scores of 4-8 at admission (severe motor paralysis) were included.

Deep and infratentorial cerebral microbleeds are related to wake-up stroke by large-artery atherosclerosis and cardioembolism.

Background And Aims: Circadian variability of blood pressure (BP) and hypercoagulation in the morning have been proposed as underlying mechanisms of wake-up stroke (WUS). The aim was to determine the impact of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), showing BP fluctuation and background hypercoagulability, on WUS.

Methods: Consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke onset-to-door time within one week were screened.

Follow-Up Diffusion-Weighted Image Reveals Delayed Appearance of Ischemic Lesions in Suspected Transient Ischemic Attack.

Introduction: In patients suspected of transient ischemic attack (TIA), it is not uncommon to find no lesion on the diffusion-weighted image (DWI) on admission but a delayed appearance on the follow-up DWI.

Methods: Enrolled patients met the following criteria: (1) MRI performed within 24 hours of onset and seven days after admission; (2) National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≦4 on admission; (3) pre-stroke modified Rankin scale (mRS) score of 0-1. Patients were divided as follows: no lesion on the first DWI and a new lesion on the second DWI (delayed-specified ischemic stroke; DSIS); and no lesion on either the first or second DWI (well-screened TIA; WSTIA).

Urinary Immunoglobulin G Is a Novel Biomarker for Atherosclerotic Burden in Mild Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Aims: Urinary immunoglobulin G (IgG) may be a stronger marker of atherosclerosis than microalbuminuria are because urinary IgG reflects proteinuria level and size-selectivity loss. Microalbuminuria-not urinary IgG-is associated with mild acute ischemic stroke (MAIS).

Methods: Using the Jikei University School of Medicine Stroke Registry, we selected and screened patients with symptomatic acute ischemic stroke (onset-to-door time ≤ 24 h).

Interactive effect of orthostatic hypotension on gray matter atrophy associated with hyposmia and RBD in de novo Parkinson's disease.

Background: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a potential modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Although other risk factors for dementia, hyposmia and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), are closely associated with autonomic dysfunction in PD, little is known about how these risk factors influence cognitive function and cerebral pathology.

Objective: We investigated how these three factors contribute to gray matter atrophy by considering the interaction of OH with hyposmia and RBD.

The REMIT scale: A novel prediction scale for embolism in hyperacute stroke with large vessel occlusion.

Background And Purpose: Large vessel occlusion (LVO) in hyperacute ischemic stroke occurs mainly by one of two mechanisms, embolism or atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism is difficult to identify prior to treatment. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with embolic LVO in hyperacute ischemic stroke, and to develop a preoperative predictive scale for the event.

Diagnostic Yield of Bone Window Computed Tomography and Cerebral Angiography Testing Congenital Bilateral Hypoplasia of the Internal Carotid Artery.

We herein report a case of congenital bilateral hypoplasia of the internal carotid artery (ICA) that was diagnosed by bone window computed tomography (CT) and cerebral angiography. A 23-year-old woman presented with left dominant quadriplegia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed not only massive infarcts in the anterior circulation but also poor depiction of the bilateral ICAs.

A Novel Rat Model of Embolic Cerebral Ischemia Using a Cell-Implantable Radiopaque Hydrogel Microfiber.

The failure of neuroprotective treatment-related clinical trials, including stem cell therapies, may be partially due to a lack of suitable animal models. We have developed a stem cell-implantable radiopaque hydrogel microfiber that can survive for a long time in vivo. The microfiber is made of barium alginate hydrogel containing zirconium dioxide, fabricated in a dual coaxial laminar flow microfluidic device.

Anti-TIF1γ antibody-positive dermatomyositis associated with nivolumab administration in a patient with advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A case report and literature review.

We report a case of anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1γ antibody-positive dermatomyositis following nivolumab treatment. The patient was successfully treated with pulse steroid therapy and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin, followed by oral glucocorticoid treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as nivolumab, may induce not only myositis as an immune-related adverse event but also dermatomyositides as a paraneoplastic syndrome by distracting immune tolerance.

Effects of monotherapy with a monoamine oxidase B inhibitor on motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease are dependent on frontal function.

Background: Monotherapy with monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitors enhances the level of endogenous dopamine in treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) and provides some benefits. Certain neuropsychiatric functions are also regulated by central dopaminergic activity.

Aim: To investigate the relationship of the efficacy of monotherapy with MAO-B inhibitors on motor symptoms in PD with baseline cognitive function.

Urinary Immunoglobulin G Is Associated with Deep and Infratentorial Cerebral Microbleeds in Stroke Patients.

Background: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) detected on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) are associated with cerebral small vessel disease. Chronic kidney disease and microalbuminuria have been associated with the presence of CMBs in stroke patients. Urinary immunoglobulin G (IgG) is measured to document glomerular injury; however, the relationship between urinary IgG and CMBs is unknown.

Effects and safety of high-frequency rTMS in acute intracerebral hemorrhage patients: A pilot study.

Objective: Although high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) in chronic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is beneficial, it has been poorly investigated in rTMS for acute ICH. Our aim is to investigate the effects and safety of rTMS in acute spontaneous ICH.

Methods: We prospectively performed HF-rTMS on consecutive patients with ICH within 24 h from onset between April 2019 and August 2021.