Publications by authors named "Valeria Caso"

Introduction: The efficacy and safety of statins for secondary prevention in patients who have experienced a cardioembolic stroke are not well-defined. However, previous observational data reported hyperlipidemia as a risk factor for both ischemic and bleeding complications in patients with AF and previous stroke. Based on these premises, we conducted a sub-analysis of the RAF and RAF-NOAC studies to evaluate the efficacy and safety of statins in secondary prevention in patients with acute ischemic stroke and AF.

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Adequate secondary prevention in survivors of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who also have atrial fibrillation (AF) is a long-standing clinical dilemma because these patients are at increased risk of recurrent ICH as well as of ischemic stroke. The efficacy and safety of oral anticoagulation, the standard preventive medication for ischemic stroke patients with AF, in ICH patients with AF are uncertain. PRESTIGE-AF is an international, phase 3b, multi-center, randomized, open, blinded end-point assessment (PROBE) clinical trial that compared the efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) with no DOAC (either no antithrombotic treatment or any antiplatelet drug).

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Background: Secondary stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the fastest growing areas in the field of cerebrovascular diseases. This Scientific statement from the World Stroke Organization Brain & Heart Task Force provides a critical analysis of the strength of current evidence this topic, highlights areas of current controversy, identifies knowledge gaps, and proposes priorities for future research.

Methods: We select topics with the highest clinical relevance and perform a systematic search to answer specific practical questions.

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common cardiac arrhythmia worldwide and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) have recently released the 2024 guidelines for the management of AF. This review highlights 10 novel aspects of the ESC/EACTS 2024 Guidelines.

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Aim: To investigate the optimum antiplatelet therapy regimen (APTR) for emergent carotid artery stenting following mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in stroke patients with tandem occlusion.

Methods: A literature search was performed on Pubmed/OVID/Cochran's CENTRAL database for studies from 2015 to 2022. Patient characteristics, antiplatelet regimen type, mTICI, 90 days-mRS, acute in-stent thrombosis (AIST), mortality, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and sample size were recorded.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with a heart condition called atrial fibrillation (AF) who have strokes can still be at very high risk of having more strokes, even when taking medication to prevent them.
  • Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is a special procedure aimed at helping these patients avoid future strokes.
  • A study compared two groups – one that had LAAO and one that only continued their usual medication – and found that there was still a risk of strokes in both groups over a two-year period.
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Background: Stroke prevention with direct-acting oral anticoagulant agents in patients with atrial fibrillation confers a risk of bleeding and limits their use. Asundexian, an activated factor XI (XIa) inhibitor, is an oral anticoagulant that may prevent strokes with less bleeding.

Methods: In a phase 3, international, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned high-risk patients with atrial fibrillation in a 1:1 ratio to receive asundexian at a dose of 50 mg once daily or standard-dose apixaban.

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Embolic strokes of undetermined source (ESUS) represent 9%-25% of all ischemic strokes. Based on the suspicion that a large proportion of cardioembolic sources remain undetected among embolic stroke of undetermined source patients, it has been hypothesized that a universal approach of anticoagulation would be better than aspirin for preventing recurrent strokes. However, 4 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), with different degrees of patient selection, failed to confirm this hypothesis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular therapy (EVT) are effective treatments for acute stroke, but their safety and efficacy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are debated.
  • A study analyzed data from two multicenter studies to compare outcomes of AF patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with reperfusion therapies versus those who weren't.
  • Results showed that AF patients treated with reperfusion therapies had better functional outcomes and lower mortality rates compared to those who received conservative treatment.
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Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is frequently identified in young patients with cryptogenic ischaemic stroke. Potential stroke mechanisms include paradoxical embolism from a venous clot which traverses the PFO, in situ clot formation within the PFO, and atrial arrhythmias due to electrical signalling disruption. The purpose of this guideline is to provide recommendations for diagnosing, treating, and long-term managing patients with ischaemic stroke and PFO.

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Background: In the phase 2 PACIFIC-STROKE trial (Proper Dosing and Safety of the Oral FXIa Inhibitor BAY 2433334 in Patients Following Acute Noncardioembolic Stroke), asundexian, an oral factor XIa inhibitor, did not increase the risk of hemorrhagic transformation (HT). In this secondary analysis, we aimed to investigate the frequency, types, and risk factors of HT on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the PACIFIC-STROKE trial.

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Aims: Recent trial data demonstrate beneficial effects of active rhythm management in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and support the concept that a low arrhythmia burden is associated with a low risk of AF-related complications. The aim of this document is to summarize the key outcomes of the 9th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference of the Atrial Fibrillation NETwork (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).

Methods And Results: Eighty-three international experts met in Münster for 2 days in September 2023.

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Background And Purpose: Women with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are older and have greater preexisting handicap than men. Given that these factors do not fully explain their poorer long-term outcomes, we sought to investigate potential sex differences in the delivery of acute stroke care in a large cohort of consecutive AIS patients.

Methods: We analyzed all patients from ASTRAL (Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne) from March 2003 to December 2019.

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Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias and is a major cause of ischaemic stroke. Recent findings indicate the importance of atrial fibrillation burden (device-detected, subclinical, or paroxysmal and persistent or permanent) and whether atrial fibrillation was known before stroke onset or diagnosed after stroke for the risk of recurrence. Secondary prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation and stroke aims to reduce the risk of recurrent ischaemic stroke.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assesses the inclusion of sex and gender analysis in medical research on stroke and dementia in the Asia-Pacific region from 2012 to 2022, revealing a need for improvements in this area.
  • While the overall number of publications in brain health research increased, the proportion focusing on sex and gender analysis remained stagnant, indicating a lack of progress over the decade.
  • Findings suggest that gender of authors may influence the inclusion of such analyses, with female authors being more likely to focus on sex and gender, but overall efforts to integrate these perspectives in research remain inadequate.
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Background: Phase II trials of asundexian were underpowered to detect important differences in bleeding.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to obtain best estimates of effects of asundexian vs active control/placebo on major and clinically relevant nonmajor (CRNM) and all bleeding, describe most common sites of bleeding, and explore association between asundexian exposure and bleeding.

Methods: We performed a pooled analysis of 3 phase II trials of asundexian in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or stroke.

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Background: Exploratory analysis of the phase 2 PACIFIC-Stroke (Program of Anticoagulation via Inhibition of FXIa by the Oral Compound BAY 2433334-Non-Cardioembolic Stroke) randomized trial suggested that asundexian, an oral factor XIa inhibitor, prevents recurrent stroke and transient ischemic attacks in patients with atherosclerotic stroke. In this post hoc exploratory analysis, we hypothesized that asundexian would be more effective in patients enrolled with large, multiple, or cortical acute infarcts on magnetic resonance imaging than in patients enrolled with a single small subcortical acute infarct, and asundexian would prevent incident cortical covert infarcts.

Methods: In this placebo-controlled double-blinded randomized controlled trial, patients with mild-to-moderate noncardioembolic ischemic stroke were assigned to asundexian (10, 20, or 50 mg once daily) or placebo, in addition to antiplatelet therapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cerebral microbleeds are indicators of brain damage linked to small vessel disease, which can increase the risk of strokes and other serious issues, raising questions about the safety of antithrombotic treatments in these patients.
  • This study focused on the effects of asundexian, an oral factor-XIa inhibitor, to see if it can reduce the formation of new microbleeds while still being safe, particularly for patients experiences ischemic strokes.
  • The analysis was part of the PACIFIC-STROKE trial, which involved older patients who had suffered mild to moderate strokes, and aimed to evaluate how asundexian treatment interacted with existing microbleeds and impacted various health outcomes over a period of 26 weeks.
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  • Breastfeeding has benefits for both mothers and babies, and this study looks at how it might affect mental health for both.
  • The researchers gathered and examined 21 studies about breastfeeding and mental health, focusing mainly on kids but also considering moms.
  • They found mixed results—some studies suggested breastfeeding could help with depression and anxiety, but overall, the evidence isn't very strong or clear.
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Background: The issue of sex differences in stroke has gained concern in the past few years. However, multicenter studies are still required in this field. This study explores sex variation in a large number of patients and compares stroke characteristics among women in different age groups and across different countries.

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Introduction: Despite preventive measures, stroke rates remain high in the primary and secondary prevention settings. Factor XIa inhibition may offer a novel, safe and effective antithrombotic option for stroke prevention.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis including all available randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) that investigated the efficacy and safety of factor XIa inhibitors versus controls in primary or secondary stroke prevention.

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Background: Endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients presenting with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 0 to 5 is common in clinical practice but has not yet been proven safe and effective. Our objective is to assess whether EVT on top of best medical treatment (BMT) in AIS patients with large-vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation presenting with mild symptoms is beneficial compared with BMT.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and reference lists of retrieved articles published until December 28, 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the best treatment approach for patients with mechanical heart valves experiencing acute ischemic strokes while on vitamin K antagonists, comparing bridging therapy with full dose heparin to nonbridging therapy without heparin.
  • Data was collected from multiple centers via retrospective registries, with a focus on outcomes such as stroke, bleeding, and embolism after 90 days using propensity score matching to ensure accurate comparisons.
  • Results indicated that while bridging therapy was associated with a higher incidence of adverse events, both strategies presented risks, with bridging patients showing a marginally increased risk for ischemic and bleeding complications compared to the nonbridging group.
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