Cerebral air embolism: neurologic manifestations, prognosis, and outcome.

Background: Cerebral air embolism (CAE) is an uncommon medical emergency with a potentially fatal course. We have retrospectively analyzed a set of patients treated with CAE at our comprehensive stroke center and a hyperbaric medicine center. An overview of the pathophysiology, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of CAE is provided.

Case report: Susac syndrome-two ends of the spectrum, single center case reports and review of the literature.

Susac syndrome is a rare and enigmatic complex neurological disorder primarily affecting small blood vessels in the brain, retina, and inner ear. Diagnosing Susac syndrome may be extremely challenging not only due to its rarity, but also due to the variability of its clinical presentation. This paper describes two vastly different cases-one with mild symptoms and good response to therapy, the other with severe, complicated course, relapses and long-term sequelae despite multiple therapeutic interventions.

Distance from main arteries influences microstructural and functional brain tissue characteristics.

Given the substantial dependence of neurons on continuous supply of energy, the distribution of major cerebral arteries opens a question whether the distance from the main supply arteries constitutes a modulating factor for the microstructural and functional properties of brain tissue. To tackle this question, multimodal MRI acquisitions of 102 healthy volunteers over the full adult age span were utilised. Relaxation along a fictitious field in the rotating frame of rank n = 4 (RAFF4), adiabatic T1ρ, T2ρ,  and intracellular volume fraction (fICVF) derived from diffusion-weighted imaging were implemented to quantify microstructural (cellularity, myelin density, iron concentration) tissue characteristics and degree centrality and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations to probe for functional metrics.

Incidence of Hospitalized Stroke in the Czech Republic: The National Registry of Hospitalized Patients.

Background: Contemporary stroke incidence data are not available in some countries and regions, including in Eastern Europe. Based on previous validation of the accuracy of the National Registry of Hospitalized Patients (NRHOSP), we report the incidence of hospitalized stroke in the Czech Republic (CR) using the NRHOSP.

Methods: The results of the prior validation study assessing the accuracy of coding of stroke diagnoses in the NRHOSP were applied, and we calculated (1) the overall incidence of hospitalized stroke and (2) the incidence rates of hospitalized stroke for the three main stroke types: cerebral infarction (International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision, CI I63), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH I60), and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH I61).

Statin pretreatment is associated with better outcomes in large artery atherosclerotic stroke.

Objective: Even though statin pretreatment is associated with better functional outcomes and lower risk of mortality in acute ischemic stroke, there are limited data evaluating this association in acute ischemic stroke due to large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), which carries the highest risk of early stroke recurrence.

Methods: Consecutive patients with acute LAA were prospectively evaluated from 7 tertiary-care stroke centers during a 3-year period. Statin pretreatment, demographics, vascular risk factors, and admission and discharge stroke severity were recorded.

Validation of Stroke Diagnosis in the National Registry of Hospitalized Patients in the Czech Republic.

Background: Stroke is a common cause of mortality and morbidity in Eastern Europe. However, detailed epidemiological data are not available. The National Registry of Hospitalized Patients (NRHOSP) is a nationwide registry of prospectively collected data regarding each hospitalization in the Czech Republic since 1998.