OBSERVATIONS ON ANTICOAGULANT THERAPY IN THROMBOEMBOLIC DISEASE OF THE BRAIN.

According to a recently reported study, anticoagulant therapy appears to be ineffective in thrombotic cerebrovascular disease when viewed from the standpoint of mortality, although it does control thrombosis in animals, recurrent ischemic attacks and progression of infarction in patients with stuttering strokes. The efficacy of anticoagulant therapy in preventing a catastrophic stroke is analyzed in the present report. Of 92 untreated patients followed up for an average period of 36 months, 28 suffered a recurrent stroke, only two of these being trivial.

OBSERVATIONS ON STROKES AND CEREBRAL EDEMA WITH INTRACRANIAL TUMOURS.

Four patients who suffered strokes were found at autopsy to have intracranial tumours remote from the region responsible for the stroke, but the relevant cerebral white matter was swollen, pale yellow, and manifestly edematous. It is inferred from these observations that strokes in the presence of cerebral tumours may be caused by rapid fluctuations in the extent and intensity of the edema surrounding the cerebral tumour.A fifth patient is reported with recurrent strokes associated with a glioblastoma multiforme.