A Novel Nomogram Integrating Retinal Microvasculature and Clinical Indicators for Individualized Prediction of Early Neurological Deterioration in Single Subcortical Infarction.

Aims: Early neurological deterioration (END) is a relatively common occurrence among patients with single subcortical infarctions (SSI). Accurate and early prediction of END in SSI is challenging and could contribute to enhancing prognosis.

Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled SSI patients who arrived within 24 h from symptom onset at a single center between December 2020 and March 2023.

Lower Retinal Arteriolar Density Is Associated With Higher Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Burden: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study.

Introduction: It is suggested that cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) plays a role in strokes and dementia. Retinal microvasculature imaged by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is suggested to be associated with cerebral microvessels. We measured the density of the retinal arterioles and venules on the superficial vascular complex (SVC) of OCTA images and investigated associations with SVD markers in older adults.

Malignant Brain Edema and Associated Factors in Large Hemispheric Infarction Following Reperfusion Therapy.

Objective: This study aimed to explore Malignant Brain Edema (MBE) and associated factors in patients with Large Hemispheric Infarction (LHI) following early reperfusion therapy.

Methods: We consecutively and retrospectively enrolled a cohort of 114 LHI patients who had received early reperfusion therapy, including Intravenous Thrombolysis (IVT) or Endovascular Therapy (EVT) at the hyperacute stage of stroke between January 2009 and December 2018. MBE was defined as a midline shift ≥5 mm, accompanied by signs of herniation.

Retinal Ischemic Perivascular Lesion Reflects Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Burden in Single Subcortical Infarction.

Background: Retinal ischemic perivascular lesions (RIPLs) are an indicator of ischemia in the middle retina. We aimed to determine the relationship between RIPLs and single subcortical infarction (SSI). We also investigated the differences in cerebral small vessel disease imaging burden between groups with and without RIPLs in SSI.

Association between functional network connectivity, retina structure and microvasculature, and visual performance in patients after thalamic stroke: An exploratory multi-modality study.

Background And Objective: Neuro-ophthalmologic symptoms and retinal changes have been increasingly observed following thalamic stroke, and there is mounting evidence indicating distinct alterations occurring in the vision-related functional network. However, the intrinsic correlations between these changes are not yet fully understood. Our objective was to explore the altered patterns of functional network connectivity and retina parameters, and their correlations with visual performance in patients with thalamic stroke.

The Association of Retinal Microvasculature With Gray Matter Changes and Structural Covariance Network: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study.

Purpose: Increasing evidence suggests that retinal microvasculature may reflect global cerebral atrophy. However, little is known about the relation of retinal microvasculature with specific brain regions and brain networks. Therefore, we aimed to unravel the association of retinal microvasculature with gray matter changes and structural covariance network using a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis.

Characterization of retinal microvasculature and structure in atrial fibrillation.

Background And Objective: Quantitative changes in retinal microvasculature are associated with subclinical cardiac alterations and clinical cardiovascular diseases (i.e., heart failure and coronary artery disease).

Retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer, white matter hyperintensities, and their interaction with cognition in older adults.

Purpose: We explored the interaction of optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters and white matter hyperintensities with cognitive measures in our older adult cohort.

Methods: This observational study enrolled participants who underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, structural 3-T brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), visual acuity examination, and OCT imaging. Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) markers were read on MR images; lacune, cerebral microbleeds (CMB), white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS), were defined according to the STRIVE standards.

Retinal microvascular and structural changes in intracranial hypertension patients correlate with intracranial pressure.

Aims: We aimed to evaluate the retinal microvascular and structural changes in intracranial hypertension (IH) patients compared with an age- and sex-matched control group. We also investigated the association between clinical parameters and retinal changes in IH patients.

Methods: Intracranial hypertension patients were divided into eyes with papilledema (IH-P) and eyes without papilledema (IH-WP).

Pathological Changes of Small Vessel Disease in Intracerebral Hemorrhage: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

In intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) with pathology-proven etiology, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to elucidate the association between cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and arteriolosclerosis, and directly compared MRI and pathological changes of markers of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Studies enrolling primary ICH who had received an etiological diagnosis through biopsy or autopsy were searched using Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science from inception to June 8, 2022. We extracted pathological changes of CSVD for each patient whenever available.

Increased Serum EphrinA1 Is Associated with Parenchymal Hematoma after Ischemic Stroke.

Introduction: Previous preclinical studies reported that the level of serum EphrinA1 was associated with blood-brain barrier disruption; however, its role in predicting parenchymal hematoma (PH) after ischemic stroke is underexplored. We aimed to explore the association between the level of serum EphrinA1 and PH in patients with ischemic stroke.

Methods: Patients with ischemic stroke after onset from West China Hospital, Sichuan University, were prospectively enrolled between January 2017 and December 2019.

Echocardiographic correlates of MRI imaging markers of cerebral small-vessel disease in patients with atrial-fibrillation-related ischemic stroke.

Background And Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been linked to dementia risk, partly explained by cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Since AF and cardiovascular comorbidities were associated with cardiac dysfunction, we aimed to determine the association between echocardiographic parameters and neuroimaging markers of CSVD in patients with AF-related ischemic stroke.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled patients with AF-related ischemic stroke from March 2013 to December 2019 who underwent transthoracic echocardiography and brain 3T MRI, including T1, T2, Flair, and SWI imaging sequences.

Relationships between cerebral small vessel diseases markers and cognitive performance in stroke-free patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is related to an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction. Besides clinically overt stroke, AF can damage the brain several pathophysiological mechanisms. We aimed to assess the potential mediating role of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) and cognitive performance in individuals with AF.

Association of retinal thickness and microvasculature with cognitive performance and brain volumes in elderly adults.

Background: Retinal structural and microvascular changes can be visualized and have been linked with cognitive decline and brain changes in cerebral age-related disorders. We investigated the association between retinal structural and microvascular changes with cognitive performance and brain volumes in elderly adults.

Materials And Methods: All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and a battery of neuropsychological examinations.

Retinal microvasculature and cerebral hemodynamics in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between retinal microvasculature and cerebral hemodynamics in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis.

Methods: Patients with unilateral moderate or severe ICA stenosis(≥50%) from West China hospital, Sichuan university were consecutively and prospectively recruited enrolled in the current study. En face angiograms of the superficial vascular complex (SVC), deep vascular complex (DVC), superficial vascular plexus (SVP), intermediate capillary plexus (ICP), and deep capillary plexus (DCP) were generated by automatic segmentation using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) to assess the retinal microvascular perfusion.

Retinal microvasculature and imaging markers of brain frailty in normal aging adults.

Background: The retina and brain share a similar embryologic origin, blood barriers, and microvasculature features. Thus, retinal imaging has been of interest in the aging population to help in the early detection of brain disorders. Imaging evaluation of brain frailty, including brain atrophy and markers of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), could reflect brain health in normal aging, but is costly and time-consuming.

Clinical features and imaging markers of small vessel disease in symptomatic acute subcortical cerebral microinfarcts.

Background: As currently defined, recent small subcortical infarcts (RSSI) do not have a lower size boundary, and the smallest diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) infarcts, which we term acute subcortical cerebral microinfarcts (As-CMI) with lesion diameter less than 5 mm, might have clinical implications distinct from RSSI. We aimed to investigate the distinct characteristics of As-CMI as compared to the larger size of RSSI regarding vascular risk factors, clinical manifestation, radiological markers of SVD distribution, and outcomes.

Methods: In a consecutive cohort, patients were selected with a magnetic resonance DWI-confirmed RSSI between January 2010 and November 2020.

Alterations of optic tract and retinal structure in patients after thalamic stroke.

Objectives: To investigate the association between degeneration of retinal structure and shrinkage of the optic tract in patients after thalamic stroke.

Materials And Methods: Patients with unilateral thalamic stroke were included. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed to obtain parameters of optic tract shrinkage (lateral index) and retina structural thickness (retinal nerve fiber layer, RNFL; peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer, pRNFL; ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer, GCIP), respectively.

Retinal Thickness Correlates with Cerebral Hemodynamic Changes in Patients with Carotid Artery Stenosis.

Background: We aimed to assess the retinal structural and choroidal changes in carotid artery stenosis (CAS) patients and their association with cerebral hemodynamic changes. Asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with unilateral CAS were enrolled in our study. Material and methods: Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was used to image the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL), while SS-OCT angiography (SS-OCTA) was used to image and measure the choroidal vascular volume (CVV) and choroidal vascular index (CVI).

Association between Deep Medullary Veins in the Unaffected Hemisphere and Functional Outcome in Acute Cardioembolic Stroke: An Observational Retrospective Study.

Objective: To explore whether deep medullary veins (DMVs) in the unaffected hemisphere were associated with functional outcome in acute cardioembolic stroke patients. Methods: Acute cardioembolic stroke patients at a single center were retrospectively included. DMVs visibility in the unaffected hemisphere was assessed using a well-established four-grade scoring method based on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI): grades 0−3 (grade 0 for no visible DMVs; grade 1 for the numbers of conspicuous DMVs < 5; grade 2 for numbers raging from 5 to 10; grade 3 for more than 10).

Association of compromised cerebral perfusion with lenticulostriate artery impairments in the subacute phase of branch atheromatous disease.

Background Purpose: Whether altered cerebral perfusion is associated with the pathogenesis of single subcortical infarctions (SSIs) in the lenticulostriate artery (LSA) territory remains unclear.

Objective: We aimed to assess whether cerebral perfusion abnormalities are related to LSA impairments in the subacute phase of SSIs and then to examine their correlations with etiological subtypes of SSIs.

Methods: A total of 110 patients with acute SSIs in the LSA territory were prospectively recruited between July 2017 and October 2021, and they underwent magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) and whole-brain vessel-wall imaging (VWI) within 7 days of stroke onset.

Association of High Ratio of CSF/Plasma HIV-1 RNA with Central Nervous System Co-Infection in HIV-1-Positive Treatment-Naive Patients.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) ribonucleic acid (RNA) at higher levels than in plasma has been observed in HIV-1-positive patients and defined as CSF/plasma discordance or CSF escape. Discordance is particularly seen in untreated patients with antiretroviral agents. Quantitative data regarding its association with blood−brain barrier (BBB) damage and intracranial co-infection with other pathogens are limited.

Characterization of Macular Structural and Microvascular Changes in Thalamic Infarction Patients: A Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography-Angiography Study.

Background: The retina and brain share similar neuronal and microvascular features. We aimed to investigate the retinal thickness and microvasculature in patients with thalamic infarcts compared with control participants. Material and methods: Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was used to image the macular thickness (retinal nerve fiber layer, RNFL; ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer, GCIP), while OCT angiography was used to image the microvasculature (superficial vascular plexus, SVP; intermediate capillary plexus, ICP; deep capillary plexus, DCP).