Chronic kidney disease prevalence and clinical outcomes in anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke patients with reperfusion therapy: A meta-analysis.

Aim: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity among acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) patients undergoing reperfusion therapies, including intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular thrombectomy (EVT). Acknowledging CKD's prevalence in this cohort and understanding its influence on outcomes is crucial for prognosis and optimizing care. This study aims to determine the prevalence of CKD among anterior circulation AIS (acAIS) patients undergoing reperfusion therapies and to analyse the role of CKD in mediating outcomes.

Nutraceutical approaches to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): A position paper from the International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP).

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a common condition affecting around 10-25% of the general adult population, 15% of children, and even > 50% of individuals who have type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is a major cause of liver-related morbidity, and cardiovascular (CV) mortality is a common cause of death. In addition to being the initial step of irreversible alterations of the liver parenchyma causing cirrhosis, about 1/6 of those who develop NASH are at risk also developing CV disease (CVD).

COVID-19 and the cardiovascular system-current knowledge and future perspectives.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had devastating impact on populations around the world. The high mortality rates in patients with COVID-19 has been attributed to the influence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), its causative viral agent, on several physiological systems in human body, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. There is emerging evidence on propensity of this virus to attack cardiovascular system.

Prognostic Role of the Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Undergoing Reperfusion Therapy: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Both inflammation and thrombotic/hemostatic mechanisms may play a role in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) pathogenesis, and a biomarker, such as the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), considering both mechanisms may be of clinical utility.

Objectives: This meta-analysis sought to examine the effect of PLR on functional outcomes, early neurological changes, bleeding complications, mortality, and adverse outcomes in AIS patients treated with reperfusion therapy (RT).

Design: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hypertensive urgencies during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary hospital setting: a U-shaped alarming curve.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provoked unprecedented disturbance in hypertension care, while alarming concerns arose about its long-term consequences. We investigated the trends of emergency visits and admissions regarding uncontrolled hypertension in order to assess the impact of COVID-19 spread on population behavior towards hypertension urgencies during its first wave.

Material And Methods: Data from daily unscheduled visits and admission counts in the Cardiology sector were collected from the Emergency Department database of a tertiary General Hospital in Athens, Greece for the period January 15 to July 15 2020.

Incidental findings in brain imaging research: spotlight on ethical considerations.

Brain imaging has revolutionized our ability to characterize brain structure and function. Since the first use of magnetic resonance imaging in a live human subject in 1977, the use of brain imaging in research and clinical medicine has seen exponential growth. Incidental findings (IFs) in brain imaging research have been a subject of contentious debate regarding the disclosure of IFs to human participants of research.

Role of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in the Prognosis of Acute Ischaemic Stroke After Reperfusion Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Inflammation may mediate response to acute reperfusion therapy (RT) in acute cerebral ischaemia. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory biomarker, may play an important role in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) prognostication.

Objective: This meta-analysis sought to examine the effect of NLR on functional outcomes, mortality and adverse outcomes in AIS patients receiving RT.

The association of transradial access and transfemoral access with procedural outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy: A meta-analysis.

Objective: There is an ongoing debate regarding the benefits of using transradial access (TRA) over transfemoral access (TFA) in endovascular therapies including endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. This study sought to investigate the association of TRA and TFA with procedural success, access-site complications, first-pass reperfusion (FPR), puncture-to-recanalisation (PTR) time and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) by performing a meta-analysis.

Materials And Methods: PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus were searched.

Telemedicine during and post-COVID 19: The insights of neurosurgery patients and physicians.

Objective: COVID-19 has caused a massive surge in telemedicine utilization as patients and physicians tried to minimize in-person contact to avoid the spread and impact of the pandemic. This study aims to expand on the knowledge of telemedicine during and beyond the COVID-19 era as it pertains to its use, efficacy, and patient and provider satisfaction through surveys.

Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 93 patients and 33 Neurosurgery physicians who anonymously participated in the survey about their experience with telemedicine visits.

Clinical outcomes following reperfusion therapy in acute ischemic stroke patients with infective endocarditis: a systematic review.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a common and fatal complication of infective endocarditis (IE); however, there is a lack of understanding regarding treatment efficacy. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in IE patients experiencing AIS.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review investigating the outcomes of AIS in IE patients receiving IVT and/or EVT as a treatment method and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these methods of reperfusion therapy.

Impact of diabetes on clinical and safety outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving reperfusion therapy: A meta-analysis.

Background: Patients with diabetes are known to have worse outcomes after an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) relative to those without diabetes. However, the impact of diabetes on the outcomes after the reperfusion therapy is poorly understood.

Objectives: This study investigated prognostic accuracy of diabetes and its association with clinical and safety outcomes in AIS patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), or both.

Incidence of white matter lesions in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A meta-analysis.

Objective: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been found to be associated with encephalopathy and brain imaging abnormalities. The identification of incident white matter lesions, known to be associated with cerebral microcirculatory failure and cerebrovascular disease, in COVID-19 patients is of clinical and scientific interest. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the incidence of white matter lesions (WMLs) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Prevalence and impact of diabetes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Diabetes is a cardiometabolic comorbidity that may predispose COVID-19 patients to worse clinical outcomes. This study sought to determine the prevalence of diabetes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and investigate the association of diabetes severe COVID-19, rate of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), mortality, and need for mechanical ventilation by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Individual studies were selected using a defined search strategy, including results up until July 2021 from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

Prevalence of paediatric hyperinflammatory conditions in paediatric and adolescent hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

In the milieu of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there are increasing reports of paediatric hyperinflammatory conditions (PHICs), including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) and Kawasaki disease (KD). Few analyses of PHIC prevalence in paediatric and adolescent hospitalized COVID-19 patients exist. The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to determine a pooled prevalence estimate of PHICs in paediatric and adolescent hospitalized patients admitted for treatment due to COVID-19.

Stroke Aetiology and Collateral Status in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Receiving Reperfusion Therapy-A Meta-Analysis.

Background: The interplay between collateral status and stroke aetiology may be crucial in the evaluation and management of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Our understanding of this relationship and its level of association remains sub-optimal. This study sought to examine the association of pre-intervention collateral status with stroke aetiology, specifically large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) and cardio-embolism (CE), in AIS patients receiving reperfusion therapy, by performing a meta-analysis.

Digital subtraction angiography in cerebrovascular disease: current practice and perspectives on diagnosis, acute treatment and prognosis.

Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) is the gold-standard imaging modality in acute cerebrovascular diagnosis. The role of DSA has become increasingly prominent since the incorporation of endovascular therapy in standards of care for acute ischemic stroke. It is used in the assessment of cerebral vessel patency; however, the therapeutic role of DSA from a prognostic standpoint merits further investigation.

Role of diabetes in stroke: Recent advances in pathophysiology and clinical management.

The increasing prevalence of diabetes and stroke is a major global public health concern. Specifically, acute stroke patients, with pre-existing diabetes, pose a clinical challenge. It is established that diabetes is associated with a worse prognosis after acute stroke and the various biological factors that mediate poor recovery profiles in diabetic patients is unknown.

Leukoaraiosis severity and post-reperfusion outcomes in acute ischaemic stroke: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: Severity of leukoaraiosis may mediate outcomes after reperfusion therapy in acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) patients. However, the level of the association remains poorly understood. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the impact of leukoaraiosis severity on functional outcome, survival, haemorrhagic complications, and procedural success in AIS patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis and/or endovascular thrombectomy.

Emerging role of white matter lesions in cerebrovascular disease.

White matter lesions have been implicated in the setting of stroke, dementia, intracerebral haemorrhage, several other cerebrovascular conditions, migraine, various neuroimmunological diseases like multiple sclerosis, disorders of metabolism, mitochondrial diseases and others. While much is understood vis a vis neuroimmunological conditions, our knowledge of the pathophysiology of these lesions, and their role in, and implications to, management of cerebrovascular diseases or stroke, especially in the elderly, are limited. Several clinical assessment tools are available for delineating white matter lesions in clinical practice.

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in acute ischemic stroke: Immunopathology, management, and prognosis.

There is an ongoing need for accurate prognostic biomarkers in the milieu of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) receiving reperfusion therapy. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been implicated in emergency medicine and acute stroke setting as an important biomarker in the prognosis of patients. However, there are ongoing questions around its accuracy and translation into clinical practice given suboptimal sensitivity and specificity results, as well as varying thresholds and lack of clarity around which NLR time points are most clinically indicative.

Impact of nutraceuticals on markers of systemic inflammation: Potential relevance to cardiovascular diseases - A position paper from the International Lipid Expert Panel (ILEP).

Inflammation is a marker of arterial disease stemming from cholesterol-dependent to -independent molecular mechanisms. In recent years, the role of inflammation in atherogenesis has been underpinned by pharmacological approaches targeting systemic inflammation that have led to a significant reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Although the use of nutraceuticals to prevent CVD has largely focused on lipid-lowering (e.

Call for Action to Address Equity and Justice Divide During COVID-19.

The coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is deepening the inequity and injustice among the vulnerable communities. The current study aims to present an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on equity and social justice with a focus on vulnerable communities. Vulnerable communities include, but not limited to, healthcare workers, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic or minority groups, immigrants or refugees, justice-involved populations, and people suffering from chronic diseases or mental illness.

At the Epicenter of COVID-19-the Tragic Failure of the Global Supply Chain for Medical Supplies.

The tragic failure of the global supply chain in the face of the current coronavirus outbreak has caused acute shortages of essential frontline medical devices and personal protective equipment, crushing fear among frontline health workers and causing fundamental concerns about the sustainability of the health system. Much more coordination, integration, and management of global supply chains will be needed to mitigate the impact of the pandemics. This article describes the pressing need to revisit the governance and resilience of the supply chains that amplified the crisis at pandemic scale.