Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis in Women: Subgroup Analysis of the VENOST Study.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) associated with reproductive health-related risk factors (RHRF) including pregnancy, puerperium, and oral contraceptive (OC) use can prevent severe neurological sequelae; thus, the symptoms must be documented in detail for each group. METHODS: Out of 1144 patients with CVST, a total of 777 women were enrolled from a multicenter for the study of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (VENOST). Demographic, biochemical, clinical, and radiological aspects were compared for 324 cases with RHRF and 453 cases without RHRF. RESULTS: The mean age of the RHRF (-) group (43.2 ± 13 years) was significantly higher than of the RHRF (+) group (34 ± 9 years). A previous history of deep venous thrombosis (3%), isolated cavernous sinus involvement (1%), cranial neuropathy (13%), comorbid malignancy (7%), and its disability scores after 12 months (9%) were significantly higher in the RHRF (-) group. The RHRF (+) group consisted of 44% cases of puerperium, 33% cases of OC users and 23% of pregnant women. The mean age was found to be higher in OC users (38 ± 9 years). A previous history of deep venous thrombosis was slightly higher in the pregnancy subgroup (4%). Epileptic seizures were more common in the puerperium group (44%). CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that the risk of CSVT increases parallel to age, OC use, and puerperium period. In addition, when considering the frequency of findings and symptoms, epileptic seizures in the puerperium subgroup of the RHRF (+) group and malignancies in the RHRF (-) group may accompany the CSVT. In daily practice, predicting these risks for the CSVT and early recognition of the symptoms will provide significant benefits to patients.

Epileptic seizures in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: Subgroup analysis of VENOST study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the presence and prognostic impact of early seizures in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis patients (CVST). METHOD: VENOST is a retrospective and prospective national multicenter observational study. CVST patients with or without epileptic seizures (ES) were analyzed and compared in terms of demographic and imaging data, causative factors, clinical variables, and prognosis in a total of 1126 patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients in the ES group was 39.73 ± 12.64 and 40.17 ± 14.02 years in the non-ES group (p > 0.05). Epileptic seizures were more common (76.6 %) in females (p < 0.001). Early ES occurred in 269 of 1126 patients (23.9 %). Epileptic seizures mainly presented in the acute phase (71.4 %) of the disease (p < 0.001). Majority of these (60.5 %) were in the first 24 h of the CVST. The most common neurological signs were focal neurologic deficits (29.9 %) and altered consciousness (31.4 %) in the ES group. Superior sagittal sinus (SSS) and cortical veins (CV) involvement were the most common sites of thrombosis and the mostly related etiology were found puerperium in seizure group (30.3 % vs 13.9 %). Patients with seizures had worse outcome in the first month of the disease (p < 0.001) but these did not have any influence thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: In this largest CVST cohort (VENOST) reported female sex, presence of focal neurological deficits and altered consciousness, thrombosis of the SSS and CVs, hemorrhagic infarction were risk factors for ES occurrence in patients with CVST.

Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis as a Rare Complication of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Subgroup Analysis of the VENOST Study.

AIM: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an unusual risk factor for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). As few CVST patients with SLE have been reported, little is known regarding its frequency as an underlying etiology, clinical characteristics, or long-term outcome. We evaluated a large cohort of CVST patients with SLE in a multicenter study of cerebral venous thrombosis, the VENOST study, and their clinical characteristics. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Among the 1144 CVST patients in the VENOST cohort, patients diagnosed with SLE were studied. Their demographic and clinical characteristics, etiological risk factors, venous involvement status, and outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: In total, 15 (1.31%) of 1144 CVST patients had SLE. The mean age of these patients was 39.9 ± 12.1 years and 13 (86.7%) were female. Presenting symptoms included headache (73.3%), visual field defects (40.0%), and altered consciousness (26.7%). The main sinuses involved were the transverse (60.0%), sagittal (40.0%), and sigmoid (20.0%) sinuses. Parenchymal involvement was not seen in 73.3% of the patients. On the modified Rankin scale, 92.9% of the patients scored 0-1 at the 1-month follow-up and 90.9% scored 0-1 at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: SLE was found in 1.31% of the CVST patients, most frequently in young women. Headache was the most common symptom and the CVST onset was chronic in the majority of cases. The patient outcomes were favorable. CVST should be suspected in SLE patients, even in those with isolated chronic headache symptoms with or without other neurological findings.

A Multicenter Study of 1144 Patients with Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: The VENOST Study.

BACKGROUND: Based on a number of small observational studies, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis has diverse clinical and imaging features, risk factors, and variable outcome. In a large, multicenter cerebral venous thrombosis (VENOST) study, we sought to more precisely characterize the clinical characteristics of Caucasian patients. METHODS: All data for the VENOST study were collected between the years 2000 and 2015 from the clinical follow-up files. Clinical and radiological characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes were compared in terms of age and sex distribution. RESULTS: Among 1144 patients 68% were women, and in older age group (>50 years) male patients were more prevalent (16.6% versus 27.8%). The most frequent symptoms were headache (89.4%) and visual field defects (28.9%) in men, and headache (86.1%) and epileptic seizures (26.8%) in women. Gynecological factors comprised the largest group in women, in particular puerperium (18.3%). Prothrombotic conditions (26.4%), mainly methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation (6.3%) and Factor V Leiden mutation (5.1%), were the most common etiologies in both genders. 8.1% of patients had infection-associated and 5.2% had malignancy-related etiology that was significantly higher in men and older age group. Parenchymal involvement constitutively hemorrhagic infarcts, malignancy, and older age was associated with higher Rankin score. Epileptic seizures had no effect on prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and radiological findings were consistent with previous larger studies but predisposing factors were different with a higher incidence of puerperium. Oral contraceptive use was not a prevalent risk factor in our cohort. Malignancy, older age, and hemorrhagic infarcts had worse outcome.

Serum neuron-specific enolase as a predictor of short-term outcome and its correlation with Glasgow Coma Scale in traumatic brain injury.

Elevated serum neuron-specific enolase levels are correlated with brain cell damage. Low scores according to Glasgow Coma Scale are also considered as serious poor prognostic factor. The aims of the study were to investigate whether there is a correlation between the two measurements in patients with traumatic brain injury and whether serum neuron-specific enolase levels have potential as a screening test to predict outcome. A total of 169 consecutive patients with traumatic brain injury admitted to our clinic between 2002 and 2005 are included in this study. Those patients, who had any major health problem before trauma, were excluded from the study. However, patients with isolated head injury were included in the study. Serial serum neuron-specific enolase concentrations taken at the first 2, 24, and 48 h after traumatic brain injury were analyzed. A computed tomography was performed on each patient on admission. Their Glasgow Coma Scale scores were recorded serially. The relationship between Glasgow Coma Scale scores and the serum neuron-specific enolase levels were assessed by statistical methods. There was a significant negative correlation between the serum neuron-specific enolase levels and Glasgow Coma Scale scores. The levels of neuron-specific enolase were significantly higher in the patients who died in 30 days after trauma and whose scores were lower than or equal to 8 points in Glasgow Coma Scale. Although there are several serious limitations of the use of neuron-specific enolase as a biomarker in traumatic brain injury (i.e., hypoperfusion, extracranial trauma, bleeding, liver, or kidney damage also increase the level of neuron-specific enolase), its concentrations may be useful as a practical and helpful screening test to identify neurotrauma patients who are at increased risk and may provide supplementary estimation with radiological and clinical findings.

Anesthesia dolorosa caused by penetrating cranial injury.

Anesthesia dolorosa (AD) is an uncommon complication of surgical treatments for trigeminal neuralgia. Its incidence is around 0.8%. To our best knowledge, AD caused by a penetrating cranial injury has not been reported previously. We report the case of a 31-year-old male patient with left-sided neuropathic keratitis and AD that began 18 years earlier, following a penetrating cranial injury with a knife to the left postauricular area. The patient was successfully treated by a carbamazepine and gabapentin combination. In conclusion, penetrating cranial injury is uncommon but may cause a serious neurologic disturbance. In the differential diagnosis of AD, a penetrating injury should be kept in mind. In these cases, treatments should be effective and immediate; otherwise, this may result in catastrophic consequences such as neurotrophic keratitis and blindness. Ophthalmologists should be aware of these potential problems.

Elevated plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels in acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a neurohormone secreted mainly in the cardiac ventricles in response to volume expansion and pressure overload. The aim of this study was to assess plasma N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) changes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS: The study group consisted of 57 (37 women aged 64 +/- 12 years) patients who had their first AIS and no history or signs of cardiovascular disease. An age-matched control group was also included (n = 57, 36 women aged 61 +/- 6 years). NT-proBNP, troponin I (TnI), and creatine kinase-MB were evaluated. A thorough cardiovascular and neurological investigation, including imaging techniques and lesion size determination, was also performed. RESULTS: The log NT-proBNP peak levels, TnI, and creatine kinase-MB levels were significantly higher in AIS compared with controls (7.25 +/- 1.77 vs 3.48 +/- 0.76 pg/mL, P < .0001; 0.76 +/- 0.54 vs 0.5 +/- 0.0 ng/mL, P < .001; 57 +/- 37 vs 13 +/- 4 U/L, P < .001, respectively). The log NT-proBNP correlated positively with TnI (r = 0.29, P = .03) and heart rate (r = 0.41, P = .002), and negatively with left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.67, P < .0001). Patients with signs of marked myocardial ischemia and patients with insular cortex involvement had even higher NT-proBNP levels. After adjustment for relevant factors, the relation between the log NT-proBNP and AIS as well as insular cortex involvement was observed to be insignificant (P > .05 for both). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that NT-proBNP plasma levels are significantly elevated in AIS and might be of clinical importance as a supplementary tool for the assessment of cardiovascular function in patients with AIS.

Intracranial multiple tuberculomas: 2 unusual cases.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major public health problem that continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality at worldwide level. Only 1% of patients with TB develop an intracranial tuberculoma (Tbm), usually as part of miliary TB. The radiological findings are often nonspecific, and they are difficult to diagnose without an increased index of suspicion. CASES DESCRIPTIONS: In this report, we presented 2 unusual patients with intracranial multiple Tbms, one of whom is a 32-year-old woman who did not have pulmonary TB or other primary origin of TB. Her diagnosis was established histopathologically, and she was treated with antituberculous chemotherapy. The other patient is a 12-year-old girl who has pulmonary TB with portal hypertension together with liver cirrhosis. Her diagnosis was established with clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings, and she was treated with antituberculous chemotherapy for 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial Tbms have become rare in developed countries, but TB is still a very common infectious disease at worldwide level. Therefore, diagnosis should be kept in mind when confronted with brain space-occupying lesions, especially in the immunocompromised or malnutritional hosts such as liver cirrhosis. When no other active extracranial tuberculous process is found, the diagnosis should be confirmed by a biopsy before beginning antituberculous treatment, which is rapidly effective. We have not encountered in the literature such a case of multiple intracranial Tbms associated with liver cirrhosis in an adult patient.

The efficacy of flumazenil in subclinical to mild hepatic encephalopathic ambulatory patients. A prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with fulminant hepatic failure and chronic liver disease. Its pathogenesis is unclear. One of the factors implicated is enhanced GABA-ergic tone, which is probably related to increased concentrations of cerebral benzodiazepine (BNZ). In the present study, we tested flumazenil, a cerebral BNZ antagonist, in cirrhosis patients with hepatic encephalopathy. METHODS: Out of 47 patients, 7 were excluded prior to randomization for various reasons. Twenty patients were included in the flumazenil group and 20 in the placebo group in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients were given flumazenil (1 mg/h, continuous IV infusion) or an equal volume of saline solution for 5 hours. Before and after treatment, portosystemic encephalopathy (PSE) stage and number connection test (NCT) scores were checked every half hour for 5 hours. EEG was recorded 15 minutes before and 1 hour after treatment. RESULTS: While significant improvements were determined in PSE stage and NCT score in the flumazenil group, there were no such improvements in the placebo group. There was no statistically significant difference between pre- and post-treatment EEGs in either group. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that continuous IV infusion of flumazenil had beneficial and safe effects in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy patients.