Methylprednisolone as Adjunct to Endovascular Thrombectomy for Large-Vessel Occlusion Stroke: The MARVEL Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: It is uncertain whether intravenous methylprednisolone improves outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke due to large-vessel occlusion (LVO) undergoing endovascular thrombectomy. Objective: To assess the efficacy and adverse events of adjunctive intravenous low-dose methylprednisolone to endovascular thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke secondary to LVO. Design, Setting, and Participants: This investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was implemented at 82 hospitals in China, enrolling 1680 patients with stroke and proximal intracranial LVO presenting within 24 hours of time last known to be well. Recruitment took place between February 9, 2022, and June 30, 2023, with a final follow-up on September 30, 2023. Interventions: Eligible patients were randomly assigned to intravenous methylprednisolone (n = 839) at 2 mg/kg/d or placebo (n = 841) for 3 days adjunctive to endovascular thrombectomy. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary efficacy outcome was disability level at 90 days as measured by the overall distribution of the modified Rankin Scale scores (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]). The primary safety outcomes included mortality at 90 days and the incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 48 hours. Results: Among 1680 patients randomized (median age, 69 years; 727 female [43.3%]), 1673 (99.6%) completed the trial. The median 90-day modified Rankin Scale score was 3 (IQR, 1-5) in the methylprednisolone group vs 3 (IQR, 1-6) in the placebo group (adjusted generalized odds ratio for a lower level of disability, 1.10 [95% CI, 0.96-1.25]; P = .17). In the methylprednisolone group, there was a lower mortality rate (23.2% vs 28.5%; adjusted risk ratio, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.71-0.98]; P = .03) and a lower rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (8.6% vs 11.7%; adjusted risk ratio, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.55-0.99]; P = .04) compared with placebo. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with acute ischemic stroke due to LVO undergoing endovascular thrombectomy, adjunctive methylprednisolone added to endovascular thrombectomy did not significantly improve the degree of overall disability. Trial Registration: ChiCTR.org.cn Identifier: ChiCTR2100051729.

Hemiplegia due to hypoglycaemia followed by haemicorea after correction of glycaemic values.

A 69-year-old man suffered from hemiplegia of the left limb due to hypoglycaemia. After 3 h of oral supplementation with sugar water, the patient recovered from hemiplegia but then presented symptoms of haemichorea. To our knowledge, a case of abnormal glucose metabolism complicated with two types of motor disturbance has not been reported previously.

Impact of Body Temperature in Patients With Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion: Analysis of the BASILAR Database.

Background: A link between body temperature and stroke outcomes has been established but not for acute basilar artery occlusion. We aimed to determine the association between body temperature and clinical outcomes in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion and temperature management range. Methods: We included patients from the Endovascular Treatment for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Study (BASILAR) database with records of both admission body temperature (ABT) and peak body temperature (PBT). ABT was defined as the body temperature first measured at the hospital visit, PBT was defined as the highest temperature within 24 h of treatment, and minus body temperature (MBT) was defined as PBT-ABT. The primary clinical outcome was favorable functional outcome, defined as the proportion of patients with a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-3 at 3 months. Secondary outcomes included 3-month mortality, in-hospital mortality, and symptomatic cerebral hemorrhage. Results: A total of 664 patients were enrolled in the study; 74.7% were men, with a median age of 65 (interquartile range, 57.25-74) years. In all patients, multivariate analysis indicated that PBT and MBT were independent predictors of favorable functional outcome [odds ratio (OR), 0.57 (95% CI, 0.43-0.77); OR, 0.68 (95% CI, 0.52-0.88), respectively], and higher ABT, PBT, and MBT were associated with an increased 3-month mortality [OR, 1.47 (95% CI, 1.03-2.10), OR, 1.58 (95% CI, 1.28-1.96), OR, 1.35 (95% CI, 1.11-1.65), respectively]. Proportional odds models demonstrated that when ABT, PBT, MBT were in the range of <37.5, <38.9, and -0.6-2.7°C, respectively, the benefit of the endovascular treatment is clearly greater than that of standard medical treatment in terms of favorable functional outcome. Conclusions: Body temperature is an independent predictor of clinical outcome in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion. It is necessary to control the patient body temperature within the appropriate range in clinical settings. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800014759. Registered 03 February 2018. Retrospectively registered.

COMT Val158Met polymorphism and Parkinson's disease risk: a pooled analysis in different populations.

OBJECTIVE: Many studies have analyzed the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and Parkinson's disease (PD), which yield inconsistent results. This meta-analysis was designed to determine the possible association between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and the risk of PD in different populations. METHODS: The PubMed, Springer Link, Ovid, Chinese Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Biology Medicine databases were used for literature searching up to May 2018. The association between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and the risk of PD was evaluated by calculating the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A total of 27 studies including 10,239 PD patients and 15,538 controls were screened out. In the overall population, COMT Val158Met polymorphism was not significantly associated with the risk of PD. In the subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity, a significant association between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and PD risk was detected in Japan (LL vs. HH: OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.04-2.11; LL vs. HH+HL: OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.10-2.15) and India (LL+HL vs. HH: OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.14-1.91). CONCLUSION: This study indicated a significantly closer association between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and PD in the Japanese and Indian populations compared with other ethnicities. Ethnicity seems to play an important role in the genetic association of PD.