Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Time Delay and Functional Outcome of Mechanical Thrombectomy in Tokyo, Japan.

OBJECTIVES: An association has been reported between delays in the onset-to-door (O2D) time for mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the association between other MT time courses or functional outcomes and COVID-19 outbreaks remains unclear. We compared the time courses of stroke pathways or functional outcomes in 2020 (the COVID-19 era) with those in 2019 (the pre-COVID-19 era) in Tokyo, Japan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective observational study used data from the Tokyo-tama-REgistry of Acute endovascular Thrombectomy (TREAT), a multicenter registry of MT for acute large vessel occlusion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Patients who had undergone acute MT from January 2019 to December 2020 were included. Patients were classified by the year they had undergone MT (2019 or 2020). RESULTS: In total, 477 patients were analyzed. O2D time was significantly longer in 2020 (146.0 min) than in 2019 (105.0 min; p = 0.034). No significant difference in door-to-puncture time (D2P) time or modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 0-2 at 90 days was seen between 2019 and 2020. In the subgroup analysis, O2D time was significantly longer in the first half of 2020 compared with 2019. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the year 2020 was a independent predictor of longer O2D time, but not for mRS score 0-2 at 90 days. CONCLUSIONS: Although O2D time was significantly longer in the COVID-19 compared with the pre-COVID-19 era, D2P may not be significantly delayed and functional outcomes may not be different, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

A case of meningitis due to Neisseria subflava after ventriculostomy.

Surgical site infection (SSI) is an emerging problem in all fields of surgery, as well as in neurosurgery, with numerous strategies against SSI initiated in many countries. In this report, we describe a case of SSI caused by Neisseria subflava a month after ventriculostomy placement for acute hydrocephalus. A 53-year old man was referred to our hospital, and was diagnosed with a thalamic hemorrhage with ventricular rupture. Bilateral ventriculostomies were performed on the day of presentation. After intensive care for the acute stage, an SSI at the left ventriculostomy site was recognized on the 39th hospital day. The installed reservoir and ventricular tube was removed on the 40th hospital day. The CSF cell count was 2064/3, and N. subflava was recovered from the CSF culture. N. subflava is a common inhabitant found in the human upper respiratory tract, and is reported to be a rare cause of meningitis. There is one case report of meningitis caused by N. subflava transmitted during myelography from medical staff who did not wear facemasks during the procedure. Meningitis caused by N. subflava is rare, and transmission via a medical procedure is extremely rare. Although reported to be only rarely pathogenic, we must recognize that N. subflava can indeed be pathogenic, and can in rare cases be the cause of postoperative meningitis.

A case of autoimmune encephalitis with involuntary movements as the first symptom and suspected association with mumps virus infection.

This case involved a 72-year-old woman. From the day after mitral annuloplasty, a fever over 37°C and ballismus-like involuntary movements of the right upper and lower limbs appeared. A few month later, involuntary movements spread throughout the body, and she developed impairment of consciousness and difficulty speaking and eating. Levels of protein in cerebrospinal fluid were high. Positive results were seen for serum mumps immunoglobulin G and M antibody. Because steroid pulse therapy proved effective, we suspected autoimmune encephalitis associated with mumps virus infection.

[A case with temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hypocalcemia due to primary hypoparathyroidism].

We report a 30-year-old man with temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hypocalcemia due to primary hypoparathyroidism. He had frequent jamais vu since age 14 years, and later developed generalized convulsive seizures. It was initially controlled by phenytoin. The patient also had hypocalcemia due to primary hypoparathyroidism. The presence of jamais vu suggested the seizure focus in the mesial temporal area, being consistent with EEG finding, and it was most likely activated by the associated hypocalcemia. Control of hypoparathyroidism, and furthermore, selection of valproic acid as an antiepileptic drug which did not interfere with calcium metabolism were essential for this particular patient.

Freezing of gait and white matter changes: a tract-based spatial statistics study.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that the integrity of white matter might be related to the severity of freezing of gait in age-related white matter changes. METHODS: Twenty subjects exhibiting excessive hyperintensities in the periventricular and deep white matter were recruited. The subjects underwent the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, computerized gait analyses, and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. Images of axial, radial and mean diffusivity, and fractional anisotropy were calculated as indices of white matter integrity and analyzed with tract-based spatial statistics. RESULTS: The fractional anisotropy, mean, axial and radial diffusivity averaged across the whole white matter structure were all significantly correlated with Freezing of Gait Questionnaire scores. Regionally, a negative correlation between Freezing of Gait Questionnaire scores and fractional anisotropy was found in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus beneath the left premotor cortex, right corpus callosum, and left cerebral peduncle. The scores of the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire were positively correlated with mean diffusivity in the left corona radiata and right corpus callosum, and with both axial and radial diffusivity in the left corona radiata. The white matter integrity in these tracts (except the corpus callosum) showed no correlation with cognitive or other gait measures, supporting the specificity of those abnormalities to freezing of gait. CONCLUSION: Divergent pathological lesions involved neural circuits composed of the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and brainstem, suggesting that freezing of gait has a multifactorial nature.

Eye movements in REM sleep could be controlled by the same conjugate system while awake.

We describe the impairment of eye movements during REM sleep in a patient with internuclear ophthalmoplegia. A 75-year-old woman, complaining of acute unsteady gait and diplopia, was diagnosed to have right medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) syndrome with limited adduction of the right eye. Overnight polysomnography revealed the same impairment of right adductive ocular movement during REM sleep. Our findings suggest that the MLF mediates lateral conjugation of eye movements during REM sleep as well as voluntary lateral conjugate eye movements during wakefulness.

Angiographic demarcation of an occlusive lesion may predict recanalization after intra-arterial thrombolysis in patients with acute middle cerebral artery occlusion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate whether angiographic demarcation of an occlusive lesion may predict successful or failed result of intra-arterial thrombolysis in acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the angiography and clinical data of acute MCA occlusion patients who underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis from 1994 to 2004. Pretreatment angiographic findings at the occlusive lesions were classified as either blurred or sharp, depending on whether the proximal portion of the occlusive lesions had poorly or well demarcated margins. Using uni- or multivariate analysis, recanalization was correlated with our angiographic classification or other clinical variables. RESULTS: Forty-six patients with MCA occlusions underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis during the 10-year period. Forty-four of the angiograms could be classified into one of the two categories: Blurred-type in 20 patients and Sharp-type in 24 patients. Univariate analysis showed a significant association of the classification with recanalization. (Recanalization rate: 95% in Blurred-type and 38% in Sharp-type, P < .0001) Logistic regression analysis showed that the association was independent from other factors (P= .004). CONCLUSION: In acute MCA occlusion, our classification may indicate the difficulty of the recanalization procedure, and may assist in patient triage for different intra-arterial treatment strategies.