One-year prognosis of non-traumatic cortical subarachnoid haemorrhage: A prospective series of 34 patients. / Pronóstico al año de la hemorragia subaracnoidea cortical no traumática: Serie prospectiva de 34 pacientes.

INTRODUCTION: Cortical subarachnoid haemorrhage (cSAH) has multiple aetiologies. No prospective study has reported the long-term progression of the condition. The objective of this study is to describe the clinical and aetiological characteristics of patients with cSAH and to gain insight into prognosis. METHODS: We performed a prospective, observational, multi-centre study. Data on clinical and radiological variables were collected; during a one-year follow-up period, we recorded data on mortality, dependence, rebleeding, and the appearance of dementia. RESULTS: The study included 34 patients (mean age, 68.3 years; range, 27-89). The most frequent symptoms were headache and focal neurological deficits, which were frequently transient and recurrent. CT scans returned pathological findings in 28 patients (85%). Brain MRI scans were performed in 30 patients (88%), revealing acute ischaemia in 10 (29%), old haemorrhage in 7 (21%), and superficial siderosis in 2 (6%). Aetiology was identified in 26 patients (76.5%): causes were cerebral amyloid angiopathy in 8, ischaemic stroke in 5, vasculitis in 4, reversible posterior encephalopathy in 2, venous thrombosis in 2, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome in 2, carotid occlusion in 1, Marfan syndrome in 1, and meningeal carcinomatosis in 1. Three patients died during follow-up (2 due to causes related to the cause of cSAH). Three patients developed dementia, 3 had lobar haemorrhages, and one had a second cSAH. CONCLUSIONS: The most frequent causes of cSAH in our series were cerebral amyloid angiopathy, ischaemic stroke, and vasculitis. This type of haemorrhage has a worse prognosis than other non-aneurysmal cSAH. There are numerous possible causes, and prognosis depends on the aetiology. In elderly patients, intracranial haemorrhage is frequently associated with cognitive impairment.

[Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with acute ischemic stroke: influence of onset time of stroke]. / Prevalencia de trastornos respiratorios durante el sueño en paciente con ictus isquémico agudo. Influencia del momento de aparición del ictus.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with acute ischemic stroke and the influence of the characteristics of the stroke and time of onset. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Polysomnography was performed with an Autoset Portable Plus II in 139 patients within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms. Standard polysomnographic data, signs and symptoms related with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) prior to ischemic stroke, vascular risk factors, and characteristics and onset time (day/night) of ischemic stroke were recorded. The polysomnographic data were compared with results published for subjects of a similar age in the general population. RESULTS: The mean age was 73.6 (SD 11.1) years (59% of the patients were men). Prior to the stroke, 64.7% of the patients snored, 21.6% presented repetitive sleep apneas, and 35.6% had daytime sleepiness. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 29.1 (17.9) episodes/hour, the obstructive component of which was 20.1 (15.7) episodes/hour. Five patients presented Cheyne-Stokes breathing. The AHI (for all cut-points from 5 to 50), chronic snoring, and daytime sleepiness were significantly greater than those published for the general population. The stroke characteristics showed no significant differences between daytime and nighttime onset. Nighttime stroke (60.4%) was associated with a significantly higher AHI (33.3 compared to 24.7 episodes/ hour) mainly because of obstructive apneas. Nighttime stroke was also associated with a greater nighttime desaturation and a greater probability of SAHS symptoms prior to stroke (odds ratio, 2.62). In contrast, there were no differences in vascular risk factors between daytime and nighttime stroke onset. CONCLUSION: The prevalences of sleep-disordered breath- ing with clinical signs and symptoms of SAHS were high in this population of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Patients with nighttime stroke had more obstructive sleep-disordered breathing and a higher clinical probability of obstructive SAHS before stroke. These findings support the hypothesis that obstructive SAHS is a risk factor for ischemic stroke, particularly for strokes presenting at night.

[Palatal myoclonus associated with myotonic dystrophy type 1]. / Mioclonia palatina asociada a distrofia miotonica de tipo 1.

TITLE: Mioclonia palatina asociada a distrofia miotonica de tipo 1.