Assessment of Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage or Hemorrhagic Transformation in the VENOST Study.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST) may lead to cerebral edema and increased intracranial pressure; besides, ischemic or hemorrhagic lesions may develop. Intracerebral hemorrhages occur in approximately one-third of CVST patients. We assessed and compared the findings of the cerebral hemorrhage (CH) group and the CVST group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the VENOST study, medical records of 1,193 patients with CVST, aged over 18 years, were obtained from 35 national stroke centers. Demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, signs at the admission, radiological findings, etiologic factors, acute and maintenance treatment, and outcome results were reported. The number of involved sinuses or veins, localizations of thrombus, and lesions on CT and MRI scans were recorded. RESULTS: CH was detected in the brain imaging of 241 (21.1%) patients, as hemorrhagic infarction in 198 patients and intracerebral hemorrhage in 43 patients. Gynecologic causes comprised the largest percentage (41.7%) of etiology and risk factors in the CVST group. In the CH group, headache associated with other neurological symptoms was more frequent. These neurological symptoms were epileptic seizures (46.9%), nausea and/or vomiting (36.5%), altered consciousness (36.5%), and focal neurological deficits (33.6%). mRS was ≥3 in 23.1% of the patients in the CH group. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: CVST, an important cause of stroke in the young, should be monitored closely if the patients have additional symptoms of headache, multiple sinus involvement, and CH. Older age and parenchymal lesion, either hemorrhagic infarction or intracerebral hemorrhage, imply poor outcome.

Behçet's disease as a causative factor of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: subgroup analysis of data from the VENOST study.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to determine the rate of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) among cases of Behçet's disease (BD) included in a multicentre study of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (VENOST). METHODS: VENOST was a retrospective and prospective national multicentre observational study that included 1144 patients with CVST. The patients were classified according to aetiologic factors, time of CVST symptom onset, sinus involvement, treatment approach and prognosis. RESULTS: BD was shown to be a causative factor of CVST in 108 (9.4%) of 1144 patients. The mean age of patients in the BD group was 35.27 years and 68.5% were men, whereas in the non-BD CVST group, the mean age was 40.57 years and 28.3% were men (P < 0.001). Among the aetiologic factors for patients aged 18-36 years, BD was predominant for men, and puerperium was predominant for women. The onset of symptoms in the BD group was consistent with the subacute form. The transverse sinuses were the most common sites of thrombosis, followed by the superior sagittal sinuses. The most common symptom was headache (96.2%), followed by visual field defects (38%). CONCLUSIONS: BD was found in 9.4% of patients in our VENOST series. Patients with BD were younger and showed a male predominance. The functional outcome of CVST in patients with BD was good; only 12% of patients presenting with cranial nerve involvement and altered consciousness at the beginning had a poor outcome (modified Rankin Score ⩾2).

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.

Persistent anterograde amnesia due to the artery of Percheron occlusion: a case report.

Bilateral thalamic infarction involving the artery of Percheron (AOP) can cause diagnostic difficulties due to the varying clinical presentations. AOP infarcts presented with isolated memory impairment are not common and the factors affecting the persistence of memory disorders are still unknown. A 41-year-old male patient was hospitalized with acute unconsciousness. MRI disclosed bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction The patient had isolated memory deficit and his anterograde amnesia continued without any change in the past decade. More cases might answer the questions concerning the intra- and extra-thalamic structures responsible for the amnesic syndrome and the factors affecting the persistence of the symptoms.

Migraine as a risk factor for young patients with ischemic stroke: a case-control study.

Studies have suggested a possible association of migraine and increased risk of ischemic stroke in young adults, particularly in smokers and in women who use oral contraceptive drugs. We aimed to analyze the association between migraine and ischemic stroke in young population in a hospital-based cohort. We included 202 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of ischemic stroke who were between 15 and 50 years and age- and gender-matched 250 volunteers with no history of stroke. All participants were interviewed using a questionnaire for migraine. Localization of ischemic lesion was classified as anterior and posterior circulation according to neuroimaging findings. The cause of ischemic lesion and all risk factors were recorded. Undetermined etiology was the most frequent (43.1%) and the most common determined cause was cardioembolism (22.3%) in young stroke patients. Frequency of migraine was 30.2% among patients with stroke whereas 16.8% of healthy subjects had migraine (p = 0.001). Migraine with aura was significantly more common among patients with stroke compared to healthy subjects (18.3 vs 4.4%; p = 0.000) whereas the frequency of migraine without aura was similar in both groups (11.9 vs 12.4%). Using logistic regression, migraine with aura was shown to be an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke in young population (p = 0.000) and separate analysis for gender demonstrated that it was only a risk factor for women (p = 0.009) but not for men (p = 0.107). Migraine with aura was found to be more common in ischemic stroke in young patients. It was an independent risk factor in women.

Huge Free-Floating Thrombus in the Internal Carotid Artery.

Free-floating thrombus in the carotid artery is extremely rare. A 70-year-old male patient with pre-existing Crohn's disease admitted to our clinic with recurrent transient ischemic attacks. Angiography showed a huge thrombus in internal carotid artery. He responded to anticoagulation treatment and delayed endovascular intervention.

Arterial and venous thrombosis of the cerebral vasculature in GAPO syndrome.

A 37-year-old male, previously diagnosed with GAPO syndrome, was admitted to our hospital complaining of recurrent episodes of transient weakness and numbness in his left arm for 3 months, and severe headache with progressive dysphagia for 15 days. His cranial magnetic resonance (MR) images showed multiple ischemic foci in the bilateral periventricular and supraventricular white matter. Cerebral MR-angiography showed total occlusion of the right internal carotid artery and moderate stenosis in the left internal carotid. We also detected chronic thrombotic changes in the distal left sigmoid sinus, proximal right sigmoid sinus, and bilateral jugular veins on cerebral MR-venography. He was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at age 31 years, which was reported as a novel association; and later he had a myocardial infarction at age 34 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first patient with GAPO syndrome and arterial atherosclerosis in cerebral-as well as coronary-arteries and intracranial venous thrombosis. We report the evolution of the disease in this patient, who died at age 38 years due to respiratory failure secondary to lower respiratory tract infection.

Clinical and radiological features in CADASIL and NOTCH3-negative patients: a multicenter study from Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The diversity of clinical presentation and neuroimaging findings of CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy) from different regions of the world has not yet been studied in depth. Here we investigated the variability of clinical, radiological and genetic data of 48 patients analyzed for NOTCH3 mutation in Turkey. METHODS: Clinical evaluation was made according to a preformed questionnaire. Cranial neuroimaging findings were determined on the basis of T1, T2, FLAIR and proton-density magnetic resonance scans. For genetic analysis, polymerase chain reaction was performed with primers flanking exons 2-6 and 11 of NOTCH3 gene. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients (52.1%) were diagnosed as CADASIL with NOTCH3 mutation, while 23 patients (47.9%) had no mutation (NOTCH3-negative patients). The mean age and age at stroke onset were lower in male CADASIL patients (p < 0.03). A family history of migraine (p = 0.012), stroke (p < 0.001), recurrent strokes (p = 0.020) and dementia (p = 0.012) was more common in CADASIL patients. Temporal pole involvement was more common in CADASIL patients (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: It is of clinical importance to identify the heterogeneity of CADASIL from different countries due to a low correlation of clinical and radiological data with respect to NOTCH3 mutation.

Prevalence of clinical manifestations and neuroimaging features in cerebral small vessel disease.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) may present with gradual onset, chronic parkinsonism and/or dementia. In this study, we aimed to identify the prevalence and clinical characteristics of apathy, dementia and parkinsonism in a cohort of patients with CSVD and to determine the neuroimaging features in these patients. METHODS: We included all patients with CSVD, who were admitted to the stroke outpatient clinic between February 2018 and February 2019. All patients were over 18 years of age. Demographic, clinical and neuoimaging findings were noted. Detailed neurological examination and neuropsychiatric assessments were done in each patient. The types and anatomical sites of lesions in neuroimaging were also determined. RESULTS: Among all stroke patients in the study period, CSVD constituted 23.3%. The etiologies were possible arteriosclerotic, amyloid angiopathy and CADASIL in 85.0%, 3.3% and 11.7% of these patients, respectively. The most common clinical feature was apathy followed by dementia, parkinsonism, and parkinsonism plus dementia. In regression analysis, apathy and parkinsonism was associated with lesions in caudate or in other basal ganglia structures whereas lesions of corpus callosum increased the risk of dementia. Hypertension was also associated with the presence of dementia. There was no specific association between the type of lesion in neuroimaging and clinical findings. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of clinical manifestations such as apathy, dementia and parkinsonism is high in CSVD. Involvement of basal ganglia increased the risk of parkinsonism and apathy whereas involvement of corpus callosum increased the risk of dementia. A detailed assessment for apathy is necessary along with parkinsonism and cognitive findings since apathy is the most common finding in CSVD.

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.

Benefits and Risks of Clopidogrel vs. Aspirin Monotherapy after Recent Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

AIM: Though combination of clopidogrel added to aspirin has been compared to aspirin alone in patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack, limited data exists on the relative efficacy and safety between clopidogrel and aspirin monotherapy in patients with a recent ischemic stroke. We aimed to compare clopidogrel versus aspirin monotherapy in this population. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception to May 2018 to identify clinical trials and observational studies comparing clopidogrel versus aspirin for secondary prevention in patients with recent ischemic stroke within 12 months. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using a random effects model and were reported as risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Five studies meeting eligibility criteria were included in the analysis. A total of 29,357 adult patients who had recent ischemic stroke received either clopidogrel (n = 14, 293) or aspirin (n = 15, 064) for secondary prevention. Pairwise meta-analysis showed a statistically significant risk reduction in the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (risk ratio 0.72 [95% CI, 0.53-0.97]), any ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (0.76 [0.58, 0.99), and recurrent ischemic stroke (0.72 [0.55, 0.94]) in patients who received clopidogrel versus aspirin. The risk of bleeding was also lower for clopidogrel versus aspirin (0.57 [0.45, 0.74]). There was no difference in the rate of all-cause mortality between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis showed lower risks of major adverse cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events, recurrent stroke, and bleeding events for clopidogrel monotherapy compared to aspirin. These findings support clinical benefit for single antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel over aspirin for secondary prevention in patients with recent ischemic stroke.

Hypertrophy of intima media of the carotid artery due to L-dopa therapy in Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have shown that L-dopa therapy used in patients with Parkinson's disease might cause thickening of the carotid artery intima media. It is known that intima-media thickening is a sign of systemic atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the correlation between L-dopa medication and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with Parkinson's disease who used L-dopa (LD+) and 17 patients who did not use L-dopa (LD-) treatment were included in this study. Colour Doppler with B-mode carotid ultrasonography was performed. The Hoehn-Yahr scale was used for staging of Parkinson's disease in an 'on' state. The Student t test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The IMT of the left internal carotid and external carotid arteries were found to be thicker in patients treated with L-dopa. The mean IMT of the left internal carotid artery was 0.937+/-0.391 mm in the LD+ group and 0.677+/-0.138 mm in the LD-group (P=0.013). The mean IMT of the left external carotid artery was 0.956+/-0.531 mm in the LD+ group and 0.646+/-0.18 mm in the LD-group (P=0.037). CONCLUSION: The IMT of the carotid artery was found to be thicker in patients who were treated with L-dopa. In conclusion, patients treated with L-dopa appear to be at a higher risk of thickening of the intima media of the carotid artery.

Atherothrombotic ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVES: About one in five patients with atrial fibrillation have significant carotid artery disease, but not all strokes are cardioembolic in origin in these patients. PURPOSE: We investigated stroke sub-types based mainly on clinical, carotid ultrasonographic, and neuroimaging findings in ischemic stroke patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The etiology of stroke was classified as definite or probable cardioembolic, possible lacunar, or possible atherothrombotic, as proposed by Hart et al. and the TOAST criteria. Clinical features and risk factors (gender, age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption) were designated as clinical variables. RESULTS: One hundred and six of 1938 patients (5.5%) had NVAF. In patients with and without NVAF, hyperlipidemia was more common in patients without NVAF (p<0.001), while the prevalence of other risk factors was not statistically different. On the basis of the TOAST criteria, none of the patients with NVAF could be classified as having had an atherothrombotic stroke. According to the classification by Hart et al., of the patients with NVAF, 49 patients (46.3%) had a definite embolic stroke, 17 (16.0%) had a probable embolic stroke, 12 (11.3%) had a possible atherothrombotic stroke, 17 (16.0%) had a possible lacunar infarction, and 11 (10.4%) had a stroke of undetermined etiology. Besides the presence of significant carotid stenosis (p<0.001), none of the variables related to stroke were different among the sub-groups. CONCLUSION: Patients with significant carotid stenosis were more likely to develop atherothrombotic stroke, while other risk factors associated with stroke failed to point to an etiologic cause. It should also be emphasized that the conventional classification system failed to aid in the correct diagnosis and risk stratification in patients with multiple confounding risk factors.

[Ischemic stoke in the elderly]. / Yaslilarda iskemik inme.

Stroke can affect individuals of any age but mostly occurs in elderly people. For each decade after the age of 55 years, the stroke rates doubles in both men and women. Worldwide, the aging of the population increases the importance of primary and secondary prevention interventions for stroke among the elderly group.

Organization of stroke care in Turkey.

Stroke is one of the major health problems in Turkey. Since cerebrovascular disease is the second leading cause of death, institutional organizations are important to decrease the burden of stroke in our country. Although the number of comprehensive stroke centers has been increasing constantly and many significant improvements have been realized in last years, there are still some regions without a comprehensive stroke center in Turkey.

Simultaneous multiple cranial nerve neuropathies and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in diabetes mellitus.

Asymmetrical, simultaneous multiple cranial nerve palsies and mild signs of peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients may cause difficulties in diagnosis as they are relatively rare. A case of a 55-year-old diabetic woman who developed simultaneous right VII and left III, IV, VI cranial nerve palsies with spared pupils is presented here. We also discuss the role of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the management of this condition and suggest that simultaneous multiple cranial palsies may have a good response to IVIG treatment.

Is the level of C-reactive protein correlated with the extent of carotid atherosclerosis?

BACKGROUND: Increased intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid arteries (CCA) and elevated levels of highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) are both shown to be associated with the occurrence of stroke. We investigated whether elevated hsCRP level is a risk factor for the increased IMT of the CCA independent of other proven risk factors for the ischemic stroke and studied the interaction between hsCRP level and the extent of carotid atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 104 patients aged between 30 to 92 years who were admitted to our neurology department with acute ischemic stroke. All patients underwent a clinical evaluation, laboratory investigations, and neuroultrasonographic examination. In 24 patients with normal ultrasonographic examination, mean hsCRP levels was 8.6 + 6.7 mg/L. Mean hsCRP level was 18.0 + 25.6 mg/L in patients having increased intima to media thickness (> 1.2 mm); 32.7 + 49.1 mg/L in patients who had atheromatous plaques without significant narrowing; and 23.9 + 27.3 mg/L in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis more than 50%. hsCRP levels and the extent of the atherosclerosis showed a significant relationship (p = 0.040). In multiple regression analyses, this relationship was found to be independent of other proven risk factors. The only variable that showed a significant relation with the level of hsCRP was the HDL level. A negative correlation was found between hsCRP and HDL levels. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that elevated hsCRP level is an indirect risk factor for the ischemic stroke through its relation with the extent of the carotid atherosclerosis, and this relation is independent of other known risk factors.