Initiation of mechanical thrombectomy in an insular setting with helicopter transfer: a 2-year experience from the first, complete, tertiary stroke center in the Caribbean.

BACKGROUND: This is the first cohort study of patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for acute ischemic stroke in the French West Indies, with a mothership center and helicopter transfer. OBJECTIVE: To describe the population and to evaluate imaging, clinical, and time metric outcomes, in order to assess the feasibility and adjust the territorial organization. METHODS: In this observational study, we retrospectively analyzed our prospectively collected data of a population of consecutive patients treated with MT for anterior and posterior circulation large vessel occlusions. Primary outcome was 3-month functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score ≤2). Secondary outcomes included aerial and terrestrial times of arrival, in-hospital delays, demographics, imaging and clinical data at onset, discharge, and at 3 months. We compared the results of the mothership and drip-and-ship paradigms. RESULTS: Between January 2020 and December 2021, 223 patients were included (74% mothership, 26% drip-and-ship). Mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of the population was 16 before MT, with significant reduction (NIHSS score 6) at discharge (9 mothership, 12 drip-and-ship, P=0.025). There was significant difference in onset-to-operation room times among the two centers (335 min mothership, 500 min drip-and-ship, P=0.004). Successful recanalization (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score 2b-3) was 80.3%. Functional independence at 3 months was 35%, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 11%, and the complication rate was 9.4%, all without statistically significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The population has distinct risk factors. MT with helicopter transfer is feasible in the French West Indies. Reduction of prehospital and in-hospital times is mandatory; evaluation of the territorial strategy is underway, to avoid over-selection of transferred patients.

Clinical, imaging, and management features of symptomatic carotid web: Insight from CAROWEB registry.

BACKGROUND: Although carotid web (CaW) is increasingly diagnosed as a cause of cryptogenic stroke, data are still limited to monocentric small sample cohort. To broaden knowledge on symptomatic CaW, CAROWEB registry has been recently implemented. AIMS: In a large cohort of symptomatic CaW patients, we described epidemiologic characteristics, admission clinical and imaging features, and the current management including the secondary preventive strategy choice made in comprehensive French Stroke Units. METHODS: CAROWEB is an ongoing French observational multicenter registry enrolling consecutive CaW patients diagnosed after an ipsilateral ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Submitted cases were validated by two experienced neurologist and neuroradiologist. Clinical, imaging, and management features were collected for this study. RESULTS: Between June 2019 and December 2021, 244 cases were submitted by 14 centers, 42 rejected, and 202 included (IS, 91.6%; TIA, 7.9%; retinal infarction, 0.5%; mean age, 50.8 ± 12.2 years; female, 62.9%; Caucasian, 47.5%; Afro-Caribbean, 20.3%). IS patients showed median (interquartile range (IQR)) admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, 8 (2-15); intracranial artery occlusion, 71.8%; ipsilateral chronic cerebral infarction (CCI), 16.3%; and reperfusion treatment, 57.3%. CaW was not identified during the mechanical thrombectomy procedure in 30 of 85 (35.3%) patients. Secondary prevention was invasive in 55.6% (stenting, n = 80; surgery, n = 30). In multivariable analysis, the invasive therapeutic option was associated with ipsilateral CCI (odds ratio (OR): 4.24 (1.27-14.2), p = 0.019) and inversely associated with risk factors (OR: 0.47 (0.24-0.91), p = 0.025) and admission NIHSS score (OR: 0.93 (0.89-0.97), p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: CaW must be considered in all ethnic groups including Caucasians. Secondary prevention is heterogeneous in large French Stroke Centers. The absence of risk factors, milder severity strokes, and ipsilateral CCI were predictive variables of secondary invasive treatment. The high rate of invasive treatment suggests that medical treatment alone is deemed ineffective to avoid recurrence and emphasize the need of randomized trials.

Dual-layer carotid stenting for symptomatic carotid web: Results from the Caroweb study.

BACKGROUND & PURPOSE: Carotid Web (CaW) is a growingly recognized cause of ischemic stroke, associated with a high recurrence risk. Several therapeutic strategies have been proposed as a tertiary prevention including carotid stenting, endarterectomy and antithrombotic medications. Among these, carotid stenting with dual-layer stent may be promising to adequately cover the focal arterial dysplasia. Our aim was to investigate the safety and efficacy of the Casper stent in the treatment of symptomatic CaW. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients presenting with a symptomatic CaW and included in the ongoing prospective observational multicenter CAROWEB registry. The study period was January 2015 to December 2021. Inclusion criteria were CaW treated with dual-layer Casper stent. Patients treated with other types of carotid stent, endarterectomy or antithrombotic medication were excluded. Clinical and radiological initial data and outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: twenty-seven patients (with 28 caw) were included. median age was 52 (iqr: 46-68). median delay between index cerebrovascular event and cervical stenting was 9 days (IQR: 6-101). In all cases, the cervical carotid stenting was successfully performed. No major perioperative complication was recorded. No recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack was observed during a median follow-up time of 272 days (IQR: 114-635). Long-term imaging follow-up was available in 25/28 (89.3%) stented CaW with a median imaging follow-up of 183 days (IQR: 107-676; range: 90-1542). No in-stent occlusion or stenosis was detected. CONCLUSION: In this study, carotid stenting with dual-layer Casper stent in the treatment of symptomatic CaW was effective regarding stroke recurrence prevention and safe, without procedural nor delayed detected adverse event. However, the optimal therapeutic approach of symptomatic CaW still needs to be explored through randomized trials.

Stroke Recurrence in First-Ever Symptomatic Carotid Web: A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Carotid web (CaW) is an intimal variant of fibromuscular dysplasia responsible for ipsilateral cerebral ischemic events (CIE). Symptomatic CaW likely has a high risk of recurrent CIE, but no salient prospective data are available. We aimed to assess recurrence rate and its predictors after a first-ever CIE. METHODS: Consecutive Afro-Caribbean patients who had cryptogenic first-ever CIEs (ischemic stroke [IS] or transient ischemic attack [TIA]) associated with ipsilateral CaW were included in this multicenter observational cohort study. The follow-up (January 2008 to March 2019) focused on CIE recurrences. Kaplan-Meier method assessed rates of recurrences and Cox proportional hazards regression analyzed risk factors. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients (79 first-ever ISs and 13 TIAs; mean age±standard deviation, 49.8±9.9 years; 52 [56.5%] women) were included. During a mean follow-up of 50.5±29.6 months, 19 (20.7%) patients experienced recurrent ipsilateral CIEs (16 ISs and three TIAs). Of 23 patients receiving surgery/stenting treatment, no recurrence occurred after the intervention (median follow-up, 39.8 months [interquartile range, 27.6 to 72.4]). Under medical treatment alone, the annual recurrent CIE rate was 6.9%, and the cumulative rate was 4.4% at 30-day, 10.8% at 1-year, 19.8% at 2-year, 23.2% at 3-year, and 27.3% at 5-year. Presence of silent cerebral infarctions was the only independent risk factor of CIE recurrences (hazard ratio, 6.99; 95% confidence interval, 2.4 to 20.4; P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Under medical treatment alone, symptomatic CaW was associated with a high rate of recurrence that reached 27.3% at 5-year. Surgery/stenting seems to be efficient, and randomized control trials are required to confirm the benefit of these interventions.

Fingolimod for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in French West Indies, a real-world study in patients from African ancestry.

Affecting 2.5 million people worldwide, multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the main causes of acquired disability among young adults. In French West Indies (FWI), where MS has arisen from the end of the 80's, a low therapeutic response to interferons beta1 (IFN beta1) in patients of African descent, restrains the therapeutic options. Fingolimod is a Sphingosine-1-Phosphate receptor modulator whose efficacy in the treatment of MS has recently been shown in three phase III studies. Nevertheless, data are currently lacking concerning the use of Fingolimod among populations of African descent, particularly in a real-world setting. Efficacy and safety information collected during the first two years of follow-up have been analysed retrospectively for all patients in whom Fingolimod treatment was introduced in FWI between its marketing date and December 2015. Fifty-two consecutive patients with a relapsing remitting MS started Fingolimod therapy in the FWI, according to the European guidelines. After 24 months, 40 patients were still receiving the treatment. The average Annualized Relapse Rate (ARR) dropped by 81%, and 72.5% of patients remained free from disability progression during the 24 months on Fingolimod. MS remained controlled (according NEDA 3 criteria) for 41% of patients who were still on therapy at 24 months. Nine participants presented with a moderate or major side effect. Unlike IFN beta1 therapy, Fingolimod appears to be effective in Afro-Caribbean patients in a real-world setting with a similar benefit to what has been observed in phase III studies in more selected populations.

A unicorn in Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

We report the case of a 56-year-old man presenting several episodes of body image distortions with a sensation of having a horn growing on his forehead, as a unicorn, corresponding to the Alice in Wonderland syndrome. Brain single-photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime showed hypoperfusion of the visual primary cortex, expanding to the temporo-occipital junction bilaterally but predominantly on the right side.

Thrombolytic Therapy of Acute Ischemic Stroke during Early Pregnancy.

Thrombolytic treatment (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator [rt-PA]) has established efficacy in acute ischemic stroke, but pregnancy has been an exclusion criterion for all clinical trials that validated alteplase in acute stroke, so our knowledge about its use in this condition is limited. Herein we report the successful use of intravenous rt-PA thrombolysis, uncomplicated by neither hemorrhage development nor other complication in a woman who was 13 weeks pregnant with acute ischemic stroke. The brain magnetic resonance imaging diffusion-weighted sequences showed increased signal in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery. Our case had a good maternal and fetal outcome, and advocates that the use of thrombolytics may be feasible in pregnant patients and help to avoid residual neurologic deficits. A summary of published cases in the early aspect of pregnancy and outcomes is presented. Risks and benefits to mother and fetus must be weighted up, but intravenous thrombolysis must not be considered as an absolute contraindication, even in early pregnancy.

ZIKA vasculitis: A new cause of stroke in children?

Viral infectious vasculitis is a cause of stroke in children. Zika virus infection is often asymptomatic. Neurological complications have however been reported: Guillain-Barré, ADEM, meningoencephalitis, myelitis, microcephaly in the fetus of infected mothers. We discuss the case of a child presenting acute infection with ZIKV that was associated with a stroke. A 10-months-old boy without medical history presented after 2days of fever and cutaneous rash, conjunctivitis on day 5, a right hemiparesis on day 6. Brain MRI found an ischemic stroke in the left superficial MCA territory with distal occlusion of left M1 portion of the MCA. Specific real-time reverse PCR detected Zika virus in serum. There are no known cases of cerebral infarction associated with Zika infection. However, cases of cerebral infarcts associated with dengue vasculitis have rarely been described. It has been recently showed that there is a tropism of the Zika virus for endothelial cells. This could be responsible for stroke, possibly particularly in young children.

A case of lymphoma in a patient on teriflunomide treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Teriflunomide is an oral therapy approved for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis which has been shown to reduce relapse rate and disability progression. We report the case of a 54-year -old black woman with multiple sclerosis who developed follicular lymphoma after about 8 months of exposure to teriflunomide. Importantly, apart from age, the patient had none of the established risk factors for follicular lymphoma. Moreover, although this is the first published case of a lymphoma on teriflunomide, it is not the first confirmed case. Ten other cases have so far been reported to pharmacovigilance worldwide, and a further 82 with leflunomide. In conclusion, an association between teriflunomide and a higher risk of lymphoma cannot be ruled out.

Reversible splenium diffusion weighted MRI changes associated with hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia can manifest as a stroke. MRI diffusion-weighted imaging is the most useful technique in diagnosing early ischemic injury. We report two cases of transient MRI lesions of the splenium of the corpus callosum related to hypoglycemia. Clinicians must be aware of such cases to avoid misdiagnosis.

Intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in a patient receiving rivaroxaban.

BACKGROUND: Rivaroxaban is an oral direct factor Xa inhibitor increasingly used in stroke prevention in nonvascular atrial fibrillation, primary prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism, and secondary prevention in acute coronary syndromes. METHODS: Thrombolytic treatment has established efficacy in acute ischemic stroke. RESULTS: We report the case of a 76-year-old female under rivaroxaban for paroxysmal nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who presented an acute ischemic stroke. The brain magnetic resonance imaging diffusion-weighted sequences showed increased signal in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery. Platelet count was normal. PT was 55% (normal, 70-120); the international normalized ratio was 1.51 (normal, .90-1.40). She underwent intravenous thrombolysis 210 minutes after stroke onset without bleeding complication and with complete clinical recovery. CONCLUSIONS: This case underlines the need for further studies on the safety of thrombolysis in stroke patients taking rivaroxaban. Our case emphasizes the urgent need for sensitive coagulation bed-side tests during stroke emergencies.

Neurological complications of bariatric surgery.

Obesity is reaching pandemic proportions, and the number of bariatric surgeries is increasing. Neurological complications of bariatric procedures are more and more frequently reported and physicians need to recognize and be able to manage them. Neurological complications may result from mechanical or inflammatory mechanisms, but mainly from nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin B12, folate, thiamine, vitamin D, and vitamin E are the most frequent deficiencies. Different patterns of complications can be observed that may differ from time to presentation. At an early stage, immediate peripherical nerve injury, Wernicke's encephalopathy, and polyradiculoneuropathy are the most frequent. Late complications may appear after years and include optic neuropathy, myelopathy, peripherical neuropathy, and myopathy. Bariatric surgery patients should benefit from careful nutritional follow-up with routine monitoring of micronutrients at 6 weeks and 3, 6, and 12 months post-op and then annually after surgery, and multivitamin supplementation for life.