Intensive mannitol slow infusion post-stenting may attenuate stenting-related early adverse effects in patients with cerebral venous sinus stenosis.

AIMS: To analyze intensive slow mannitol poststenting on attenuating stenting-related early adverse effects in cerebral venous sinus stenosis (CVSS). METHODS: This real-world study enrolled subacute or chronic CVSS patients from January 2017 through March 2022 and divided them into DSA only and stenting post-DSA groups. The later group was subdivided into control (without extra mannitol use) and intensive slow mannitol subgroup (immediate extra mannitol 250-500 mL, 2 mL/min infusion post-stenting) after signed informed consent. All data were compared. RESULTS: A total of 95 eligible patients entered into final analysis, in which 37 cases underwent DSA only and 58 cases underwent stenting post-DSA. Finally, 28 patients were entered into intensive slow mannitol subgroup and 30 in control. Stenting group vs. DSA group, HIT-6 scores and WBC counts were higher in the former (both p < 0.001). Intensive slow mannitol subgroup vs. control on the third day post-stenting, a statistically significant reductions were noticed in the former on WBC counts (6.19 ± 1.86 × 109 /L vs. 9.59 ± 2.05 × 109 /L); HIT-6 scores (degree of headache) (40.00 (38.00-40.00) vs. 49.00 (41.75-55.25)) and brain edema surrounding the stent on CT maps (17.86% vs.96.67%), all p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Stenting-related severe headache, inflammatory biomarkers elevation, and brain edema aggravation can be attenuated by intensive slow mannitol infusion.

Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas With or Without Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 511 Patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent studies suggest a bidirectional relationship of dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). We aimed to compare the characteristics of patients with DAVF with or without CVT and to analyze the risk factors for the coexistence of CVT in a DAVF population. METHODS: A total of 511 adult patients with DAVF were enrolled consecutively in our hospital from February 2019 through November 2022. Demographic data, clinical manifestations, and imaging characteristics were reviewed in detail. The patients with DAVF were divided into two groups: DAVF with CVT (DAVF-CVT) group and without CVT (DAVF alone) group. Univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors for the coexistence of CVT and DAVF. RESULTS: CVT was found in 19.8% of patients with DAVF. In univariate analysis, compared with the DAVF-alone group, the DAVF-CVT group was more likely to have tinnitus ( P = .001), blurred vision ( P < .001), visual field loss ( P = .001), focal neurological deficits ( P = .002), seizures ( P = .008), and cognitive impairment ( P = .046) and less likely to have spinal cord/brain stem dysfunction ( P = .004). In addition, there were significant differences in age ( P = .009), sex ( P = .019), the occurrence of venous cerebral infarction ( P = .001), and DAVF location ( P < .001) between the two groups. Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that blurred vision, venous cerebral infarction, large sinus DAVF, and multiple DAVF were risk factors for the coexistence of CVT in patients with DAVF, with the odds ratio of 2.416 (95% CI 1.267-4.606, P = .007), 6.018 (95% CI 1.289-28.100, P = .022), 5.801 (95% CI 2.494-13.496, P < .001), and 5.640 (95% CI 2.122-14.989, P = .001), respectively. CONCLUSION: CVT occurred in approximately one fifth of patients with DAVF. Blurred vision, venous cerebral infarction, large sinus DAVF, and multiple DAVF may be the risk factors for predicting the coexistence of CVT in patients with DAVF.

Development and Validation of a Clinical-Based Severity Scale for Patients with Cerebral Venous Thrombosis.

Introduction: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare subtype of stroke. However, existing scales were insufficient to evaluate the overall severity of CVT. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a CVT severity scale. Methods: Items 1-11 were directly derived from NIHSS. New items were generated from a literature review and focus group discussion. A total of 170 CVT patients were prospectively recruited from 26 top tertiary hospitals in China Mainland from January 2021 to May 2022 to validate the CVT severity scale. The CVT severity scale, NIHSS, mRS and GCS were rated at admission. The lumbar puncture opening pressure was also recorded. Twenty randomly selected CVT patients were rated with the CVT severity scale again 24 hours later. The clinical outcome of CVT was evaluated by mRS at 6 months after baseline. Results: We successfully established a CVT severity scale with 18 items. Exploratory factor analysis showed that 18 items were attributed to factor 1 (focal neurological deficits), factor 2 (diffuse encephalopathy), factor 3 (intracranial hypertension) and factor 4 (cavernous sinus syndrome). CVT severity scale was positively correlated with ICP, NIHSS and mRS, and negatively correlated with GCS at baseline. CVT severity scale >3 or factor 3 >2 indicated intracranial hypertension. CVT severity scale >10 indicated poor clinical outcome at 6 months of follow-up. Meanwhile, CVT severity scale showed high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Conclusion: The CVT severity scale included 18 items encompassing 4 domains of focal neurological deficits, diffuse encephalopathy, IH and cavernous sinus syndrome. CVT severity scale correlated well with ICP, NIHSS, mRS and GCS. Patients with CVT severity scale >10 can be defined as severe CVT. The CVT severity scale may serve as a valid and reliable tool for measuring the overall severity of CVT.

Remote ischemic conditioning-induced hyperacute and acute responses of plasma proteome in healthy young male adults: a quantitative proteomic analysis.

BACKGROUND: Long-term remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) has been proven to be beneficial in multiple diseases, such as cerebral and cardiovascular diseases. However, the hyperacute and acute effects of a single RIC stimulus are still not clear. Quantitative proteomic analyses of plasma proteins following RIC application have been conducted in preclinical and clinical studies but exhibit high heterogeneity in results due to wide variations in experimental setups and sampling procedures. Hence, this study aimed to explore the immediate effects of RIC on plasma proteome in healthy young adults to exclude confounding factors of disease entity, such as medications and gender. METHODS: Young healthy male participants were enrolled after a systematic physical examination and 6-month lifestyle observation. Individual RIC sessions included five cycles of alternative ischemia and reperfusion, each lasting for 5 min in bilateral forearms. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 5 min after RIC, and 2 h after RIC, and then samples were processed for proteomic analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. RESULTS: Proteins related to lipid metabolism (e.g., Apolipoprotein F), coagulation factors (hepatocyte growth factor activator preproprotein), members of complement cascades (mannan-binding lectin serine protease 1 isoform 2 precursor), and inflammatory responses (carboxypeptidase N catalytic chain precursor) were differentially altered at their serum levels following the RIC intervention. The most enriched pathways were protein glycosylation and complement/coagulation cascades. CONCLUSIONS: One-time RIC stimulus may induce instant cellular responses like anti-inflammation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis balancing, and lipid metabolism regulation which are protective in different perspectives. Protective effects of single RIC in hyperacute and acute phases may be exploited in clinical emergency settings due to apparently beneficial alterations in plasma proteome profile. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of long-term (repeated) RIC interventions in preventing chronic cardiovascular diseases among general populations can also be expected based on our study findings.

Plasma inflammatory biomarkers in cerebral small vessel disease: A review.

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a group of pathological processes affecting small arteries, arterioles, capillaries, and small veins of the brain. It is one of the most common subtypes of cerebrovascular diseases, especially highly prevalent in elderly populations, and is associated with stroke occurrence and recurrence, cognitive impairment, gait disorders, psychological disturbance, and dysuria. Its diagnosis mainly depends on MRI, characterized by recent small subcortical infarcts, lacunes, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), and brain atrophy. While the pathophysiological processes of CSVD are not fully understood at present, inflammation is noticed as playing an important role. Herein, we aimed to review the relationship between plasma inflammatory biomarkers and the MRI features of CSVD, to provide background for further research.

Potential Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Coagulation Effects of One-Time Application of Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Patients With Subacute/Chronic Cerebral Arteriostenosis and Venostenosis.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is an extremely simple, non-invasive, and cost-effective method with a neuroprotective effect. This study aimed to evaluate the immediate effects of one-time application of RIC on inflammation and coagulation in patients with chronic cerebral vascular stenosis, and compare the different effects of RIC on cerebral arteriostenosis and cerebral venostenosis. METHOD: A total of 47 patients with defined cerebral arteriostenosis (n=21) or venostenosis (n=26) were prospectively enrolled. RIC intervention was given once with 5 cycles of inflating and deflating for 5 minutes alternately. Blood was sampled 5 minutes before and after RIC for inflammatory and thrombophilia biomarkers. Differences in inflammatory and thrombotic variables at differing time points in the group were assessed using paired t tests or Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. RESULTS: Patients with cerebral arteriostenosis had a higher level of pre-RIC neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ( P =0.034), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( P =0.037), and fibrinogen ( P =0.002) than that with cerebral venostenosis. In the arterial group, levels of fibrinogen ( P =0.023) decreased, and interleukin-6 levels were elevated ( P =0.019) after a single RIC. Age was negatively related to interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen. CONCLUSION: One-time RIC interventions may show seemingly coexisted proinflammatory and anti-coagulation effects of a single bout on patients with cerebral arteriostenosis. Older age was a negative predictor for multiple biomarkers in the cerebral arteriostensosis group. The protective effect of RIC on cerebral venostenosis patients needs to be further studied in a larger sample size.

The safety and efficacy of Ezetimibe Plus Statins on ASVD and Related Diseases.

It is well known that atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) in the elderly is a global disease with high morbidity, mortality and disability, and plasma LDL-C correction is the most important strategy for ASVD control. However, a large proportion of patients failed to achieve their ideal LDL-C goals after statins use. Ezetimibe, a newly non-statin lipid-lowering agent, is an inhibitor of exogenous cholesterol absorption. Whereby, ezetimibe plus statins may reduce LDL-C more strongly than statins alone. Differed from any other papers published previously, which only involved ezetimibe plus statins for coronary heart disease, the highlight of this paper is to summarize the efficacy and safety of ezetimibe plus statins in all kinds of ASVD subtypes and their related diseases, mainly included aortic atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular and peripheral artery diseases. Obviously, this paper is inimitable, which will provide the readers an important reference, especially in treating the elderly with multi-organs atherosclerosis.

High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Black Blood Thrombus Imaging and Serum D-Dimer in the Confirmation of Acute Cortical Vein Thrombosis.

Cerebral cortical vein thrombosis (CCVT) is often misdiagnosed because of its non-specific diagnostic symptoms. Here, we analyzed a cohort of patients with CCVT in hopes of improving understandings and treatments of the disease. A total of 23 patients with CCVT (confirmed with high-resolution imaging), who had been diagnosed between 2017 and 2019, were enrolled in this cohort study. Baseline demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory data, radiological findings, treatment, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. Fourteen females and nine males were enrolled (mean age: 32.7 ± 11.9 years), presenting in the acute (within 7 days, n = 9), subacute (8-30 days, n = 7), and chronic (over 1 month, n = 7) stages. Headaches (65.2%) and seizures (39.1%) were the most common symptoms. Abnormally elevated plasma D-dimers were observed in the majority of acute stage patients (87.5%). The diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance venography (CE-MRV) and high-resolution magnetic resonance black-blood thrombus imaging (HR-MRBTI) in detecting CCVT were 57.1 and 100.0%, respectively. All patients had good functional outcomes after 6-month of standard anticoagulation (mRS 0-1) treatment. However, four CCVT patients that had cases involving multiple veins showed symptom relief after batroxobin therapy (p = 0.030). HR-MRBTI may be a fast and accurate tool for non-invasive CCVT diagnosis. HR-MRBTI combined with D-dimer can also precisely identify the pathological stage of CCVT. Batroxobin may safely accelerate cortical venous recanalization in combination with anticoagulation. Follow-up studies with larger sample sizes are suggested to evaluate the safety and efficacy of batroxobin for treating CCVT.

The Efficacy of Atropine Combined With Orthokeratology in Slowing Axial Elongation of Myopia Children: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have found that atropine can slow axial elongation and control the progression of myopia. Some ongoing trials have applied atropine combined with orthokeratology for myopia control, but few studies explored the effect of the strategy on axial elongation. This meta-analysis made a preliminary evaluation of the effect of atropine combined with orthokeratology on axial elongation to provide a reference for further researches. METHODS: We performed a specific search on PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Ovid and Chinese electronic databases of VIP and Wanfang for randomized controlled trials, cohort studies and case-control studies conducted up to December 2019. The weighted mean difference (WMD) of mean change in axial elongation between the combination group of atropine and orthokeratology and the orthokeratology group was used for evaluation. Publication bias was detected using the Funnel plots test. RESULTS: A total of five studies involving 341 participants younger than 18 years old met our inclusion criteria. The axial elongation was lower in the combination group of atropine and orthokeratology than that of the orthokeratology group (0.25 vs. 0.35; WMD=-0.09 mm, [95% confidence intervals, -0.15 to -0.04], Z=3.39, P=0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrates atropine combined with orthokeratology is effective in slowing axial elongation in myopia children. This effect may be superior to that of the orthokeratology alone.