Rapid recovery of poststroke cardiac autonomic dysfunction: Causes to be considered.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute stroke frequently causes cardiovascular-autonomic dysfunction (CAD). Studies of CAD recovery are inconclusive, whereas poststroke arrhythmias may wane within 72 h. We evaluated whether poststroke CAD recovers within 72 h upon stroke onset in association with neurological improvement or increased use of cardiovascular medication. METHODS: In 50 ischemic stroke patients (68 ± 13 years old) who-prior to hospital-admission-had no known diseases nor took medication affecting autonomic modulation, we assessed National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, RR intervals (RRIs), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), respiration rate, parameters reflecting total autonomic modulation (RRI SD, RRI total powers), sympathetic modulation (RRI low-frequency powers, systolic BP low-frequency powers), and parasympathetic modulation (square root of mean squared differences of successive RRIs [RMSSD], RRI high-frequency powers), and baroreflex sensitivity within 24 h (Assessment 1) and 72 h after stroke onset (Assessment 2) and compared data to those of 31 healthy controls (64 ± 10 years). We correlated delta NIHSS values (Assessment 1 - Assessment 2) with delta values of autonomic parameters (Spearman rank correlation tests; significance: p < 0.05). RESULTS: At Assessment 1, patients were not yet on vasoactive medication and had higher systolic BP, respiration rate, and heart rate, that is, lower RRIs, but lower RRI SD, RRI coefficient of variance, RRI low-frequency powers, RRI high-frequency powers, RRI total powers, RMSSDs, and baroreflex sensitivity. At Assessment 2, patients were on antihypertensives, had higher RRI SD, RRI coefficient of variance, RRI low-frequency powers, RRI high-frequency powers, RRI total powers, RMSSDs, and baroreflex sensitivity but lower systolic blood pressure and NIHSS values than at Assessment 1; values no longer differed between patients and controls except for lower RRIs and higher respiration rate in patients. Delta NIHSS scores correlated inversely with delta values of RRI SD, RRI coefficient of variance, RMSSDs, RRI low-frequency powers, RRI high-frequency powers, RRI total powers, and baroreflex sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: In our patients, CAD recovery was almost complete within 72 h after stroke onset and correlated with neurological improvement. Most likely, early initiation of cardiovascular medication and probably attenuating stress supported rapid CAD recovery.

Human and macaque pairs employ different coordination strategies in a transparent decision game.

Many real-world decisions in social contexts are made while observing a partner's actions. To study dynamic interactions during such decisions, we developed a setup where two agents seated face-to-face to engage in game-theoretical tasks on a shared transparent touchscreen display ('transparent games'). We compared human and macaque pairs in a transparent version of the coordination game 'Bach-or-Stravinsky', which entails a conflict about which of two individually-preferred opposing options to choose to achieve coordination. Most human pairs developed coordinated behavior and adopted dynamic turn-taking to equalize the payoffs. All macaque pairs converged on simpler, static coordination. Remarkably, two animals learned to coordinate dynamically after training with a human confederate. This pair selected the faster agent's preferred option, exhibiting turn-taking behavior that was captured by modeling the visibility of the partner's action before one's own movement. Such competitive turn-taking was unlike the prosocial turn-taking in humans, who equally often initiated switches to and from their preferred option. Thus, the dynamic coordination is not restricted to humans but can occur on the background of different social attitudes and cognitive capacities in rhesus monkeys. Overall, our results illustrate how action visibility promotes the emergence and maintenance of coordination when agents can observe and time their mutual actions.

To live with others is to make concessions. You may want to go to the movies tonight, but your partner may prefer the theatre: reaching a mutually desirable goal ­ that is, spending time together ­ requires adjusting your preferences to theirs. Many other social species also make such decisions, in particular monkeys that live in large groups. Conceptually, these interactions are known as coordination games. In such scenarios, two players must coordinate their actions to attain a coveted reward, but they must also resolve a conflict about who gets the larger share. This makes the joint strategy non-trivial, and different pairs of players might resort to different strategies. In the laboratory, coordination games are often tested in settings which do not allow participants to monitor each other's behaviors as they make these complex choices. In real life, however, individuals making a joint decision can often observe each other and receive immediate feedback. In response, Moeller et al. developed a new way to test coordination games that allows more realistic social interactions. In their setup, two participants face each other and use a shared see-through touchscreen to perform a task. This new design was used to test how humans and macaque monkeys solved a simplified version of the 'Bach or Stravinsky' coordination game, which involves choosing between a red and blue target on the screen. Players in a pair had been trained to 'prefer' opposite colors. In this game, collaboration is beneficial (both individuals get a better prize if they choose the same color) but also creates unfairness (the reward is higher for the participant whose 'favorite' color is selected). When paired up, both humans and monkeys learned to collaborate and to go for the same color (or, in some monkey pairs, the same side of the screen). However, only humans took turns selecting red or blue so that players could alternate getting the highest reward. Monkeys usually settled on one color throughout the game, unless they had learned the 'turn-taking' strategy from a human partner; in that case, the color chosen in each trial was typically determined by the monkey who was the faster to move. These experiments show how monkeys and humans use visual information about their partner's actions to coordinate their choices, paving the way for further decision-making studies that accurately reflect how interactions unfold in real life. Moeller et al. expect that this will help to understand how cooperation and competition emerge in these two species, including how direct face-to-face contact, or lack thereof in some aspects of our modern world, shapes our social behavior.

Prevalence and influencing factors of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with myocardial infarction, transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke - an exploratory, descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Cardio- and cerebrovascular events such as myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) are leading causes of death and disability and have also been associated with poor mental outcomes. In addition, cardio- and cerebrovascular events may pose the risk of experiencing a sudden traumatic occurrence of symptoms during ictus and thus contribute to high rates of PTSD as well as high rates of subsequent depression and anxiety. Moreover, MI, TIA and stroke survivors with PTSD, depressive and anxiety symptoms may have poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and poorer disease prognosis than patients who do not develop psychiatric symptoms after ictus. However, data on the prevalence of PTSD, anxiety and depression, as well as the HRQoL, coping strategies and potential risk factors for development of PTSD in these patients, are rare. METHODS: In an exploratory, descriptive study we interviewed 112 patients (54 MI, 18 TIA, 40 stroke; mean age: 69.5 years, 55.4% males) from three general physician practices and used psychometric self-assessment tools to determine the occurrence of PTSD and psychosomatic comorbidity, anxiety and depression and to assess HRQoL and coping strategies. We evaluated disease severity and compared the patient groups to each other. Moreover, we assessed psychological outcome differences between patients with or without PTSD after ictus. RESULTS: The prevalence of PTSD after MI, TIA and stroke was 23.2%. The patients who developed PTSD had higher rates of depression, anxiety and maladaptive coping as well as reduced HRQoL. Adaptive coping was positively related to better mental HRQoL and negatively related to anxiety and depression. Disease severity of MI, TIA and stroke was not related to PTSD, depression, anxiety or physical HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: Experiencing MI, TIA or stroke means confronting a life-threatening event for those affected and, therefore, these can be regarded as traumatic events. Cerebral and cardiovascular events increase the risk of developing chronic PTSD with subsequent increased depression and anxiety and reduced HRQoL. These findings emphasize the need for early screening and diagnosis of PTSD in somatically ill patients, which should be followed by specialized treatment, as PTSD hampers overall (somatic) disease prognosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00021730, https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00021730 , registered 05/19/2020 - Retrospectively registered.

Decline in Psychotic Symptoms in Addition to Cardiac and Metabolic Safety with Cariprazine After Poor Response to Previous Antipsychotic Treatments - A Series of Two Cases.

Cariprazine is a highly effective antipsychotic medication of the latest generation. Due to its special receptor profile with D2/D3 partial agonism and high D3 affinity, the use of cariprazine is particularly justified in negative psychotic symptomatic and cardiac prestressed patients or in patients with weight management problems. In this case series, two cases and the outcomes during the switch to cariprazine treatment under these conditions are described.

Occurence of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms, Anxiety and Depression in the Acute Phase of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke.

Rates of post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety and depression are increased in patients having experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke several months ago. However, data of psychiatric symptoms in the acute phase within the first days after ictus are lacking. In 20 patients with stroke and 33 patients with TIA we assessed disease severity by means of the NIHSS, levels of depression and anxiety by HADS, PTSD-like symptoms by PC-PTSD, quality of life (HrQoL) by SF-12, and coping style by brief COPE Inventory within the first 5 days after ictus. NIHSS on admission was lower in patients with TIA (0 ± 1) than in patients with stroke (3 ± 2, p < 0.001). HADS depression score was significantly higher in patients with stroke (7.0 ± 4.5) than in patients with TIA (4.9 ± 4.0). HADS anxiety score, HrQoL and coping styles were similar between TIA and stroke patients (p > 0.05). 5 and 3 of 33 TIA patients as well as 4 and 3 of 20 stroke patients had at least 11 points in the HADS anxiety and depression score respectively (p = 0.001). 2 of 33 TIA patients and 2 of 20 stroke patients had more than 2 points in the PC-PTSD (p = 0.646). We did not find consistent correlations between the NIHSS and the psychometric parameters. Within the first five days after patients having experienced a TIA or stroke PTSD-like, anxious and depressive symptoms are more common than in the general population. As the acute psychological status after ictus is predictive for psychiatric comorbidity years later physicians should pay attention and adequately treat psychiatric symptoms already in the acute phase of stroke.Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00021730, https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00021730 , registered 05/19/2020- Retrospectively registered.

Macaque Gaze Responses to the Primatar: A Virtual Macaque Head for Social Cognition Research.

Following the expanding use and applications of virtual reality in everyday life, realistic virtual stimuli are of increasing interest in cognitive studies. They allow for control of features such as gaze, expression, appearance, and movement, which may help to overcome limitations of using photographs or video recordings to study social responses. In using virtual stimuli however, one must be careful to avoid the uncanny valley effect, where realistic stimuli can be perceived as eerie, and induce an aversion response. At the same time, it is important to establish whether responses to virtual stimuli mirror responses to depictions of a real conspecific. In the current study, we describe the development of a new virtual monkey head with realistic facial features for experiments with nonhuman primates, the "Primatar." As a first step toward validation, we assessed how monkeys respond to facial images of a prototype of this Primatar compared to images of real monkeys (RMs), and an unrealistic model. We also compared gaze responses between original images and scrambled as well as obfuscated versions of these images. We measured looking time to images in six freely moving long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and gaze exploration behavior in three rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Both groups showed more signs of overt attention to original images than scrambled or obfuscated images. In addition, we found no evidence for an uncanny valley effect; since for both groups, looking times did not differ between real, realistic, or unrealistic images. These results provide important data for further development of our Primatar for use in social cognition studies and more generally for cognitive research with virtual stimuli in nonhuman primates. Future research on the absence of an uncanny valley effect in macaques is needed, to elucidate the roots of this mechanism in humans.

Emergence and suppression of cooperation by action visibility in transparent games.

Real-world agents, humans as well as animals, observe each other during interactions and choose their own actions taking the partners' ongoing behaviour into account. Yet, classical game theory assumes that players act either strictly sequentially or strictly simultaneously without knowing each other's current choices. To account for action visibility and provide a more realistic model of interactions under time constraints, we introduce a new game-theoretic setting called transparent games, where each player has a certain probability of observing the partner's choice before deciding on its own action. By means of evolutionary simulations, we demonstrate that even a small probability of seeing the partner's choice before one's own decision substantially changes the evolutionary successful strategies. Action visibility enhances cooperation in an iterated coordination game, but reduces cooperation in a more competitive iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. In both games, "Win-stay, lose-shift" and "Tit-for-tat" strategies are predominant for moderate transparency, while a "Leader-Follower" strategy emerges for high transparency. Our results have implications for studies of human and animal social behaviour, especially for the analysis of dyadic and group interactions.

Update on structured pain assessment for the documentation of diagnosis-independent symptoms and signs associated with pain.

Concerning the diagnosis and therapy of pain syndromes, standardized descriptions similar to those used in the examination of psychopathological findings via the system produced by the AMDP ("Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Methodik und Dokumentation in der Psychiatrie", i. e., the working group establishing standardized methodology and documentation within psychiatry) are still lacking. Therefore, the authors of this article have founded a working group to establish standardized methodology and documentation for symptoms and signs associated with pain, although not at a diagnosis-specific level, in order to promote standardization in the documentation of pain and rating of the symptoms associated with a given set of medical results. This article presents a system for documenting the symptoms and signs associated with pain globally and independently of the diagnosis (Structured Pain Assessment System) with nomenclature that is inspired by the AMDP system. The objective of this working group is to develop documentation for a uniform multidimensional pain assessment (with defined terminology) that serves as a comparable and unified standard in the field.

Rapid titration protocol - Experiences with a dynamic novel titration regime for vagus nerve stimulation in a group of depressive patients.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established tool in the psychiatric armamentarium for patients with therapy-resistant depression (TRD) with response rates of approximately 60%. So far, VNS is titrated slowly during ambulatory in-office visits. Thus, antidepressive effects can be expected after approximately six months. We report our experiences with a rapid dosing regime (RDR) with titration start shortly after VNS-implantation. We retrospectively analysed data of six patients with TRD who received VNS. Stimulation parameters were evaluated with regard to clinical side effects, heart rates (HR) and blood pressures (BP). Depressive symptoms were measured by Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) one week before and three months after implantation of the VNS. All patients received first stimulation between one and four days after surgery. We elevated output current using 0.25 mA titration steps. We increased output current between one and four days after the last titration. All patients received 1.0 mA output current after eight to 14 days post-surgery. HR and BP remained stable in all patients. All side effects were mild and temporary. MADRS scores were significantly lower three months after VNS-implantation (24 ±â€¯8) than one week before VNS-implantation (42 ±â€¯4; p = 0.028). The therapeutic range of VNS-parameters for antidepressive effect was reached quicker without finding increased numbers of side effects. Consequently, by using RDR the antidepressive effect of VNS-therapy for patients with TRD could be reached earlier than using slow titration. Our presented RDR might be able to significantly shorten the "clinical effect gap" due to the neurobiological and titration-related latency.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an approved neurostimulation therapy. The purpose of the method is to treat patients with therapy-resistant depression (TRD). VNS exhibits antidepressive and stabilizing effects. This method is particularly useful as a long-term treatment, in which up to two-thirds of patients respond. The vagus nerve stimulator is positioned on the left vagus nerve during a surgical procedure and is activated telemetrically by a wand connected to a handheld computerized device. The treating physician can perform various adjustments of the vagus nerve stimulator during in-office visits (e.g., by modifying stimulation intensity or stimulation frequency) to achieve maximum therapeutic effects with low side effects. Set-up of the device usually takes several months. Typical side effects include wound infection, temporary salivation, coughing, paralysis of the vocal cords, bradycardia, or even asystole. The patient can stop the VNS by placing a magnet over the generator. The current protocol describes delivery of the specific stimulation tool and methods for adjusting the tuning parameters to achieve the best remission rates in patients with TRD.

Effects of nature-based mindfulness training on resilience/symptom load in professionals with high work-related stress-levels: findings from the WIN-Study.

PURPOSE: The levels of work-related stress and the incidence rates of subsequent related illnesses are increasing in our society, leading to high individual and socioeconomic burdens. Mindfulness training has been shown to be an effective method of improving stress resilience. This paper aims to investigate the efficacy of nature-based mindfulness training in professionals with high levels of work-related stress. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In this controlled pilot study, a total of 56 volunteers completed a nature-based mindfulness training progam and were compared to 8 participants (waitlist controls). Psychometric assessments were performed at baseline and after two and four months of training. FINDINGS: After two months of training, the scores for self-efficacy, sense of coherence, level of mindfulness and overall psychiatric symptom load had significantly improved in the intervention group, while the control group did not show any significant improvements. A comparison between the intervention and control groups showed a significant difference regarding the sense of coherence only. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Since this was an exploratory study with a small control group, further studies are needed to verify our findings. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: In conclusion, nature-based mindfulness training seems to be a promising tool for the improvement of resilience and overall psychological health in professionals. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This was the first study to systematically investigate effects of nature-based mindfulness training in people with high work-related stress.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) and Other Augmentation Strategies for Therapy-Resistant Depression (TRD): Review of the Evidence and Clinical Advice for Use.

In addition to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is one of the approved neurostimulation tools for treatment of major depression. VNS is particularly used in therapy-resistant depression (TRD) and exhibits antidepressive and augmentative effects. In long-term treatment, up to two-thirds of patients respond. This mini-review provides a comprehensive overview of augmentation pharmacotherapy and neurostimulation-based treatment strategies, with a special focus on VNS in TRD, and provides practical clinical advice for how to select TRD patients for add-on neurostimulation treatment strategies.

Off-label prescription of psychiatric drugs by non-psychiatrist physicians in three general hospitals in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Off-label prescribing of psychoactive drugs is a common practice in psychiatry. Here, we sought to investigate the frequency of off-label prescribing in a population of hospitalized patients with a somatic illness who were also suffering from a psychiatric pathology. METHODS: Using a prospective, observational design, we collected data from 982 hospitalized patients with a somatic illness for whom a psychiatric consultation was requested because of the presence of additional psychiatric symptoms. Data were collected at three hospitals in Germany. Demographic and clinical data, including the previous psychoactive medications and an assessment of the suitability of the previous medications, were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Data on the previous psychiatric medications were available for 972 patients. In 16.6% of patients, at least one psychoactive drug had been prescribed off-label, 20.2% had received on-label medication, and 63.2% had not received any psychiatric medication. Among all patients receiving psychiatric medication, 45.1% had received off-label medication. The logistic regression analysis showed a significant influence of age on the likelihood of receiving off-label medication (p = 0.018). Benzodiazepines were the most frequent off-label prescription (25.8% of off-label prescriptions), followed by atypical antipsychotics (18.2%) and low-potency antipsychotics (17.2%). Notably, 57.1% of off-label prescriptions were judged to be 'not indicated' by experienced psychiatrists. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show a high frequency of the off-label prescription of psychoactive drugs by physicians treating patients with somatic illnesses in general hospitals. Because more than half of these cases were judged to be "not indicated", these prescriptions indicate a potential risk to patients. Furthermore, the classes of drugs that were most frequently prescribed off-label, benzodiazepines and antipsychotics, both show a substantial risk profile, particularly for elderly patients.

Synthetic Cannabinoid Use in a Psychiatric Patient Population: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Consumption of natural cannabis (NC) and synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) has been associated with psychotic disorders. We compared the prevalence of use, consumer profiles, and psychosis-inducing potential of NC and SCs in a specific high-risk population. METHODS: This prospective pilot study included 332 patients (18-64 years, mean 36.83, SD 13.33). Patients' sociodemographics and medical histories as well as illicit substance use and psychiatric symptom histories were collected using a drug consumption survey that assessed the use of new psychoactive substances and the Psychotic Symptoms Interview. RESULTS: In total, 7.2% of all patients, 10.6% of psychotic patients, and 4.5% of nonpsychotic patients reported SC consumption. Compared with SCs, NC was consumed much more frequently by its users (mean 222.73, SD 498.27). NC and SC use induced persistent psychosis. Psychotic symptoms were first experienced by patients with a history of NC or SC use during intoxication and persisted after cessation (>1 year) of drug use. Positive and negative symptoms tended to be more severe in SC and NC users, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: NC and SCs may cause different symptom clusters. These relationships should be further evaluated.

Efficacy and long-term tuning parameters of vagus nerve stimulation in long-term treated depressive patients.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a promising neurostimulation tool for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression. Here, we report the effects of positive remission rates and tuning parameters in a group of 18 (6 female, 12 male, mean age 54) long-term treated patients. Treatment varied between 3 and 200months (mean 104.9months). Mean stimulation intensity was 1.46mA, ranging from 0.5 to 2.0mA and high-frequency stimulation of 20-25Hz (mean 23.61Hz). The remission rates in our study population clearly indicate ongoing positive effects of VNS and highlight stimulation tunings between 0.5 and 2.0mA and 20-25Hz as best dosage for achieving remittance in long-term treatment of VNS.

Ischemic stroke associated with the use of a synthetic cannabinoid (spice).

Synthetic cannabinoids, i.e. "spice", are psychoactive drugs with increasing use worldwide. Spice may have harmful neuropsychiatric and physical side effects. Here, we present the case of a 25-year-old man with ischemic stroke after smoking spice on the previous evening. Diagnostic work-up was negative for other common causes of stroke. Toxicology screen unveiled the cannabimimetic ADB-FUBINACA in the drug sample and in patient's urine. The cardiac sympathomimetic effect of spice might have triggered an unnoticed episode of tachyarrhythmia and resulted in stroke via cardioembolic etiology. Thus, in absence of other risk factors, a careful patient history of spice use is recommended for patients with acute neurological deficits.

The effect of face patch microstimulation on perception of faces and objects.

What is the range of stimuli encoded by face-selective regions of the brain? We asked how electrical microstimulation of face patches in macaque inferotemporal cortex affects perception of faces and objects. We found that microstimulation strongly distorted face percepts and that this effect depended on precise targeting to the center of face patches. While microstimulation had no effect on the percept of many non-face objects, it did affect the percept of some, including non-face objects whose shape is consistent with a face (for example, apples) as well as somewhat facelike abstract images (for example, cartoon houses). Microstimulation even perturbed the percept of certain objects that did not activate the stimulated face patch at all. Overall, these results indicate that representation of facial identity is localized to face patches, but activity in these patches can also affect perception of face-compatible non-face objects, including objects normally represented in other parts of inferotemporal cortex.

Specific Lobar Affection Reveals a Rostrocaudal Gradient in Functional Outcome in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several studies have reported a better functional outcome in lobar intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) compared with deep location. However, among lobar ICH, a correlation of hemorrhage site-involving the specific lobes-with functional outcome has not been established. METHODS: Conservatively treated patients with supratentorial ICH, admitted to our hospital over a 5-year period (2008-2012), were retrospectively analyzed. Lobar patients were classified as isolated or overlapping ICH according to affected lobes. Demographic, clinical, and radiological characteristics were recorded and compared among lobar ICH patients using above subclassification. Functional outcome-dichotomized into favorable (modified Rankin Scale, 0-3) and unfavorable (modified Rankin Scale, 4-6)-was assessed after 3 and 12 months. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify predictors for favorable outcome. RESULTS: Of overall 553 patients, 260 had lobar ICH. In isolated lobar ICH, median hematoma-volume decreased from rostral (frontal, 22.4 mL [7.3-55.5 mL]) to caudal (occipital, 7.1 mL [5.2-16.4 mL]; P=0.045), whereas the proportion of patients with favorable outcome increased (frontal: 23/63 [36.5%] versus occipital: 10/12 [83.3%]; P=0.003). Patients with overlapping lobar ICH had larger ICH volumes than isolated lobar ICH (overlapping, 48.9 mL [22.6-78.5 mL] versus 15.3 mL [5.0-44.6 mL]; P<0.001) and poorer clinical status on admission (Glasgow Coma Scale and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale). Correlations with anatomic aspects provided evidence of a rostrocaudal gradient with increasing gray/white-matter ratio and decreasing hematoma-volume and rate of hematoma enlargement from frontal to occipital ICH location. Multivariate analysis revealed affection of occipital lobe (odds ratio, 3.75 [1.38-10.22]) and affection of frontal lobe (odds ratio, 0.52 [0.28-0.94]) to be independent predictors for favorable outcome and unfavorable outcome, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with lobar ICH radiological and outcome characteristics differed according to location. Especially affection of the frontal lobe was frequent and associated with unfavorable outcome after 3 months.