Are radiation-induced cavernomas clinically relevant findings? Results from long-term follow-up with brain magnetic resonance imaging of childhood cancer survivors.

INTRODUCTION: Radiation-induced cavernomas (RIC) after cranial radiotherapy have an unknown risk of hemorrhage. Zabramski magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) classification is touted as being able to indicate non-radiation-induced cavernomas hemorrhage risk. The aim of our study was to assess the hemorrhage risk of RIC during long-term follow-up of childhood cancer survivors based on brain MRI examinations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively long-term follow-up data of 36 childhood cancer survivors after initial diagnosis with acute leukemia (n = 18) or brain tumor (n = 18), all treated with cranial radiotherapy. Detected RIC in long-term follow-up brain MRI (1.5 or 3 Tesla) were classified following the Zabramski MRI classification and were categorized into "high" (Zabramski type I, II or V) or "low" (type III or IV) risk of hemorrhage. RESULTS: 18 patients (50%) showed RIC with a significant relation to the original tumor entity (p = 0.023) and the cumulative radiation dose to the brain (p = 0.016): all 9 childhood cancer survivors diagnosed with medulloblastoma developed RIC. We classified RIC in only 3/36 childhood cancer survivors (8%) (1 patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia [Zabramski type II] and 2 patients with medulloblastoma [type I and type II]) as high risk for hemorrhage, the remaining RIC were classified as Zabramski type IV with low risk for hemorrhage. None of the childhood cancer survivors with RIC showed symptomatic hemorrhages. CONCLUSIONS: RIC are common late effects in childhood cancer survivors treated with cranial radiotherapy affecting half of these patients. However, only a few RIC (occurring in 8% of all reviewed childhood cancer survivors) were classified as high risk for hemorrhage and none of the childhood cancer survivors with RIC developed symptomatic hemorrhages. Thus, we conclude that RIC are low-risk findings in brain MRI and the course is mainly benign.

Deep versus Superficial Spontaneous Cerebellar Hemorrhages: Separated Vascular Etiologies with Different Clinical Consequences.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage (CH) is a critical neurosurgical event. It is usually categorized as a homogenous group under the general term of deep/nonlobar intracerebral hemorrhage. However, increasing evidence suggests it is composed of 2 subgroups, separated from each other by their anatomic location (deep vs. superficial), as well as by their vascular etiology (small vessel disease vs. cerebral amyloid angiopathy). OBJECTIVE: To identify any clinically significant differences between anatomically separated subgroups of CHs: deep versus superficial. METHODS: This is a retrospective study on patients who were diagnosed with spontaneous CHs at a single tertiary center. On the basis of the radiologic location of the hematoma, patients were divided into 2 groups: deep (group 1) and superficial (group 2). Computerized medical records were extracted for multiple variables. RESULTS: A total of 69 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Fifty-three (77%) were in group 1, and 16 (23%) were in group 2. Having any vascular risk factor was associated with the highest odds ratio for having a deep CH. Morbid obesity (body mass index ≥30) and the use of antiplatelets were also associated with increased odds ratios. Group 1 is also associated with high prevalence of intraventricular hemorrhage, acute hydrocephalus, and less favorable outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the notion that CH is most likely a heterogenous condition, composed of 2 subgroups, separated from each other in terms of anatomic location, vascular etiologies, and clinical consequences. Further studies on large cohort of patients are needed in order to accurately define the subgroups of this life-threatening event.

Sensitivity of the Edinburgh Criteria for Lobar Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Hereditary Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Edinburgh computed tomography and genetic criteria enable diagnosis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) associated lobar intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) but have not been validated in living patients. We assessed the sensitivity of the Edinburgh criteria in patients with acute lobar ICH due to Dutch-type hereditary CAA; a genetic and pure form of CAA. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed computed tomography-scans from a cohort of consecutive Dutch-type hereditary CAA patients who presented with ≥1 episode(s) of acute lobar ICH at the Leiden University Medical Center. Presence of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and finger-like projections (FLP) were determined. Association of SAH and FLP with ICH volume was analyzed using multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: We included 55 Dutch-type hereditary CAA patients (mean age 56 years, 55% men) with a total of 107 episodes of acute lobar ICH. SAH was present in 82/107 (76%) and FLP in 62/107 (58%), resulting in a sensitivity of 76% for SAH and 58% for FLP. In 56 (52%), both markers were present. Nineteen (18%) lobar ICH showed no SAH extension or FLP. ICH volume was significantly associated with presence of SAH (median volume 4 versus 28 mL; P=0.001) and presence of FLP (median volume 7 versus 39 mL; P<0.001). With an ICH volume of ≥40 mL, the sensitivity of the presence of both SAH and FLP was >81% (95% CI, 70%-92%), whereas in ICH volumes <15 mL the sensitivity was <50%. CONCLUSIONS: The computed tomography-based Edinburgh criteria seem to be a sensitive diagnostic test for CAA-associated lobar ICH, although they should be used with caution in small-sized lobar ICH.

Validity of cerebrovascular ICD-9-CM codes in healthcare administrative databases. The Umbria Data-Value Project.

BACKGROUND: Validation of administrative databases for cerebrovascular diseases is crucial for epidemiological, outcome, and health services research. The aim of this study was to validate ICD-9 codes for hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke in administrative databases, to use them for a comprehensive assessment of the burden of disease in terms of major outcomes, such as mortality, hospital readmissions, and use of healthcare resources. METHODS: We considered the hospital discharge abstract database of the Umbria Region (890,000 residents). Source population was represented by patients aged >18 discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke between 2012 and 2014 using ICD-9-CM codes in primary position. We randomly selected and reviewed medical charts of cases and non-cases from hospitals. For case ascertainment we considered symptoms and instrumental tests reported in the medical charts. Diagnostic accuracy measures were computed using 2x2 tables. RESULTS: We reviewed 767 medical charts for cases and 78 charts for non-cases. Diagnostic accuracy measures were: subarachnoid hemorrhage: sensitivity (SE) 100% (95% CI: 97%-100%), specificity (SP) 96% (90-99), positive predictive value (PPV) 98% (93-100), negative predictive value (NPV) 100% (95-100); intracerebral hemorrhage: SE 100% (97-100), SP 98% (91-100), PPV 98% (94-100), NPV 100% (95-100); other and unspecified intracranial hemorrhage: SE 100% (97-100), SP 96% (90-99), PPV 98% (93-100), NPV 100% (95-100); ischemic stroke due to occlusion and stenosis of precerebral arteries: SE 99% (94-100), SP 66 (57-75), PPV 70% (61-77), NPV 99% (93-100); occlusion of cerebral arteries: SE 100% (97-100), SP 87% (78-93), PPV 91% (84-95), NPV 100% (95-100); acute, but ill-defined, cerebrovascular disease: SE 100% (97-100), SP 78% (69-86), PPV % 83 (75-89), NPV 100% (95-100). CONCLUSIONS: Case ascertainment for both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke showed good or high levels of accuracy within the regional healthcare databases in Umbria. This database can confidently be employed for epidemiological, outcome, and health services research related to any type of stroke.

Hemorrhagic transformation after stroke: inter- and intrarater agreement.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hemorrhagic transformation (HT) is a complication of stroke that can occur spontaneously or after treatment. We aimed to assess the inter- and intrarater reliability of HT diagnosis. METHODS: Studies assessing the reliability of the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) classification of HT or of the presence (yes/no) of HT were systematically reviewed. A total of 18 raters independently examined 30 post-thrombectomy computed tomography scans selected from the Aspiration versus STEnt-Retriever (ASTER) trial. They were asked whether there was HT (yes/no), what the ECASS classification of the particular scan (0/HI1/HI2/PH1/PH2) (HI indicates hemorrhagic infarctions and PH indicates parenchymal hematomas) was and whether they would prescribe an antiplatelet agent if it was otherwise indicated. Agreement was measured with Fleiss' and Cohen's κ statistics. RESULTS: The systematic review yielded four studies involving few (≤3) raters with heterogeneous results. In our 18-rater study, agreement for the presence of HT was moderate [κ = 0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.41-0.68]. Agreement for ECASS classification was only fair for all five categories, but agreement improved to substantial (κ = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.69-0.75) after dichotomizing the ECASS classification into 0/HI1/HI2/PH1 versus PH2. The inter-rater agreement for the decision to reintroduce antiplatelet therapy was moderate for all raters, but substantial among vascular neurologists (κ = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.57-0.84). CONCLUSION: The ECASS classification may involve too many categories and the diagnosis of HT may not be easily replicable, except in the presence of a large parenchymal hematoma.

SMASH-U versus H-ATOMIC: A Head-to-Head Comparison for the Etiologic Classification of Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: There is no agreement for the etiologic classification of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In a series of patients with ICH, we performed a randomized head-to-head comparison between the two recently proposed etiologic classification systems. METHODS: We evaluated patients registered in a prospective database of consecutive patients. A simplified H-ATOMIC classification defines 8 categories: hypertension, amyloid, tumor, oral anticoagulants, malformation, infrequent, cryptogenic, and combination. SMASH-U also defines 8 categories: structural, medication, amyloid, systemic, hypertension, and undetermined, and nonstroke and stroke-non-ICH. Experienced stroke neurologists applied both classification systems to a randomly assigned list of patients. The concordances between the 2 systems were analyzed. In a subset of patients, the percent of agreement and the inter-rater reliability (kappa coefficient) were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 156 patients (age 72.3 ± 13.5 years) were evaluated, and 54 of these patients were evaluated by 2 neurologists. Concordance (a patient classified in equivalent categories for both systems) was 63%. The percentage of interobserver agreement was 85.5% for SMASH-U and 87.6% for H-ATOMIC. Inter-rater reliability was similar for SMASH-U (kappa .82) and H-ATOMIC (kappa .76). The range of reliability among neurologists was .66-.93 for SMASH-U and .66-.94 for H-ATOMIC. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage agreement among investigators is remarkably high for both classification systems, and the inter-rater reliability is substantial to almost perfect for both systems. However, discrepancies between the 2 systems are frequent (in about one third of the patients) due to different categories and definitions.

Temporal trends in early case-fatality rates in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether temporal trends in very early (within 48 hours) case-fatality rates may differ from those occurring between 48 hours and 30 days in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). METHODS: All cases of ICH that occurred in Dijon, France (151,000 inhabitants), were prospectively collected between 1985 and 2011, using a population-based registry. Time trends in 30-day case fatality were analyzed in 3 periods: 1985-1993, 1994-2002, and 2003-2011. Cox regression models were used to evaluate associations between time periods and case fatality within 48 hours and between 48 hours and 30 days, after adjustments for demographics, risk factors, severity, and ICH location. RESULTS: A total of 531 ICH cases were recorded (mean age 72.9 ± 15.8, 52.7% women). Thirty-day case fatality gradually decreased with time from 40.9% in 1985-1993 to 33.5% 1994-2002 and to 29.6% in 2003-2011 (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47-1.07, p = 0.106, for 1994-2002, and adjusted HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.32-0.73, p < 0.001, for 2003-2011). Over the whole study period, 43.6% of 1-month deaths occurred within the first 48 hours following ICH onset. There was no temporal change in case fatality occurring within the first 48 hours but a decrease in deaths occurring between 48 hours and 30 days was observed with time (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.31-0.90, p = 0.02, for 1994-2002, and HR 0.32, 95% CI 0.32-0.55, p < 0.01, for 2003-2011, compared with 1985-1993). CONCLUSION: Although 30-day case fatality significantly decreased over the last 27 years, additional improvements in acute management of ICH are needed since very early case-fatality rates (within 48 hours) did not improve.

Leading causes of preterm delivery as risk factors for intraventricular hemorrhage in very preterm infants: results of the EPIPAGE 2 cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Intraventricular hemorrhage is a major risk factor for neurodevelopmental disabilities in preterm infants. However, few studies have investigated how pregnancy complications responsible for preterm delivery are related to intraventricular hemorrhage. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the association between the main causes of preterm delivery and intraventricular hemorrhage in very preterm infants born in France during 2011 between 22-31 weeks of gestation. STUDY DESIGN: The study included 3495 preterm infants from the national EPIPAGE 2 cohort study who were admitted to neonatal intensive care units and had at least 1 cranial ultrasound assessment. The primary outcome was grade I-IV intraventricular hemorrhage according to the Papile classification. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to study the relationship between risk of intraventricular hemorrhage and the leading causes of preterm delivery: vascular placental diseases, isolated intrauterine growth retardation, placental abruption, preterm labor, and premature rupture of membranes, with or without associated maternal inflammatory syndrome. RESULTS: The overall frequency of grade IV, III, II, and I intraventricular hemorrhage was 3.8% (95% confidence interval, 3.2-4.5), 3.3% (95% confidence interval, 2.7-3.9), 12.1% (95% confidence interval, 11.0-13.3), and 17.0% (95% confidence interval, 15.7-18.4), respectively. After adjustment for gestational age, antenatal magnesium sulfate therapy, level of care in the maternity unit, antenatal corticosteroids, and chest compressions, infants born after placental abruption had a higher risk of grade IV and III intraventricular hemorrhage compared to those born under placental vascular disease conditions, with adjusted odds ratios of 4.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-17.0) and 4.4 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-17.6), respectively. Similarly, preterm labor with concurrent inflammatory syndrome was associated with an increased risk of grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage (adjusted odds ratio, 3.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-10.2]). Premature rupture of membranes did not significantly increase the risk. CONCLUSION: Relationships between the causes of preterm birth and intraventricular hemorrhage were limited to specific and rare cases involving acute hypoxia-ischemia and/or inflammation. While the emergent nature of placental abruption would challenge any attempts to optimize management, the prenatal care offered during preterm labor could be improved.

Extended Anatomical Grading in Diffuse Axonal Injury Using MRI: Hemorrhagic Lesions in the Substantia Nigra and Mesencephalic Tegmentum Indicate Poor Long-Term Outcome.

Clinical outcome after traumatic diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is difficult to predict. In this study, three magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences were used to quantify the anatomical distribution of lesions, to grade DAI according to the Adams grading system, and to evaluate the value of lesion localization in combination with clinical prognostic factors to improve outcome prediction. Thirty patients (mean 31.2 years ±14.3 standard deviation) with severe DAI (Glasgow Motor Score [GMS] <6) examined with MRI within 1 week post-injury were included. Diffusion-weighted (DW), T2*-weighted gradient echo and susceptibility-weighted (SWI) sequences were used. Extended Glasgow outcome score was assessed after 6 months. Number of DW lesions in the thalamus, basal ganglia, and internal capsule and number of SWI lesions in the mesencephalon correlated significantly with outcome in univariate analysis. Age, GMS at admission, GMS at discharge, and low proportion of good monitoring time with cerebral perfusion pressure <60 mm Hg correlated significantly with outcome in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed an independent relation with poor outcome for age (p = 0.005) and lesions in the mesencephalic region corresponding to substantia nigra and tegmentum on SWI (p = 0.008). We conclude that higher age and lesions in substantia nigra and mesencephalic tegmentum indicate poor long-term outcome in DAI. We propose an extended MRI classification system based on four stages (stage I-hemispheric lesions, stage II-corpus callosum lesions, stage III-brainstem lesions, and stage IV-substantia nigra or mesencephalic tegmentum lesions); all are subdivided by age (≥/<30 years).

The Cerebral Haemorrhage Anatomical RaTing inStrument (CHARTS): Development and assessment of reliability.

PURPOSE: The causes, risk factors and prognosis of spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) are partly determined by anatomical location (specifically, lobar vs. non-lobar (deep and infratentorial) regions). We systematically developed a rating instrument to reliably classify ICH location. METHODS: We used a two-stage iterative Delphi-style method for instrument development. The resultant Cerebral Haemorrhage Anatomical RaTing inStrument (CHARTS) was validated on CT and MRI scans from a cohort of consecutive patients with acute spontaneous symptomatic ICH by three independent raters. We tested interrater and intrarater reliability using kappa statistics. RESULTS: Our validation cohort included 227 patients (58% male; median age: 72.4 (IQR: 67.1-74.6)). The interrater reliability for the main analyses (i.e. including any lobar ICH; all deep and infratentorial anatomical categories (lentiform, caudate thalamus; brainstem; cerebellum); and uncertain location) was excellent (all kappa values>0.80) both in pair-wise between-rater comparisons and across all raters. The intrarater reliability was substantial to almost perfect (k=0.83; 95%CI: 0.77-0.88 and k=0.95; 95%CI: 0.92-0.96 respectively). All kappa statistics remained consistent for individual cerebral lobar regions. CONCLUSIONS: The CHARTS instrument can be used to reliably and comprehensively map the anatomical location of spontaneous ICH, and may be helpful for studying important questions regarding causes, risk factors, prognosis, and for stratification in clinical trials.

The H-ATOMIC Criteria for the Etiologic Classification of Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There are no generally accepted criteria for the etiologic classification of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). For this reason, we have developed a set of etiologic criteria and have applied them to a large number of patients to determine their utility. METHODS: The H-ATOMIC classification includes 7 etiologic categories: Hypertension, cerebral Amyloid angiopathy, Tumour, Oral anticoagulants, vascular Malformation, Infrequent causes and Cryptogenic. For each category, the etiology is scored with three degrees of certainty: Possible(3), Probable(2) and Definite(1). Our aim was to perform a basic study consisting of neuroimaging, blood tests, and CT-angio when a numerical score (SICH) suggested an underlying structural abnormality. Combinations of >1 etiologic category for an individual patient were acceptable. The criteria were evaluated in a multicenter and prospective study of consecutive patients with spontaneous ICH. RESULTS: Our study included 439 patients (age 70.8 ± 14.5 years; 61.3% were men). A definite etiology was achieved in 176 (40.1% of the patients: Hypertension 28.2%, cerebral Amyloid angiopathy 0.2%, Tumour 0.2%, Oral anticoagulants 2.2%, vascular Malformation 4.5%, Infrequent causes 4.5%). A total of 7 patients (1.6%) were cryptogenic. In the remaining 58.3% of the patients, ICH was attributable to a single (n = 56, 12.7%) or the combination of ≥2 (n = 200, 45.5%) possible/probable etiologies. The most frequent combinations of etiologies involved possible hypertension with possible CAA (H3A3, n = 38) or with probable CAA (H3A2, n = 29), and probable hypertension with probable OA (H2O2, n = 27). The most frequent category with any degree of certainty was hypertension (H1+2+3 = 80.6%) followed by cerebral amyloid angiopathy (A1+2+3 = 30.9%). CONCLUSIONS: According to our etiologic criteria, only about 40% patients received a definite diagnosis, while in the remaining patients ICH was attributable to a single possible/probable etiology or to more than one possible/probable etiology. The use of these criteria would likely help in the management of patients with ICH.

Prehospital Identification of Stroke Subtypes in Chinese Rural Areas.

BACKGROUND: Differentiating intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) from cerebral infarction as early as possible is vital for the timely initiation of different treatments. This study developed an applicable model for the ambulance system to differentiate stroke subtypes. METHODS: From 26,163 patients initially screened over 4 years, this study comprised 1989 consecutive patients with potential first-ever acute stroke with sudden onset of the focal neurological deficit, conscious or not, and given ambulance transport for admission to two county hospitals in Yutian County of Hebei Province. All the patients underwent cranial computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging to confirm the final diagnosis based on stroke criteria. Correlation with stroke subtype clinical features was calculated and Bayes' discriminant model was applied to discriminate stroke subtypes. RESULTS: Among the 1989 patients, 797, 689, 109, and 394 received diagnoses of cerebral infarction, ICH, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and other forms of nonstroke, respectively. A history of atrial fibrillation, vomiting, and diabetes mellitus were associated with cerebral infarction, while vomiting, systolic blood pressure ≥180 mmHg, and age <65 years were more typical of ICH. For noncomatose stroke patients, Bayes' discriminant model for stroke subtype yielded a combination of multiple items that provided 72.3% agreement in the test model and 79.3% in the validation model; for comatose patients, corresponding agreement rates were 75.4% and 73.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The model herein presented, with multiple parameters, can predict stroke subtypes with acceptable sensitivity and specificity before CT scanning, either in alert or comatose patients. This may facilitate prehospital management for patients with stroke.

Reliability of intracerebral hemorrhage classification systems: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Accurately distinguishing non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) subtypes is important since they may have different risk factors, causal pathways, management, and prognosis. We systematically assessed the inter- and intra-rater reliability of ICH classification systems. METHODS: We sought all available reliability assessments of anatomical and mechanistic ICH classification systems from electronic databases and personal contacts until October 2014. We assessed included studies' characteristics, reporting quality and potential for bias; summarized reliability with kappa value forest plots; and performed meta-analyses of the proportion of cases classified into each subtype. SUMMARY OF REVIEW: We included 8 of 2152 studies identified. Inter- and intra-rater reliabilities were substantial to perfect for anatomical and mechanistic systems (inter-rater kappa values: anatomical 0.78-0.97 [six studies, 518 cases], mechanistic 0.89-0.93 [three studies, 510 cases]; intra-rater kappas: anatomical 0.80-1 [three studies, 137 cases], mechanistic 0.92-0.93 [two studies, 368 cases]). Reporting quality varied but no study fulfilled all criteria and none was free from potential bias. All reliability studies were performed with experienced raters in specialist centers. Proportions of ICH subtypes were largely consistent with previous reports suggesting that included studies are appropriately representative. CONCLUSIONS: Reliability of existing classification systems appears excellent but is unknown outside specialist centers with experienced raters. Future reliability comparisons should be facilitated by studies following recently published reporting guidelines.

Pattern and location of intracerebral hemorrhage in Enugu, South-East Nigeria: A review of 139 cases.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence rates and location of nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have been shown to vary between population and races. Knowledge of ICH patterns may give some insight into the etiology of ICH and help reduce its burden particularly among Africans where health infrastructure is poorly developed. We present a retrospective review of ICH using a modern neuroimaging technique. OBJECTIVES: To determine the pattern and location of ICH among patients presenting in a tertiary hospital in Enugu. METHODS: All the medical and computer tomography records of patients with a clinical diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke with the location of hemorrhage clearly specified and complete patients' data were reviewed. The study duration was 11 years (January 2003 to December 2013). Relevant data were obtained, and statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 19 (IBM Corporation, New York, USA). RESULTS: A total of 139 (17.4%) out of 799 scans done over the period under review were analyzed. The frequency of lobar and deep cerebral hemorrhages (LH and DCHs) was 46.8% and 53.2%, respectively. The most common types of hemorrhage in men and women were deep cerebral (52.2% and 55.3%, respectively). Five percent (7/139) of all hemorrhages occurred in the cerebellum. Age distribution of the location of ICH shows that LHs peaked at 16-39 years while DCHs peaked at 40-49 years. There was not statistically significant difference between mean ages of occurrence of LH and hemorrhages of other locations. CONCLUSION: Frequency of LH and DCH varied with age as LH peaked before the age of 40 while deep cerebral at 40-49 years. The age distribution of different types of ICH may suggest a higher role of other factors apart from hypertension. Further studies are required to establish the risk factors of LH and DCHs in our environment.

Identification of Plasma Biomarkers of Human Intracerebral Hemorrhage Subtypes through Microarray Technology.

BACKGROUND: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating form of stroke and depending on the underlying cause, primary ICH is mainly caused by hypertension (HTN-ICH) or cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA-ICH). Currently, neuroimaging markers are required to identify the pattern for each etiology. The discovery of new biomarkers to improve the management of this pathology is therefore needed. METHODS: A microarray analysis was carried out to analyze gene expression differences in blood samples from patients (>1.5 months since the last ICH event) who suffered a CAA-ICH and HTN-ICH, and controls. The results were replicated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the plasma protein level of the best candidate was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The microarray analysis and the validation study revealed an increase in Golgin A8 Family, Member A (GOLGA8A) mRNA and protein levels in ICH cases compared to controls (P < .01), although no differences were found between specific ICH etiologies. GOLGA8A plasma levels were also associated with the presence of multiple hemorrhages (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The GOLGA8A level was increased in the blood of patients who suffered a primary ICH. We did not, however, find any candidate biomarker that distinguished CAA-ICH from HTN-ICH. The role of GOLGA8A in this fatal disorder has yet to be determined.

Damages of spinal cord in newborns after intraventricular hemorrhage.

We studied the spinal cords of 14 dead premature newborn with intraventricular hemorrhages. In all cases, grade III intraventricular hemorrhage was followed by the translocation of blood into the subarachnoid space of the cervical, dorsal, and lumbar parts of the spinal cord. Ischemic changes were found in neurons of the cervical intumescence and other parts of the spinal cord. These changes are important during thanatogenesis. Three stages in the development of intraventricular hemorrhage were distinguished. Imperfections of clinical classification of this pathology were demonstrated.

Stroke and bleeding risk in atrial fibrillation: navigating the alphabet soup of risk-score acronyms (CHADS2 , CHA2 DS2 -VASc, R2 CHADS2 , HAS-BLED, ATRIA, and more).

Stroke prevention is central to the management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). As effective stroke prophylaxis essentially requires oral anticoagulants, an understanding of the risks and benefits of oral anticoagulant therapy is needed. Although AF increases stroke risk 5-fold, this risk is not homogeneous. Many stroke risk factors also confer an increased risk of bleeding. Various stroke and bleeding risk-stratification schemes have been developed to help inform clinical decision-making. These scores were derived and validated in different study cohorts, ranging from highly selected clinical-trial cohorts to real-world populations. Thus, their performance and classification accuracy vary depending on their derivation cohort(s). In the present review, we provide an overview of currently available stroke and bleeding risk-stratification schemes. We particularly focus on the CHA2 DS2 -VASc and HAS-BLED schemes, as these are recommended by the latest European guidelines on AF management. Other risk-stratification schemes (eg, CHADS2 , R2 CHADS2 , ATRIA, HEMORR2 HAGES, QStroke) and their place in the decision-making are also considered.