A 35-year-old female presented with episodes of frequent dizziness, ear fullness, and right ear tinnitus for 12 months. Head imaging revealed a right glomus tympanicum tumor. She underwent pre-operative endovascular embolization of the glomus tympanicum tumor with surgical, cyanoacrylate-based glue. Immediately after the procedure, she developed drowsiness and severe pain in the right temporal region. Further investigations revealed a right cerebellar stroke in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery territory. She was treated with intravenous heparin, followed by one year of oral anticoagulation. With rehabilitation, she significantly recovered from her post embolization stroke. However, the tumor was resected at another institution. Ten years later, follow-up imaging indicated a gradual increase in the size of the glomus jugulare tumor compressing the nearby critical vascular structures. She subsequently received radiation therapy to treat the residual tumor. Currently, she has no neurological deficit, but her mild dizziness, right ear tinnitus, and hearing impairment persist.

Objective: Endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular diseases is often challenging due to small caliber, tortuous distal vessels. Several devices and techniques have evolved to overcome these challenges. Recently, a low profile dual lumen microballoon catheter, specifically designed for distal navigation is employed for neurovascular procedures. Due to its recent advent, scarce data is available on clinical utility and safety of Scepter Mini. The aim of this case series is to report our initial experience with Scepter Mini in the management of various cerebrovascular diseases. Methods: All interventional neurovascular cases performed using Scepter Mini between January 2020 till April 2021 were included. Data regarding patient demographics, procedural details and complications was retrospectively collected from patient’s electronic medical record and procedure reports. Results: Total twelve embolization procedures were performed in eleven patients, including six brain arteriovenous malformation, two dural arteriovenous fistula, one vein of Galen malformation and three hyper-vascular glomus tumor embolizations. All procedures were successfully performed with adequate penetration of the embolic agent. Complete embolization was performed in six procedures, while intended partial embolization was performed in the rest of procedures. Scepter Mini was solely used in ten procedures, however in the other two embolization procedures it was used as an additional conjunct tool to complete the intended embolization. No balloon related complication was observed in any procedure. Conclusions Scepter Mini dual lumen microballoon catheter is safe and feasible for delivery of liquid embolic agents for cerebrovascular embolization procedures.

OBJECTIVES: To reveal the mechanisms behind the dual effects of Crataegus aronia (C. aronia) aqueous extract on platelet aggregation by focusing on function, regulation, expression, and signaling of platelets P METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats (120 ± 10 g) were classified as control received the vehicle, C. aronia (200 mg/kg), and C. aronia (2,000 mg/kg)-treated rats. After treatments for consecutive 7 days, hematological and molecular experiments were conducted to detect alterations in platelet aggregation, thromboxane B2 (THXB2) and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content; protein levels of P RESULTS: At a concentration of 200 mg/kg, C. aronia inhibited platelet aggregation through multiple interconnected mechanisms including downregulation P CONCLUSION Oral administration of C. aronia at low dose inhibits platelet aggregation by reducing THXB2 release, expression of P-selectin and activating cAMP and Akt signaling through two major mechanisms including downregulation of P