With an increasing proportion of the elderly, dementia due to severe cerebral white matter change is frequently observed. Because these patients cannot express their symptoms effectively, the recognition of stroke can be delayed. In addition, clinical characteristics of their stroke might be different. We reported on three patients with severe leukoaraiosis, who exhibited altered consciousness after acute lacunar infarction in the corona radiata. This clinico-radiological discrepancy may have resulted from different susceptibility to ischemia in patients with severe white matter change.
Aged ; Cerebral Infarction ; Consciousness ; Dementia ; Dementia, Vascular ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Leukoaraiosis ; Stroke ; Stroke, Lacunar

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The coexistence of carotid atherosclerosis in ischemic stroke patients with small-vessel disease (SVD) or intracranial large-vessel disease (ICLVD) was investigated using carotid duplex ultrasonography, and whether its coexistence affected the clinical prognosis was determined. METHODS: Ischemic stroke patients with SVD or ICLVD were enrolled (n=103). Risk factors, demographic data, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores were obtained for all of the subjects. Early neurological progression was defined by an increase in NIHSS score during the first 7 days. Carotid ultrasonography was performed to measure the intima-media thickness (IMT) and carotid plaques. RESULTS: Among the 103 patients who were retrospectively enrolled in this study (56 with SVD and 47 with ICLVD), 66 (64.1%) had an atherosclerotic plaque and 23 (22.3%) had increased IMT. Increased IMT was observed more frequently in ICLVD than in SVD [15/47 (31.9%) vs. 8/56 (14.3%), p=0.032]. An atherosclerotic plaque was observed on subsequent carotid ultrasonographic examination in 28 (50%) of the 56 patients whose computed tomography angiography scans of the neck vessels were interpreted as normal. There was no association between presence of atherosclerotic change and early neurologic progression (p=0.94). CONCLUSIONS: A coexisting atherosclerotic plaque or increased IMT was observed in 71.8% of patients with SVD or ICLVD. Whether the coexistence of carotid atherosclerotic change with either of these conditions affects the clinical prognosis remains to be elucidated.
Angiography ; Atherosclerosis ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; Humans ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Neck ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stroke

In patients with acute ischemic stroke, carotid duplex ultrasonography has been used to assess atherosclerotic lesions at the extracranial carotid artery. We reported a unique sonographic finding of carotid artery thrombus in a patient with acute cardioembolic stroke and atrial fibrillation. An 81-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation was presented with dysarthria and left side hemiparesis. She had undergone surgical thrombectomy and angioplasty for her right brachial artery occlusion four days before the stroke onset. Diffusion-weighted MRI revealed multiple territorial infarctions suggestive of acute cardio-embolic stroke. CT angiography showed an occlusion of the right common carotid artery. On B-mode ultrasonography, longitudinal intraluminal tortuous cylinderic oscillating thrombus was observed on the right distal common carotid artery to the proximal internal carotid artery. This case illustrates a unique ultrasonographic finding of acute cardiogenic thrombus in the extracranial carotid artery.
Angiography ; Angioplasty ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Brachial Artery ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Cerebral Infarction ; Dysarthria ; Female ; Humans ; Infarction ; Paresis ; Stroke ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombosis

No abstract available.
Blood Transfusion ; Headache ; Hemochromatosis

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Seizures ; Thrombolytic Therapy

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been defined as a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer disease. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can estimate the microstructural integrity of white matter tracts in MCI. We evaluated the microstructural changes in the white matter of MCI patients with DTI. We recruited 11 patients with MCI who met the working criteria of MCI and 11 elderly normal controls. The mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were measured in 26 regions of the brain with the regions of interest (ROIs) method. In the MCI patients, FA values were significantly decreased in the hippocampus, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the splenium of corpus callosum, and in the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus compared to the control group. MD values were significantly increased in the hippocampus, the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsules, the splenium of the corpus callosum, the right frontal lobe, and in the superior and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Microstructural changes of several corticocortical tracts associated with cognition were identified in patients with MCI. FA and MD values of DTI may be used as novel biomarkers for the evaluation of neurodegenerative disorders.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging/*pathology ; Anisotropy ; Biological Markers ; Cerebral Cortex/*pathology ; Cognition Disorders/*pathology ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neural Pathways/*pathology ; Severity of Illness Index

BACKGROUND: Nerve growth factor (NGF) promotes the survival and differentiation of vertebrate neurons, and their actions are mediated by two classes of cell surface receptors: tyrosine kinase A receptor (TrkA) and p75 neurotrophic receptor (p75NTR). We evaluated the role of NGF receptors in neuronal survival and the physical interactions between them. METHODS: Organotypic hippocampal slices were obtained from 5 to 7-day-old rat pups and were grown for 14 days in vitro. The expression of the TrkA and p75NTR was evaluated by the western blot and immunohistochemical methods. The neuroprotective effect of NGF on the blocking of antibody-induced neuronal cell death was tested by the application of NGF (0, 50 and 150 ng/ml) to the culture media in the presence of 200 ng/ml of blocking antibodies against TrkA and p75NTR. Functional interactions between the two receptors were examined using the immunoprecipitation method. RESULTS: TrkA and p75NTR were co-expressed in the principal neurons of the hippocampal slice culture, and the expression level was increased time dependently until 14 days of culture. The blocking antibody against each receptor induced neuronal damage in time and dose-dependent manners. NFG delayed or prevented the blocking antibody from inducing neuronal damage. Results from the immunoprecipitation experiment showed physical interactions between the two NGF receptors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the co-expressed NGF receptors, TrkA and p75NTR, might have protective roles in the survival of neuronal cells through the cooperative interactions between them.
Animals ; Antibodies, Blocking ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Death ; Culture Media ; Immunoprecipitation ; Nerve Growth Factor ; Neurons* ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Rats ; Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor ; Vertebrates

BACKGROUND: Progressing stroke (PS) variably develops from initially the same size and severity, and is most frequently observed in lacunar infarctions. We investigated fractional anisotrophy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) and infarct volume by using diffusion tensor imaging during the acute phase of ischemic stroke to determine whether these parameters are useful in characterizing and predicting PS. METHODS: In this study, 55 consecutive patients admitted within 24 hours of the onset of their first ischemic stroke were included. NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) and Canadian Neurological scale (CNS) were performed upon admission, twice a day, and at discharge. Modified Rankin scale and Barthel index were also evaluated. PS was defined as a 2-point drop in NIHSS and a 1-point drop in CNS from admission to day 3. A correlation analysis was performed between clinical scale scores and imaging parameters, and the distribution of those values was compared between the two groups with and without PS. RESULTS: Significant correlations were observed between clinical scale scores and infarct volumes. The FA ratio in 14 patients with PS was lower than the patients without PS (p=0.004). Other characteristics including infarct volume and MD ratio were not different. The FA ratio remained as an independent predictor of PS (OR, 1.055; p=0.011). CONCLUSIONS: In acute ischemic stroke within the first 24 hours, only infarct volume was correlated with clinical status. However, patients with PS showed lower FA values, which accounts for rapid and severe vasogenic edema involving the disruption of the cell membrane and axonal fibers. Moreover, FA may be a predictor of PS.
Anisotropy* ; Axons ; Cell Membrane ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging* ; Diffusion* ; Edema ; Humans ; Stroke* ; Stroke, Lacunar

BACKGROUND: The brain imaging criteria for subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD), as proposed by Eurkinjuntti, incorporates the two familiar entities, "the lacunar state" and "Binswanger's disease". However, it has not been proven whether these two subtypes of SIVD have common pathophysiological features. This study investigated the changes of the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the two subsets of SIVD. METHODS: 12 SIVD patients with predominant white matter lesions, 13 patients with predominant multiple lacunar infarctions and 17 controls were evaluated. The general cognitive function and the severity of dementia were measured by using the K-MMSE and the clinical dementia rating scale. The patients simultaneously met both the NINDS-AIREN criteria for probable or possible vascular dementia (VaD) and the Eurkinjuntti's brain imaging criteria for SIVD. 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimmer (ECD)-SPECT was performed to measure the rCBF, and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was applied to the objective analysis of the SPECT data. RESULTS: SPM analysis of the SPECT images revealed that decreased rCBF in the bilateral thalami, anterior cingulated gyri, superior temporal gyri, caudate heads and left parahippocampal gyrus was significant in the patients with SVaD compared to the controls (uncorrected P=0.001). This pattern of rCBF reduction was the same in both the SIVD patients with predominant white matter lesions and with predominant lacunar infarctions. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the two subsets of SIVD proposed by Eurkinjuntti may have a common functional abnormality, and the Eurkinjuntti's criteria offers a solution for researchers to identify the more homogeneous group of VaD patients.
Dementia ; Dementia, Vascular* ; Head ; Humans ; Neuroimaging ; Parahippocampal Gyrus ; Stroke, Lacunar ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

No abstract available.
Abducens Nerve Diseases* ; Abducens Nerve* ; Headache* ; Intracranial Hypotension*