Stroke remains a major cause of death and disability, highlighting the intimate relationship between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Despite substantial advances in diagnosis and treatment, marked disparities in access to care and clinical outcomes continue to exist. As such, stroke remains a shared challenge for primary care physicians, cardiologists, and neurologists, emphasizing the need for effective prevention, timely intervention, structured rehabilitation, and optimal secondary prevention. In this issue, we feature the Executive Summary of the 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke and Intracerebral Hemorrhage in the Philippines, an important resource for promoting evidence-based, patient-centered care and improving stroke outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide and remains a major cause of death among Filipinos. Despite being the most common neurological disease, wide variations in management persist among clinicians. This CPG aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of acute stroke.

A systematic synthesis of evidence was conducted to address the diagnosis and management of both acute hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was followed. The process included: (1) generation of critical questions and outcomes (2) retrieval of current and relevant evidence, (3) synthesis and appraisal of the evidence base, (4) formulation of draft recommendations, (5) deliberation by a multi-sectoral stakeholder panel on feasibility, values and preferences to assess the strength of recommendations and (6) planning for dissemination, implementation, impact evaluation and updating.

Sixteen clinical questions were addressed leading to 21 recommendations. Most were strong recommendations supported by moderate to high certainty of evidence. The recommendations span the spectrum of acute stroke care, including early diagnosis with imaging, admission to stroke units, reperfusion therapies, surgical options, prevention of complications and the role of adjunctive treatments.

The recommendations in this CPG are intended to guide clinicians and other stakeholders in the diagnosis and management of acute stroke. They are meant to supplement, not replace, the sound clinical judgment of healthcare providers.

Stroke remains a major cause of death and disability, highlighting the intimate relationship between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Despite substantial advances in diagnosis and treatment, marked disparities in access to care and clinical outcomes continue to exist. As such, stroke remains a shared challenge for primary care physicians, cardiologists, and neurologists, emphasizing the need for effective prevention, timely intervention, structured rehabilitation, and optimal secondary prevention. In this issue, we feature the Executive Summary of the 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke and Intracerebral Hemorrhage in the Philippines, an important resource for promoting evidence-based, patient-centered care and improving stroke outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide and remains a major cause of death among Filipinos. Despite being the most common neurological disease, wide variations in management persist among clinicians. This CPG aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of acute stroke.

A systematic synthesis of evidence was conducted to address the diagnosis and management of both acute hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was followed. The process included: (1) generation of critical questions and outcomes (2) retrieval of current and relevant evidence, (3) synthesis and appraisal of the evidence base, (4) formulation of draft recommendations, (5) deliberation by a multi-sectoral stakeholder panel on feasibility, values and preferences to assess the strength of recommendations and (6) planning for dissemination, implementation, impact evaluation and updating.

Sixteen clinical questions were addressed leading to 21 recommendations. Most were strong recommendations supported by moderate to high certainty of evidence. The recommendations span the spectrum of acute stroke care, including early diagnosis with imaging, admission to stroke units, reperfusion therapies, surgical options, prevention of complications and the role of adjunctive treatments.

The recommendations in this CPG are intended to guide clinicians and other stakeholders in the diagnosis and management of acute stroke. They are meant to supplement, not replace, the sound clinical judgment of healthcare providers.

Ferroptosis, a regulated cell death process distinct from apoptosis, is characterized by iron dysregulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. After intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), decreased cerebral blood flow and iron released from erythrocytes trigger lipid peroxidation-particularly of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)-through a cascade of reactions in local brain tissues, promoting ferroptosis. Mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation further elevate ROS, exacerbating lipid peroxidation and accelerating neuronal ferroptosis. Thus, PUFA peroxidation and associated metabolic pathways play a critical role in ICH-related neuronal damage. This review summarizes current understanding of how PUFA peroxidation contributes to ferro-ptosis after ICH, discusses key regulatory mechanisms involving lipid and iron metabolism, and highlights potential therapeutic strategies targeting ferroptosis to improve neurological outcomes.
Ferroptosis/physiology* ; Humans ; Cerebral Hemorrhage/pathology* ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated/metabolism* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Iron/metabolism* ; Animals ; Mitochondria/metabolism*

BACKGROUND

Acute ICH represents a serious form of stroke, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Early rehabilitation has been recommended in order to improve motor function recovery and functional independence of the patients with ICH. However, the timing at which rehabilitation should be initiated remains unclear.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of early rehabilitation in motor function recovery and functional independence as well as to investigate the ideal timing for initiating rehabilitation post-ICH.

Four RCTs were retrieved in this meta-analysis (Bai et al – 364 patients, Liu et al – 243 patients, Yen et al – 60 patients, Zhu et al – 84 patients). Selection criteria included early rehabilitation intervention for acute ICH patients, with measurable objective assessment of motor function and evaluation of ADLs at 1 and 3 months post-rehabilitation. Data extraction was done from the selected studies, followed by statistical analysis, using a random effects model, calculating the SMD with 95% CI.

Early rehabilitation significantly improved motor function at 1 month [SMD = 0.55, 95% CI 0.09, 1.00, p = 0.02] and independence in ADLs at 1 month [SMD = 0.57, 95% CI 0.10, 1.05, p = 0.02]. However, this did not persist at 3 months [SMD = 0.17, 95% CI 0.00, 0.35, p = 0.05].

Results of this meta-analysis support that early rehabilitation within 72 hours post-ICH significantly improved motor recovery and independence in ADLs at 1 month but uncertainties still surround benefits at 3 months.

Evidence mapping was used to systematically analyze the clinical research evidence of oral Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH), thus revealing the distribution and quality of evidence in this field. The relevant articles were retrieved from CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception to July 5, 2024. The distribution characteristics of evidence were presented numerically and graphically. A total of 35 Chinese patent medicines were identified, involving 261 articles. The basic information of the 35 Chinese patent medicines, publication trend, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndromes, interventions, and outcome indicators were compared and analyzed, and the methodological quality of the articles was evaluated. The results indicated that the clinical scope of Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of ICH was broad. However, the available studies inadequately emphasized the advantages and characteristics of TCM, lacked the safety information and the standards for evaluating outcome indicators, and paid insufficient attention to cognitive ability and neuropsychology. In addition, these articles demonstrated low quality. It is recommended that follow-up clinical research should be standardized and highlight the characteristics of TCM. In the analysis of outcome indicators, TCM syndrome evaluation should be taken as an important outcome indicator, and the evaluation criteria should be unified. Moreover, more attention should be paid to patients' cognitive ability and neuropsychology. The holder of marketing license of Chinese patent medicines should standardize the clinical position and improve the safety information in the medicine instructions according to the relevant requirements of the National Medical Products Administration. Additionally, the proportion of Chinese patent medicines in the category A list of medical insurance should be increased, and the limited medical resources should be rationally allocated.
Cerebral Hemorrhage/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs/administration & dosage* ; Administration, Oral

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the independent risk factors for short-term mortality in patients with spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage (SCH) based on Mimics software of medical image control system. METHODS: The clinical data of SCH patients treated at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January, 2010 to December, 2021 was retrospectively analyzed and compared, including gender, age, underlyin g diseases, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and blood pressure at admission, laboratory indicators, imaging data, and short-term (3 weeks after onset) survival status. The imaging examination parameters were accurately calculated using Mimics software, including hematoma volume, longest diameter, and maximum cross-sectional area of cerebellar hemorrhage. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the independent risk factors for short-term death in SCH patients. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn to analyze the predictive value of the four significant factors on short-term mortality in SCH patients. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients with SCH were included, of which 42 patients (20.8%) died within 3 weeks of onset and 160 patients (79.2%) survived. Univariate analysis showed that, compared with the survival group, the death group had significantly higher blood glucose, hematoma volume, hematoma longest diameter, hematoma maximum cross-sectional area, the ratio of hematoma maximum cross-section area and the corresponding posterior cranial fossa area, while GCS score was significantly lower, the distance from hematoma edge to the cerebral aqueduct center, and the distance from hematoma edge to the edge of brainstem were significantly shorter, the differences were statistically significant. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that GCS score at admission [odds ratio (OR) = 0.875, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.767-0.998], hematoma volume (OR = 1.068, 95%CI was 1.022-1.115), the longest diameter of hematoma (OR = 1.086, 95%CI was 1.049-1.124), and the ratio of hematoma maximum cross-section area and the corresponding posterior cranial fossa area (OR = 1.119, 95%CI was 1.060-1.181) were independent risk factors for short-term mortality in SCH patients (all P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting short-term death of patients with SCH were 0.738, 0.839, 0.728 and 0.727, respectively. When the GCS score was 12 at admission, the sensitivity was 85.0% and the specificity was 57.1%. When the hematoma volume was 8.40 mL, the sensitivity was 95.2% and the specificity was 65.0%. When the longest diameter of the hematoma was 47.10 mm, the sensitivity was 57.1% and the specificity was 80.6%. When the ratio of hematoma maximum cross-section area and the corresponding posterior cranial fossa area was 0.11, the sensitivity was 88.1% and the specificity was 48.7%. CONCLUSIONS GCS score < 12 on admission, hematoma volume > 8.40 mL, hematoma longest diameter > 47.10 mm, the ratio of hematoma maximum cross-section area and the corresponding posterior cranial fossa area > 0.11 suggest a higher risk of short-term mortality in SCH patients.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Risk Factors ; Retrospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Software ; Adult ; Cerebral Hemorrhage/diagnosis* ; Logistic Models

Cerebral hemorrhage is a serious cerebrovascular disease with high morbidity and high mortality, for which timely diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a functional imaging technique which is able to detect abnormal changes of electrical property of the brain tissue at the early stage of the disease. However, irregular multi-layer structure and different conductivity properties of each layer affect image reconstruction of the brain EIT, resulting in low reconstruction quality. To solve this problem, an image reconstruction method based on an improved densely-connected fully convolutional neural network is proposed in this paper. On the basis of constructing a three-layer cerebral model that approximates the real structure of the human head, the nonlinear mapping between the boundary voltage and the conductivity change is determined by network training, which avoids the error caused by the traditional sensitivity matrix method used for solving inverse problem. The proposed method is also evaluated under the conditions with or without noise, as well as with brain model change. The numerical simulation and phantom experimental results show that conductivity distribution of cerebral hemorrhage can be accurately reconstructed with the proposed method, providing a reliable basis for the diagnosis and treatment of cerebral hemorrhage. Also, it promotes the application of EIT in the diagnosis of brain diseases.
Humans ; Cerebral Hemorrhage/diagnostic imaging* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Electric Impedance ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Tomography/methods* ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Convolutional Neural Networks

We present a 66-year-old male presenting with sudden onset of headache. Medical decompression was done and neuroimaging of plain cranial CT angiogram (CTA) and CT venogram (CTV) showed components of subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage and hyperdense appearance of the superior sagittal sinus and proximal left transverse sinus. The following were done to look for etiologic factors: 1. fungal swab to determine the cause of the intracerebral hemorrhage secondary to venous thrombosis as the patient presented with a chronic history of sinusitis, 2. coagulopathy workup to look for a hypercoagulable state, and 3. workup for systemic disease of autoimmune in etiology. Anticoagulation was safely initiated within several days given the regression of the intracerebral hemorrhage along with stable findings of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Here we report cerebral venous sinus thrombosis rarely presenting as acute subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Cerebral Hemorrhage