Epidemiology of ischemic stroke from atrial fibrillation in Dijon, France, from 1985 to 2006.

International audienceBACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is strongly associated with age, and epidemiologic studies are needed to evaluate the impact of both aging of the population and the use of anticoagulant therapy in patients with AF on the incidence of cardioembolic stroke with AF (CE/AF stroke). METHODS: We evaluated trends in incidence rates, risk factors, prestroke therapy, and survival in CE/AF stroke from a prospective population-based registry, from 1985 to 2006. RESULTS: A total of 3,064 ischemic strokes, including 572 (18.7%) CE/AF strokes, were recorded. Over the 22 years, a decrease in the incidence of overall CE/AF stroke was noted (incidence rate ratio 0.9858, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9731-0.9986; p = 0.03). We observed a higher prevalence of previous AF, previous myocardial infarction, and patients aged >70 years in CE/AF stroke (p < 0.0001) whereas hypercholesterolemia was more prevalent in other ischemic strokes (p = 0.003). A significant increase in the use of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents was noted, and was particularly pronounced for CE/AF stroke with previous AF. For CE/AF stroke, survival rates were 72% at 1 month (95% CI 0.68-0.76), 52% at 1 year (95% CI 0.48-0.56), and 43% at 2 years (95% CI 0.39-0.48), and remained lower than those of other ischemic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in the incidence of cardioembolic/atrial fibrillation stroke in our study was probably due to a slight increase in the utilization of antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation, but the use of such therapies will have to increase further because of the expected aging of the population in coming years

Telemedicine for the acute management of stroke in Burgundy, France: an evaluation of effectiveness and safety

International audienceBackground:In the context of the development of telemedicine in France to address low thrombolysis rates and limited stroke infrastructures, a star-shaped telestroke network was implemented in Burgundy (1.6 million inhabitants). We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of this network for thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke patients.Methods:One hundred and thirty-two consecutive patients who received intravenous thrombolysis during a telemedicine procedure (2012–2014) and 222 consecutive patients who were treated at the stroke center of Dijon University Hospital, France (2011–2012) were included. Main outcomes were the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score and case fatality at 3 months. Comparisons between groups were made using multivariable ordinal logistic regression and logistic regression analyses, respectively.Results:Baseline characteristics of telethrombolysis patients were similar to those of patients undergoing thrombolysis locally except for a higher frequency of previous cancer and pre-morbid handicap, and a trend towards greater severity at admission in the former. The distribution of mRS scores at 3 months was similar between groups, as were case-fatality rates (18.9% in the telethrombolysis group versus 16.5%, P = 0.56). In multivariable models, telethrombolysis did not independently influence functional outcomes at 3 months (odds ratio for a shift towards a worse outcome on the mRS, 1.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.74–1.66, P = 0.62) or death (odds ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.44–1.69, P = 0.66).Conclusion:The implementation of a regional telemedicine network for the management of acute ischemic stroke appeared to be effective and safe. Thanks to this network, the proportion of patients who benefit from thrombolysis will increase. Further research is needed to evaluate economic benefits

Clinical features of pain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A clinical challenge

International audiencePain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is paradoxical in this disease of the upper and lower motor neurons. As such, it remains an underestimated and neglected clinical problem because it is poorly identified by physicians, its mechanisms are numerous and its treatments are generally not effective. Pain may be primary in the form of cramps, spasticity and neuropathy, or secondary as nociceptive pain, and may arise before the first motor symptoms. It may also lead to depression and, in all cases, affect patients' daily activities and quality of life. Given the high frequency of pain in ALS, the use of analgesic or sedative drugs is necessary and should reduce the course of the disease. Nevertheless, it is important to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain in ALS, and to train physicians how to detect ALS pain early on and provide dedicated treatments. In France, the implementation of ALS centers is a positive response to the public-health problem resulting from this disorder

P09.084C - Strong interest of exome sequencing in progressive neurological diseases

International audienceIntroduction: Neurogenetics represents a vast, complex, ever changing discipline whose diagnosis currently remains challenging, since clinical and/or imaging features frequently appear very unspecific, especially early in the evolution (cerebellar ataxia, tremor, dystonia...). In molecular diagnosis, current strategies usually include sequential investigations that may lead to long, tedious, expensive and disappointing patients care. Exome sequencing (ES) appears a promising approach for neurogenetics, apart from when nucleotide motif expansion disorders can be suspected. Materials and Methods: We recruited 48 individuals without cognitive development impairment, referred to our center for suspected neurogenetic disease: 20 cerebellar ataxia (42%), 12 neuromuscular diseases (25%), 8 spastic paraplegia (17%), 2 abnormal movements (4%) and 6 others (12%) for whom the phenotype could not be labelled under a usual neurological syndrome. ES was interpreted in a solo-based strategy (94%) or in trio with parental pool (6%). Results: ES identified a causal diagnosis in 4/8 individuals with spastic paraplegia (50%), 3/6 “other” (50%), 1/2 with abnormal movements (50%), 5/12 with neuromuscular diseases (42%), 4/11 with isolated cerebellar ataxia (37%) and 2/9 with spinocerebellar ataxia (22%). Overall diagnostic yield was of 40 %. Conclusions: With such overall diagnostic yield, this study reinforces the diagnostic interest of ES in neurogenetics, in all its fields, as this diagnostic yield ranges from 22% in spinocerebellar ataxia (which is higher than current yield of gene panels) to 50% in spastic paraplegia. It also includes situations in which clinical displays may be complex and hard to systematize. First-tier implementation would significantly improve diagnostic yield in neurogenetics