Factors influencing severity in acute ischemic strokes

Background: Stroke severity is one of the factors that determines stroke related disability. We explored possible associations between stroke severity and commonly evaluated clinical parameters of stroke patients. Objective: To determine the relationships between clinical features including routine in- hospital investigations done in first 24 hours of admission and variations in the stroke severity. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective, analytical study performed in the Department of Neurology at Shifa International Hospital, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Adult patients admitted with ischemic stroke, over a period of 39 months, with Middle Cerebral Artery infarctions, were included. National Institute of Heath Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was taken as a measure of stroke severity. The pertinent information was filled in a predesigned data sheet, and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: A total of 207 patients were included in the study. The highest stroke severity was found in old age ([\u3e64 years]), and patients with cardio embolic and unclassified (\u3e one etiology) strokes, while the lowest severity was found in small artery occlusion strokes. Higher fasting serum triglyceride levels were associated with lower stroke severity and vice versa ([P=.002]). Among supra aortic large artery atherosclerosis the pre-stroke anti-platelet ([52 %]) and beta blocker use ([53.6 %]) was significantly associated with lower stroke severity. In cardio embolic strokes active smoking was associated with increased severity ([90%]). Conclusion: Stroke severity is not only related to stroke etiology, but also, age, fasting serum triglyceride levels, active smoking and pre-stroke medications may also play significant roles. Nevertheless, further studies are required with prospective design, to confirm our findings

Sex Determination Using Hand Morphometric Parameters in Individuals from Pakistani Descent

Objective: To identify the presence or absence of sexual dimorphism using hand measurements alone in people from Pakistan. Moreover, to identify the variable that can be better at predicting sex among the rest of hand measurements. Methods: The research involved 122 male and 182 female participants, ranging in age from 18 to 60 years, without any hand deformities or missing fingers. Each participant underwent a set of hand measurements, including hand breadth, which was measured in a linear line from the lateral-most end on the head of the second metacarpal to the medial end on the head of the fifth metacarpal in centimeters. Additionally, hand length measured to be as the direct distance from the midpoint of the distal wrist crease to the top most point of the middle finger in centimeters. Logistic regression was used to analyze six hand measurements on the likelihood of prediction of the male or female gender Results: The logistic regression model showed statistical significance, ÷2 = 19.502, p < .012. The model explained 58.0% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in gender and accurately identified 84.2% of cases. A statistically substantial disparity was evident in hand measurements and hand indices across genders. (P-value=.0001). Conclusion: Our study reveals the presence of sexual dimorphism in hand morphometric parameters among the population of Pakistan. Hand measurements prove to be a reliable indicator for predicting gender in the majority of cases. Nevertheless, relying on a single hand measurement may not yield accurate gender predictions. Instead, a combination of various hand measurements can enhance the overall reliability of gender prediction