Types of the cerebral arterial circle (circle of Willis) in a Sri Lankan Population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The variations of the circle of Willis (CW) are clinically important as patients with effective collateral circulations have a lower risk of transient ischemic attack and stroke than those with ineffective collaterals. The aim of the present cadaveric study was to investigate the anatomical variations of the CW and to compare the frequency of prevalence of the different variations with previous autopsy studies as variations in the anatomy of the CW as a whole have not been studied in the Indian subcontinent.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The external diameter of all the arteries forming the CW in 225 normal Sri Lankan adult cadaver brains was measured using a calibrated grid to determine the prevalence in the variation in CW. Chisquared tests and a correspondence analysis were performed to compare the relative frequencies of prevalence of anatomical variations in the CW across 6 studies of diverse ethnic populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report 15 types of variations of CW out of 22 types previously described and one additional type: hypoplastic precommunicating part of the anterior cerebral arteries (A1) and contralateral posterior communicating arteries (PcoA) 5(2%). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001) were found between most of the studies except for the Moroccan study. An especially notable difference was observed in the following 4 configurations: 1) hypoplastic precommunicating part of the posterior cerebral arteries (P1), and contralateral A1, 2) hypoplastic PcoA and contralateral P1, 3) hypoplastic PcoA, anterior communicating artery (AcoA) and contralateral P1, 4) bilateral hypoplastic P1s and AcoA in a Caucasian dominant study by Fisher versus the rest of the studies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study reveals that there are significant variations in the CW among intra and inter ethnic groups (Caucasian, African and Asian: Iran and Sri Lanka dominant populations), and warrants further studies keeping the methods of measurements, data assessment, and the definitions of hypoplasia the same.</p

Early stages of Alzheimer's disease are alarming signs in injury deaths caused by traffic accidents in elderly people (≥60 years of age): A neuropathological study

© 2018 Indian Journal of Psychiatry. Background: There is little information available in the literature concerning the contribution of dementia in injury deaths in elderly people (≥60 years). Aim: This study was intended to investigate the extent of dementia-related pathologies in the brains of elderly people who died in traffic accidents or by suicide and to compare our findings with age-And sex-matched natural deaths in an elderly population. Materials and Methods: Autopsy-derived human brain samples from nine injury death victims (5 suicide and 4 traffic accidents) and nine age-And sex-matched natural death victims were screened for neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular pathologies using histopathological and immunohistochemical techniques. For the analysis, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 was used. Results: There was a greater likelihood for Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related changes in the elders who succumbed to traffic accidents (1 out of 4) compared to age-And sex-matched suicides (0 out of 5) or natural deaths (0 out of 9) as assessed by the National Institute on Aging - Alzheimer's Association guidelines. Actual burden of both neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and (SPs) was comparatively higher in the brains of traffic accidents, and the mean NFT counts were significantly higher in the region of entorhinal cortex (P < 0.05). However, associations obtained for other dementia-related pathologies were not statistically important

Vascular Contributions in Alzheimer's Disease-Related Neuropathological Changes: First Autopsy Evidence from a South Asian Aging Population

© 2016 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved. Background: Evidence from various consortia on vascular contributions has been inconsistent in determining the etiology of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective: To investigate vascular risk factors and cerebrovascular pathologies associated in manifestation of AD-related neuropathological changes of an elderly population. Methods: Postmortem brain samples from 76 elderly subjects (≥50 years) were used to study genetic polymorphisms, intracranial atherosclerosis of the circle of Willis (IASCW), and microscopic infarcts in deep white matters. From this cohort, 50 brains (≥60 years) were subjected to neuropathological diagnosis using immunohistopathological techniques. Results: Besides the association with age, the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele was significantly and strongly associated with Thal amyloid-β phases ≥1 [odds ratio (OR)=6.76, 95 confidence interval (CI) 1.37-33.45] and inversely with Braak neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) stages ≥III (0.02, 0.0-0.47). Illiterates showed a significant positive association for Braak NFT stages ≥IV (14.62, 1.21-176.73) and a significant negative association for microscopic infarcts (0.15, 0.03-0.71) in deep white matters. With respect to cerebrovascular pathologies, cerebral small vessel lesions (white matter hyperintensities and cerebral amyloid angiopathy) showed a higher degree of associations among them and with AD-related neuropathological changes (p<0.05) compared to large vessel pathology (IASCW), which showed a significant association only with Braak NFT stages ≥I (p=0.050). Conclusion: These findings suggest that besides age, education, and genetic factors, other vascular risk factors were not associated with AD-related neuropathological changes and urge prompt actions be taken against cerebral small vessel diseases since evidence for effective prevention is still lacking

Cytoskeletal pathologies of age-related diseases between elderly Sri Lankan (Colombo) and Indian (Bangalore) brain samples

© 2016 Bentham Science Publishers. Within South Asia, Sri Lanka represents fastest aging with 13% of the population was aged over 60’s in 2011, whereas in India it was 8%. Majority of the Sri Lankan population based genetic studies have confirmed their origin on Indian mainland. As there were inadequate data on aging cytoskeletal pathologies of these two nations with their close genetic affiliations, we performed a comparison on their elderly. Autopsy brain samples of 50 individuals from Colombo, Sri Lanka (mean age 72.1yrs ± 7.8, mean ± S.D.) and 42 individuals from Bangalore, India (mean age 65.9yrs ± 9.3) were screened for neurodegenerative pathologies using immunohistochemical techniques. A total of 79 cases with incomplete clinical history (Colombo- 47 and Bangalore- 32) were subjected to statistical analysis and 13 cases, clinically diagnosed with dementia and/or Parkinsonism disorders were excluded. As per National Institute on Aging Alzheimer’s Association guidelines, between Colombo and Bangalore samples, Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologic change for intermediate/ high level was 4.25% vs. 3.12% and low level was 19.15% vs. 15.62% respectively. Pathologies associated with Parkinsonism including brainstem predominant Lewy bodies-6.4% and probable progressive supra nuclear palsy2.13% were found solely in Colombo samples. Alzheimer related pathologies were not different among elders, however, in Colombo males, neurofibrillary tangle grade was significantly higher in the region of hippocampus (odds ratio = 1.46, 95% confidence interval = 0.07-0.7) and at risk in midbrain substantia nigra (p = 0.075). Other age-related pathologies including spongiform changes (p < 0.05) and hippocampus cell loss in dentate gyrus region (p < 0.05) were also identified prominently in Colombo samples. Taken together, aging cytoskeletal pathologies are comparatively higher in elderly Sri Lankans and this might be due to their genetic, dietary and/ or environmental variations

Características da utilização de serviços de atenção básica à saúde nas regiões Sul e Nordeste do Brasil: diferenças por modelo de atenção

In view of the emphasis on primary care for the health system and the consolidation of Family Healthcare Strategy, it is important that information on attended demand be updated to assist in administration of the Unified Health System (UHS). The study compared the profile of attended demand in basic healthcare units (BHU) of two care models (traditional and family health) in 240 BHU of seven states of the South and the Northeast. Collected on a prepared form, all patients attended in a single day were processed with the PACOTAPS application. 26,019 patients were attended, 52% in the South and 48% in the Northeast; one third in Traditional BHU and 67% in BHU of FHP. The highest proportion of patients attended was females aged between 15 and 49 (36%), with significant differences between the models, being higher in BHU of FHP. The second highest proportion was people aged 50 or older(30%), significantly higher in Traditional BHU. The most commonly registered procedures were basic nursing cases (33%), with higher proportion in Traditional BHCU. The proportion of medical appointments was 22%, double in Traditional BHCU. The profile of the demand reflected the differences between the ongoing care models in the country and may provide the organization of work processes in basic care.Considerando o destaque da atenção básica para o sistema de saúde e a consolidação da Estratégia da Saúde da Família, é importante que as informações sobre a demanda atendida sejam atualizadas para apoiar a gestão do SUS. O estudo comparou o perfil da demanda atendida em unidades básicas de saúde (UBS) de dois modelos de atenção (tradicional e saúde da família [PSF]) em 240 UBS de sete estados do Sul e Nordeste. Coletados em formulário próprio, todos os atendimentos de um dia de trabalho foram processados com o aplicativo PACOTAPS. Foram registrados 26.019 atendimentos, 52% no Sul e 48% no Nordeste; um terço em UBS Tradicionais e 67% em UBS do PSF. A maior proporção de atendimentos foi para mulheres entre 15 e 49 anos (36%), com diferenças significativas entre os modelos, sendo maior nas UBS do PSF. A segunda maior proporção foi de pessoas com 50 anos ou mais de idade (30%), significativamente maior nas UBS Tradicionais. Os procedimentos mais registrados foram os atendimentos básicos de enfermagem (33%), com maior proporção nas UBS Tradicionais. A proporção de consultas médicas foi de 22%, sendo duas vezes maior nas UBS Tradicionais. O perfil da demanda refletiu as diferenças entre os modelos de atenção no país e pode subsidiar a organização dos processos de trabalho em atenção básica