Prediction of degree of carotid stenosis with the transluminal attenuation difference ratio

PURPOSEWe aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of transluminal attenuation difference (TAD) in predicting the severity of internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis.METHODSThe study cohort consisted of 48 patients with 70%) stenosis compared with control arteries and low-moderate stenosis. A TAD ratio cutoff of 4.5 predicted 70%–99% stenosis with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 93%. The inter- and intraobserver agreements in TAD measurements were almost perfect (ICC, 0.89–0.86).CONCLUSIONAssessment of TAD ratio predicts the degree of stenosis in concordance with NASCET system

The Effects of a 'Transient Ischemic Attack Unit' on the Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Stroke and Other Vascular Events

Objective: Identifying the etiology and early treatment following a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke may prevent patients from having a disabling ischemic stroke. The primary aim of this study was to increase awareness of the symptoms of TIA and minor ischemic stroke and provide early intervention via a TIA unit. In addition, the benefits provided by the TIA unit were analyzed in terms of prognosis and length of hospital stay. Materials and Methods: Before beginning the study, brochures and posters containing information about the symptoms of a TIA and minor ischemic stroke, along with the mobile phone number of a research fellow, were distributed in the clinics and hung on the main boards of the Ankara University Faculty of Medicine Hospitals. A presentation on the TIA unit was also given to the healthcare professionals of the hospitals. Afterward, 69 patients consecutively admitted with symptoms of a TIA or minor ischemic stroke [with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of ≤5] between September 16, 2019, and September 15, 2020, were prospectively included in the study group. The hospital charts of 90 consecutive patients admitted with a TIA or minor ischemic stroke (with an NIHSS score of ≤5) were retrospectively evaluated as the control group from September 16, 2018, to September 15, 2019. The timing of the etiological diagnoses and treatments, the length of the hospital stay, and the prognoses of these two groups of patients, one comprising patients admitted before and the other comprising patients admitted after the TIA unit was established, were compared. Results: The two groups had no significant difference in vascular events and mortality. However, in the logistic regression analysis, the length of the hospital stay was significantly shorter in the study group (P = 0.015). Conclusion: A TIA and a minor stroke should be recognized quickly, and diagnostic tests should be performed as soon as possible to shorten the period of the hospital stay and reduce the costs and complications related to longer hospitalization

Hemichorea and Hemiballismus Associated with Cerebral Vascular Malformation Induced by Hyperglycemia: Case Report

Hemichorea, hemiballismus, and hyperglycemia associated with vascular malformation is rare. We report a patient who presented with involuntary movements in the left-side with concurrent hyperglycemia. The patient had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and a venous angioma in the basal ganglia on the cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A woman aged 49 years presented with flinging and throwing movements of the left upper and lower limb, which she had had for onemonth. Her neurologic examination confirmed involuntary, irregular, wide amplitude movements of the left limbs consistent with left hemiballismus. She had hypertension and type 2 DM. Her glucose level was 400 mg/dL. Cranial MRI showed a cavernoma in the right subependymal area of the lateral ventricle and a venous angioma in the right nucleus lentiformis, which was confirmed on digital subtraction angiography. Hemiballismus improved after blood glucose level had been regulated in the follow-up period. Especially in the elderly secondary causes should be investigated in patients with acute or subacute onset of choreaballismus. We think that our patient’s clinical presentation was induced by unregulated DM. Venous angioma with chorea-ballismus is rarely stated in literature and we presume the mass effect of venous angioma could be responsible of our clinical findings

Etiologic Subtypes, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Acute Ischemic Stroke in Young Patients

Objective: Stroke in people aged less than 45 years is less frequent than in older patients, but has major impacts on both the individual and society. The aim of this study was to determine the etiologic subtypes of acute ischemic stroke in the young. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the hospital records of 619 patients who were admitted with acute ischemic stroke between January 2011 and November 2014. Acute ischemic stroke in the young was defined as patients aged 45 years and under. Demographic data, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at admission and detailed investigations aimed at determining etiologic cause were recorded. Etiologic stroke subtypes were determined using the automated Causative Classification System. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores were recorded in the follow-up. Results: There were 32 (5.2%) young patients with acute ischemic stroke. The rates of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, and coronary artery disease were significantly lower in young patients compared with patients aged more than 45 years (p<0.05). The mean NIHSS score at admission and hospital mortality was significantly lower in patients aged 45 years and under compared with those older than 45 years (p=0.006, p=0.043). Cardioaortic embolism was the most common etiologic stroke subtype in both groups. Other causes were significantly more frequent in the young acute ischemic stroke group compared with the older patients. The median follow-up mRS was significantly lower in patients aged 45 years and under compared with those older than 45 years (p<0.001). Conclusion: Young patients with ischemic stroke have different risk factors, stroke etiology, stroke severity and prognosis compared with patients older than 45 years with the same conditio

BEYİN ÖLÜMÜ VE BİLGİSAYARLI TOMOGRAFİ ANJİOGRAFİ: KAFATASI DEFEKTİNİN ETKİSİ

GİRİŞ ve AMAÇ: Beyin ölümü şüphesi olan hastalarda kırık ve operasyonlar (kraniyektomi veya kraniyotomi) gibi kafatası defektileri kafa içi basıncını düşürebilir ve bilgisayarlı tomografi anjiografi (BTA) gibi destekleyici testler ile tanı konmada hatalı sonuçlara yol açabilir. Bu çalışmada, amacımız klinik olarak beyin ölümü teşhisi konulmuş kafatası defekti olan ve olmayan hastalarda BTA sonuçlarını analiz etmektir. YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Beyin ölümü klinik bulgularına sahip ve destekleyici test olarak BTA uygulanan hastalar retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi. Hastalar iki gruba ayrıldı: kafatası defekti olan grup (kafatası defekti +) ve kafatası defekti olmayan grup (kafatası defekti -). BULGULAR: Klinik olarak beyin ölümü tanısı olan ve BTA uygulanan 16 hasta değerlendirildi. Hastaların % 75’inde (12/16) kafatası defekti olduğu tespit edildi. Kafatası defekti olan 12 hastanın 4’ünde kırık mevcuttu. Diğer kafatası defekti olan hastaların 6’sında kraniyektomi, 2’sinde kraniyotomi mevcuttu. Frampas kriterlerine göre ilk BTA’da 6 hastada (% 37,5) kontrast dolumu saptandı. İlk BTA’da kontrast dolumu saptanan hastaların tamamında kafatası defekti mevcuttu. Klinik beyin ölümü bulguları sonrası kafatası defekti olan grupta [medyan süre 2 (0,5-7) gün], kafatası defekti olmayan gruba [medyan süre 0,5 (0,5-0,5) gün] göre radyolojik beyin ölümü tanısı anlamlı olarak daha geç konuldu (p=0,013). TARTIŞMA ve SONUÇ: Hasta sayısı kısıtlı olsa da çalışmamız kafatası defekti olan hastalarda BTA uygulaması hakkındaki zorlukları göstermiştir. Bulgularımıza göre kafatası defekti olan hastalarda BTA’nın beyin ölümü tanısı koymada yanlış negatiflik oranı artmaktadır. Kafatası defekti olan hastalara beyin ölümü tanısı daha geç konmaktadır. Bu bulgular, kafatası defekti olan hastalarda BTA için farklı değerlendirme kriterlerinin kullanılması veya BTA dışındaki diğer destekleyici testlerin kullanılması konusundaki tartışmaları gündeme getirmektedir

Cranial Neuropathy in Multiple Sclerosis

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that cranial neuropathy findings could be seen in the neurologic examination of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, although brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may not reveal any lesion responsible for the cranial nerve involvement. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of brainstem and cranial nerve involvement, except for olfactory and optic nerves, during MS attacks, and to investigate the rate of an available explanation for the cranial neuropathy findings by lesion localization on brain MRI. METHODS: Ninety-five attacks of 86 MS patients were included in the study. The patients underwent a complete neurological examination, and cranial nerve palsies (CNP) were determined during MS attacks. RESULTS: CNP were found as follows: 3rd CNP in 7 (7.4%), 4th CNP in 1 (1.1%), 5th CNP in 6 (6.3%), 6th CNP in 12 (12.6%), 7th CNP in 5 (5.3%), 8th CNP in 4 (4.2%), and 9th and 10th CNP in 2 (2.1%) out of 95 attacks. Internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) was detected in 5 (5.4%), nystagmus in 37 (38.9%), vertigo in 9 (6.3%), and diplopia in 14 (14.7%) out of 95 attacks. Pons, mesencephalon and bulbus lesions were detected in 58.7%, 41.5% and 21.1% of the patients, respectively, on the brain MRI. Cranial nerve palsy findings could not be explained by the localization of the lesions on brainstem MRI in 5 attacks; 2 of them were 3rd CNP (1 with INO), 2 were 6th CNP and 1 was a combination of 6th, 7th and 8th CNP. CONCLUSION: The most frequently affected cranial nerve and brainstem region in MS patients is the 6th cranial nerve and pons, respectively. A few of the MS patients have normal brainstem MRI, although they have cranial neuropathy findings in the neurologic examinatio

Cranial Neuropathy in Multiple Sclerosis

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that cranial neuropathy findings could be seen in the neurologic examination of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, although brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may not reveal any lesion responsible for the cranial nerve involvement. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of brainstem and cranial nerve involvement, except for olfactory and optic nerves, during MS attacks, and to investigate the rate of an available explanation for the cranial neuropathy findings by lesion localization on brain MRI. METHODS: Ninety-five attacks of 86 MS patients were included in the study. The patients underwent a complete neurological examination, and cranial nerve palsies (CNP) were determined during MS attacks. RESULTS: CNP were found as follows: 3rd CNP in 7 (7.4%), 4th CNP in 1 (1.1%), 5th CNP in 6 (6.3%), 6th CNP in 12 (12.6%), 7th CNP in 5 (5.3%), 8th CNP in 4 (4.2%), and 9th and 10th CNP in 2 (2.1%) out of 95 attacks. Internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) was detected in 5 (5.4%), nystagmus in 37 (38.9%), vertigo in 9 (6.3%), and diplopia in 14 (14.7%) out of 95 attacks. Pons, mesencephalon and bulbus lesions were detected in 58.7%, 41.5% and 21.1% of the patients, respectively, on the brain MRI. Cranial nerve palsy findings could not be explained by the localization of the lesions on brainstem MRI in 5 attacks; 2 of them were 3rd CNP (1 with INO), 2 were 6th CNP and 1 was a combination of 6th, 7th and 8th CNP. CONCLUSION: The most frequently affected cranial nerve and brainstem region in MS patients is the 6th cranial nerve and pons, respectively. A few of the MS patients have normal brainstem MRI, although they have cranial neuropathy findings in the neurologic examination