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Background. Spinal Cord Infarction (SCI) is a rare and disabling disease. This hospital-based study was conducted for clinical evaluation of SCI patients in east of Iran. Methods. Consecutive SCI patients admitted in Ghaem hospital,Mashhad during 2006–2010 were enrolled in a prospective clinical study. Diagnosis of SCI was made by neurologists and radiologists. Demographic features, clinical syndrome, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) findings were recorded. All of the patients underwent a standard battery of diagnostic investigations. All of the patients suspected to SCI had MRI of spinal cord at the symptomatic level of cord with a 0.5 Tesla generation, Philips NT Intra, Netherland equipment. An equal number of patients with Brain Infarction (BI) were randomly selected from our stroke registry data bank. Etiology and degree of disability were compared between these groups of patients. Results. Fourteen SCI patients (9 females, 5 males) with mean age 38.8 ± SD: 19.9 years were evaluated. Miscellaneous causes consisted 50% of etiologies in patients with SCI. Uncertain etiology, atherosclerosis, and cardioembolisms consisted 35.7%, 7.1%, and 7.1% of SCI causes, respectively. Distribution of etiologies was significantly different between SCI and BI patients, X2 = 12.94, df = 3, P = .003. Difference in mean disability score at acute phase of stroke was not significant between two studied groups, z = 1.54, P = .057. Difference in mean changes of disability score at 90 days postevent was significant in two groups of patients, z = 2.65, P = .019. Conclusion. SCI is a rare disease with poor recovery. Distribution of etiologies of SCI patients is quite different than of BI patients.

BACKGROUND:

The Alberta Stroke Program Early Computerized Tomography Score (ASPECTS) was used to detect significant early ischemic changes on brain CT of acute stroke patients. We designed the modified ASPECTS and compared it to the above system based on the inter-rater reliability.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional validation study was conducted based on the inter-rater reliability. The CT images were chosen from the stroke data bank of Ghaem hospital, Mashhad in 2010. The inclusion criteria were the presence of middle cerebral artery territory infarction and performance of CT within 6 hours after stroke onset. Axial CT scans were performed on a third-generation CT scanner (Siemens, ARTX, Germany). Section thickness above posterior fossa was 10 mm (130 kV, 150 mAs). Films were made at window level of 35 HU. The brain CTs were scored by four independent radiologists based on the ASPECTS and modified ASPECTS. The readers were blind to clinical information except symptom side. Cochrane Q and Kappa tests served for statistical analysis.

RESULTS:

24 CT scans were available and of sufficient quality. Difference in distribution of dichotomized ≤7 and >7 ASPECT scores between four raters was significant (Q=13.071, df=3, p=0.04). Distribution of dichotomized <6 and ≥6 scores based on modified ASPECT system between 4 raters was not significantly different (Q=6.349, df=3, p=0.096).

CONCLUSIONS:

Modified ASPECT method is more reliable than ASPECTS in detecting major early ischemic changes in stroke patients candidated to tPA thrombolysis.

Background:

Hepatitis C is a disease with significant global impact. The distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in Mashhad (the Northeast and the biggest city after the capital of Iran) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of HCV genotypes among HCV seropositive patients, and to study the relationship between types, virologic and demographic features of patients in Mashhad.

Methods:

Three hundred and eighty-two clinical specimens obtained from HCV-infected patients referred to Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad during a period of 2009 to 2010 were selected. HCV genotype was determined by Nested PCR amplification of HCV core gene using genotype specific primers.

Results:

Totally, 299 patients were male (79.9%). The most common HCV genotype was genotype 3a, with 150 (40%) of subjects. Genotype 1a was the other frequent genotype, with 147(39.2%) subjects. Frequency of genotypes for 1b, 5 and 2 was 41(10.9%), 13(3.4%) and 9(2.4%), respectively. Mix genotype including 1a+1b in 4 (1.04%), 1a+3a in 3 (0.8%) was found in 7 patients. Four percent out of these samples had an undetermined genotype. Among the hemophilia patient, there were 13(48.1%) genotypes as 1a, 3(11.1%) 1b and 10(37%) 3a, respectively.

Conclusion:

The dominant HCV genotype among patients living in Mashhad was 3a. This study gives added evidence of the predominant HCV genotypes in Iran.

BACKGROUND

Direct surgery or endovascular procedures are an accepted way of treating patients with Aneurismal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH). However the impact of invasive methods of treatment on results in developing countries may differ from that in developed countries.

METHODS

This is a prospective clinical study of consecutive patients with Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH) admitted in Ghaem hospital in Mashhad during 2005-2010. The initial diagnosis and investigations were carried out by neurologists. The patients were divided into two groups. One received surgical treatment whilst the other group was managed medically. The decision as to the choice of method of treatment was made by the neurosurgeons. The initial medical treatment was standardised for all the patients. The rate of complications and mortality was compared in both medical and surgical groups.

RESULTS

20 SAH patients (52% females) with a mean age of 50.6±7 years were evaluated. The angiography revealed the presence of an aneurysm in 62 patients. 63.5% of patients received medical treatment and 37.5% underwent aneurysmal surgery. Difference of rebleeding rate in two therapeutic groups was not significant; χ2=0.014, P=0.91. The effect of rebleeding on mortality was not significant; χ2=2.54, P=0.14. Within 62 SAH patients with cerebral aneurysm, the mortality rate in both therapeutic groups was also not significantly different; χ2=0.16, P=0.77.

CONCLUSION

There is no significant difference in the mortality rate between the “surgical” and non “surgical” groups of patients with SAH. This could be due to delay in performance of surgery in neurovascular centers in Iran.

Background:

Human enteroviruses (EVs) may have a role as a possible risk factor in the pathogenesis of MI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of enterovirus genomic RNA in peripheral blood samples of patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods:

We investigated the presence of enterovirus genomic RNA in the peripheral blood of 115 patients with acute MI hospitalized in the Coronary Care Unit of Imam Reza and Ghaem University Hospitals (Mashhad, Iran) by RT-PCR using the virus specific primers.

Results:

The subjects’ mean (±SD) age was 63.5 (±9.4) years (range: 38–82) and 38.3 % of the subjects were female. Of 115 patient specimens, 3 (2.6%) were positive in RT-PCR.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of enterovirus in MI patients is considerable. More investigations are needed to determine the causal role of enteroviruses in MI.

Background. The impact of invasive methods of treatment on results in developing countries may differ from that in developed countries. Methods. This is a prospective clinical study of consecutive patients with Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH) admitted to the Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad during the period from 2005 to 2009. The initial diagnosis and investigations were carried out by neurologists. The patients were divided into two groups. One received surgical treatment whilst the other group was managed medically. The decision as to the choice of the method of treatment was made by the neurosurgeons. The initial medical treatment was standardised for all the patients. The rate of complications and mortality was compared in both medical and surgical groups. Results. 120 SAH patients (52% females) with a mean age of 50.6 ± 7 years were evaluated. The angiography revealed the presence of an aneurysm in 62 patients. 63.5% of the patients received medical treatment and 37.5% underwent aneurysmal surgery. Difference of rebleeding rate in the two therapeutic groups was not significant; X2 = .014, P = .91. The effect of rebleeding on mortality was not significant; X2 = 2.54, P = .14. Within 62 SAH patients with cerebral aneurysm, the mortality rate in both therapeutic groups was also not significantly different; X2 = .16, P = .77. Conclusion. There is no significant difference in the mortality rate between the “surgical” and non-“surgical” groups of Iranian patients with SAH. This could be due to delay in performance of surgery in Iranian neurovascular centers.

Background

Cardioembolic stroke generally results in more severe disability, since it typically has a larger ischemic area than the other types of ischemic stroke. However, it is difficult to differentiate cardioembolic stroke from non-cardioembolic stroke (atherothrombotic stroke and lacunar stroke). In this study, we evaluated the levels of plasma brain natriuretic peptide in acute ischemic stroke patients with cardioembolic stroke or non-cardioembolic stroke, and assessed the prediction factors of plasma brain natriuretic peptide and whether we could differentiate between stroke subtypes on the basis of plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentrations in addition to patient's clinical variables.

Methods

Our patient cohort consisted of 131 consecutive patients with acute cerebral infarction who were admitted to Kagawa University School of Medicine Hospital from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007. The mean age of patients (43 females, 88 males) was 69.6 ± 10.1 years. Sixty-two patients had cardioembolic stroke; the remaining 69 patients had non-cardioembolic stroke (including atherothrombotic stroke, lacunar stroke, or the other). Clinical variables and the plasma brain natriuretic peptide were evaluated in all patients.

Results

Plasma brain natriuretic peptide was linearly associated with atrial fibrillation, heart failure, chronic renal failure, and left atrial diameter, independently (F4,126 = 27.6, p < 0.0001; adjusted R2 = 0.45). Furthermore, atrial fibrillation, mitral regurgitation, plasma brain natriuretic peptide (> 77 pg/ml), and left atrial diameter (> 36 mm) were statistically significant independent predictors of cardioembolic stroke in the multivariable setting (Χ2 = 127.5, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

It was suggested that cardioembolic stroke was strongly predicted with atrial fibrillation and plasma brain natriuretic peptide. Plasma brain natriuretic peptide can be a surrogate marker for cardioembolic stroke.

Background:

Several studies suggest transient ischemic attack (TIA) may be neuroprotective against ischemic stroke analogous to preinfarction angina's protection against acute myocardial infarction. However, this protective ischemic preconditioning-like effect may not be present in all ages, especially among the elderly. The purpose of this study was to determine the neuroprotective effect of TIAs (clinical equivalent of cerebral ischemic preconditioning) to neurologic damage after cerebral ischemic injury in patients over 65 years of age.

Methods:

We reviewed the medical charts of patients with ischemic stroke for presence of TIAs within 72 hours before stroke onset. Stroke severity was evaluated by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and disability by a modified Rankin scale.

Results:

We evaluated 203 patients (≥65 years) with diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke and categorized them according to the presence (n = 42, 21%) or absence (n = 161, 79%) of TIAs within 72 hours of stroke onset. Patients were monitored until discharged from the hospital (length of hospital stay 14.5 ± 4.8 days). No significant differences in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and modified Rankin scale scores were observed between those patients with TIAs and those without TIAs present before stroke onset at admission or discharge.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that the neuroprotective mechanism of cerebral ischemic preconditioning may not be present or functional in the elderly.

Background and Purpose

Malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction is estimated to occur in 10% of ischemic strokes, but few patients undergo decompressive hemicraniectomy, a proven therapy. We determined the proportion of ischemic stroke patients without significant baseline disability with large MCA infarction who would have been potentially eligible for hemicraniectomy in an era before publication of recent hemicraniectomy trials.

Methods

Ischemic stroke cases that occurred in 2005 among residents of the five-county Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area were ascertained. Two study physicians reviewed all clinical and neuroimaging data for patients with baseline modified Rankin Score (mRS) <2, age ≥18 years with NIHSS ≥10. Large MCA infarction was defined as >50% of the MCA territory or >145mL on diffusion-weighted MRI. Other eligibility criteria for hemicraniectomy, based on the pooled analysis of recent clinical trials, were age 18–60 years and NIHSS >15.

Results

Of 2227 ischemic strokes, 39(1.8%) with baseline mRS <2 had large MCA infarction. None underwent hemicraniectomy, and 16(41.0%) died within 30 days. Six patients (0.3% of all ischemic strokes) were potentially eligible for hemicraniectomy; one died within 30 days.

Conclusion

Based on criteria from clinical trials, only 0.3% of cases were eligible for hemicraniectomy. Given the survival and functional outcome benefit in treated patients, future studies should determine whether additional subgroups of ischemic stroke patients may benefit from hemicraniectomy.

Objective(s)

Production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) by enteric bacteria continues to be a major problem in hospitals and community. ESBLs producing bacteria cause many serious infections including urinary tract infections, peritonitis, cholangitis and intra-abdominal abscess. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ESBLs producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria isolated from clinical samples of patients attending Imam Reza and Ghaem University Hospitals, Mashhad, Northeast of Iran.

Materials and Methods

During 2009 and 2010, 82 strains of E. coli and 78 strains of K. pneumoniae were isolated from out-patients and hospitalized patients and they were examined by Oxoid combination disk test and PCR methods.

Results

We found that 43.9% of E. coli and 56.1% of K. pneumoniae produced ESBLs. The frequency of SHV and TEM among the ESBLs producing isolates were 14.4% and 20.6%, respectively. Ratios of ESBLs positive isolates from out-patients to hospitalized patients were 24/33.

Conclusion

This study shows that the prevalence of ESBLs producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae is high in both study groups (out-patients and hospitalized patients). Therefore it seems that continuous surveillance is essential to monitor the ESBLs producing microorganisms in hospitals and community.

Objective

Evaluating the effect of zinc sulfate in improving the clinical manifestations of acute bronchiolitis in children younger than 2 years.

Methods

This was a double blind pilot trial on 50 patients aged 2 to 23 months at Ghaem and Dr. Sheikh Hospitals in Mashhad from January 2008 to March 2009. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: a case group received oral zinc sulfate and to the control group was given placebo.

Findings

Mean age of case group was 168.0±108.6 days and control group 169.2±90.4 days (P=0.98) with male predominance in both groups. At first there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in reducing the symptoms. But 24 hours after treating, improvement of some important manifestations including tachypnea, subcostal and intercostal retraction, wheezing and cyanosis revealed statistically significant difference in control group in comparison with case group (P=0.04).

Conclusion

Zinc sulfate has no benefit in improving clinical manifestations of acute bronchiolitis.

Purpose

The assessment of inducible wall motion abnormalities during high-dose dobutamine-stress cardiovascular magnetic resonance (DCMR) is well established for the identification of myocardial ischemia at 1.5 Tesla. Its feasibility at higher field strengths has not been reported. The present study was performed to prospectively determine the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of DCMR at 3 Tesla for depicting hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis (≥ 50% diameter stenosis) in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD).

Materials and methods

Thirty consecutive patients (6 women) (66 ± 9.3 years) were scheduled for DCMR between January and May 2007 for detection of coronary artery disease. Patients were examined with a Philips Achieva 3 Tesla system (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands), using a spoiled gradient echo cine sequence. Technical parameters were: spatial resolution 2 × 2 × 8 mm3, 30 heart phases, spoiled gradient echo TR/TE: 4.5/2.6 msec, flip angle 15°. Images were acquired at rest and stress in accordance with a standardized high-dose dobutamine-atropine protocol during short breath-holds in three short and three long-axis views. Dobutamine was administered using a standard protocol (10 μg increments every 3 minutes up to 40 μg dobutamine/kg body weight/minute plus atropine if required to reach target heart rate). The study protocol included administration of 0.1 mmol/kg/body weight Gd-DTPA before the cine images at rest were acquired to improve the image quality. The examination was terminated if new or worsening wall-motion abnormalities or chest pain occurred or when > 85% of age-predicted maximum heart rate was reached. Myocardial ischemia was defined as new onset of wall-motion abnormality in at least one segment. In addition, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was performed. Images were evaluated by two blinded readers. Diagnostic accuracy was determined with coronary angiography as the reference standard. Image quality and wall-motion at rest and maximum stress level were evaluated using a four-point scale.

Results

In 27 patients DCMR was performed successfully, no patient had to be excluded due to insufficient image quality. Twenty-two patients were examined by coronary angiography, which depicted significant stenosis in 68.2% of the patients. Patient-based sensitivity and specificity were 80.0% and 85.7% respectively and accuracy was 81.8%. Interobserver variability for assessment of wall motion abnormalities was 88% (κ = 0.760; p < 0.0001). Negative and positive predictive values were 66.7% and 92.3%, respectively. No significant differences in average image quality at rest versus stress for short or long-axis cine images were found.

Conclusion

High-dose DCMR at 3T is feasible and an accurate method to depict significant coronary artery stenosis in patients with suspected or known CAD.

Migraine is a common neurological disorder and can be severely disabling during attacks. The highest prevalence occurs between the ages of 25 and 55 years, potentially the most productive period of life. Migraine leads to a burden not only for the individual, but also for the family and society in general. Prior studies have found that migraine occurs together with other illnesses at a greater coincidental rate than is seen in the general population. These occurrences are called “comorbidities,” which means that these disorders are interrelated with migraine. To delineate the comorbidities of migraine is important, because it can help improve treatment strategies and the understanding of the possible pathophysiology of migraine. The comorbid illnesses in patients with migraine include stroke, sub-clinical vascular brain lesions, coronary heart disease, hypertension, patent foramen ovale, psychiatric diseases (depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, and suicide), restless legs syndrome, epilepsy and asthma. In this paper, we review the existing epidemiological and hospital-based studies, and illustrate the connections between these illnesses and migraine.

Background

The insula is a small but complex structure located in the depth of the sylvian fissure, covered by the frontal, parietal and temporal operculum. Ischemic strokes limited to the insula are rare and have not been well studied. Our objective is to better define the clinical presentation and outcome of insular ischemic strokes (IIS).

Methods

We reviewed the institutional prospective, consecutive stroke database from two centers to identify patients with IIS seen between 2008 and 2010. We also searched the Medline database using the keywords insula(r), infarction and stroke to identify previously published IIS cases confirmed by MRI. Minimal extension to an adjacent operculum or subinsular area was accepted. Clinicoradiological correlation was performed by distinguishing IIS involving the anterior (AIC) or posterior insular cortex (PIC). We collected clinical, demographic and radiological data. The outcome was determined using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

Results

We identified 7 patients from our institutions and 16 previously published cases of IIS. Infarcts were limited to the AIC (n = 4) or the PIC (n = 12) or affected both (n = 7). The five most frequent symptoms were somatosensory deficits (n = 10), aphasia (n = 10), dysarthria (n = 10), a vestibular-like syndrome (n = 8) and motor deficits (n = 6). A significant correlation was found between involvement of the PIC and somatosensory manifestations (p = 0.04). No other statistically significant associations were found. IIS presentation resembled a partial anterior circulation infarct (n = 9), a lacunar infarct (n = 2) or a posterior circulation infarct (n = 2). However, most cases presented findings that did not fit with these classical patterns (n = 10). At the 6 month follow up, mRS was 0 in 8/23 (35%) patients, 1–2 in 7/23 (30%) and unknown in 8/23 (35%).

Conclusions

IIS presentation is variable. Due to the confluence of functions in a restricted region, it results in multimodal deficits. It should be suspected when vestibular-like or motor but especially somatosensory, speech or language disturbances are combined in the same patient. The outcome of IIS is often favorable. Larger prospective studies are needed to better define the clinical presentation and outcome of IIS.

Background and Purpose

Silent brain infarctions are associated with an increased risk of stroke in healthy individuals. Risk of recurrent stroke in patients with both symptomatic and silent brain infarction (SBI) has only been investigated in patients with cardioembolic stroke in the European Atrial Fibrillation Trial. We assessed whether patients with recent non-cardioembolic stroke and SBI detected on MRI are at increased risk for recurrent stroke, other cardiovascular events, and mortality.

Methods

The prevalence of SBI detected on MRI was assessed in 1014 patients enrolled in the imaging substudy of the Prevention Regimen for Effectively Avoiding Second Strokes (PRoFESS) trial. The primary outcome was first recurrence of stroke in patients with both symptomatic stroke and SBI in comparison with age and sex matched stroke patients without SBI. Secondary outcomes were a combined vascular endpoint, other vascular events and mortality. The two groups were compared using conditional logistic regression.

Results

Silent brain infarction was detected in 207 (20.4%) patients of the 1014 patients. Twenty-seven (13.0%) patients with SBI and 19 (9.2%) without SBI had a recurrent stroke (odds ratio 1.42, 95% confidence interval 0.79 to 2.56; p=0.24) during a mean follow-op of 2.5 years. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference for all secondary outcome parameters between patients with SBI and matched patients without SBI.

Conclusion

The presence of SBI in patients with recent mild non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke could not be shown to be an independent risk factor for recurrent stroke, other vascular events, or a higher mortality.

Background

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been shown to play an important role in poststroke recovery. BDNF secretion is influenced by genetic and epigenetic profiles. This study aimed to investigate whether BDNF val66met polymorphism and promoter methylation status were associated with outcomes at two weeks and one year after stroke.

Methods and Findings

A total of 286 patients were evaluated at the time of admission and two weeks after stroke, and 222 (78%) were followed one year later in order to evaluate consequences of stroke at both acute and chronic stages. Stroke outcomes were dichotomised into good and poor by the modified Rankin Scale. Stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale), physical disability (Barthel Index), and cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination) were measured. Associations of BDNF genotype and methylation status on stroke outcomes and assessment scale scores were investigated using logistic regression, repeated measures ANOVA and partial correlation tests. BDNF val66met polymorphism was independently associated with poor outcome at 2 weeks and at 1 year, and with worsening physical disability and cognitive function over that period. Higher BDNF promoter methylation status was independently associated with worse outcomes at 1 year, and with the worsening of physical disability and cognitive function. No significant genotype-methylation interactions were found.

Conclusions

A role for BDNF in poststroke recovery was supported, and clinical utility of BDNF genetic and epigenetic profile as prognostic biomarkers and a target for drug development was suggested.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary small vessel disease caused by mutations of the Notch3 gene. Clinical manifestations include migraine with or without aura, psychiatric disorders, recurrent ischaemic strokes and cognitive decline. Brain MRI shows confluent hyperintense signal alterations involving characteristically the anterior part of the temporal lobes and widespread areas of the deep and periventricular white matter. Focal or generalised seizures represent a rare neurological manifestation in CADASIL with a frequency of 6–10% in two large series.1,2 Status epilepticus, however, has not been reported so far. Herein we describe a patient with CADASIL with an acute focal neurological deficit following a prolonged migraine attack. The symptoms were first interpreted as an ischaemic stroke but subsequently diagnosed to be due to a non-convulsive status epilepticus.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary small vessel disease caused by mutations of the Notch3 gene. Clinical manifestations include migraine with or without aura, psychiatric disorders, recurrent ischaemic strokes and cognitive decline. Brain MRI shows confluent hyperintense signal alterations involving characteristically the anterior part of the temporal lobes and widespread areas of the deep and periventricular white matter. Focal or generalised seizures represent a rare neurological manifestation in CADASIL with a frequency of 6–10% in two large series. Status epilepticus, however, has not been reported so far. Herein we describe a patient with CADASIL with an acute focal neurological deficit following a prolonged migraine attack. The symptoms were first interpreted as an ischaemic stroke but subsequently diagnosed to be due to a non-convulsive status epilepticus.

Acute isolated hemiataxia is in most cases due to infratentorial (cerebellar) stroke. It has only twice been described in supratentorial stroke--namely, after thalamic infarction and a capsular haemorrhage. Three patients with isolated hemiataxia after a supratentorial brain infarct are described. These patients were seen in a period of five years during which 899 patients with a first supratentorial brain infarct were registered. Clinically the hemiataxia was of the cerebellar type. In two patients, CT and MRI showed a small, deep (lacunar) infarct restricted to the posterior limb of the internal capsule, a site not previously reported in isolated hemiataxia. The third patient had a small, deep (lacunar) infarct in the thalamus extending into the adjacent posterior limb of the internal capsule. Isolated hemiataxia after a supratentorial brain infarct is a very rare clinical stroke syndrome. The cerebellar type hemiataxia was most likely caused by interruption of the cerebellar pathways at the level of the internal capsule. Our cases confirm prior observations that the cerebellar pathways run through the posterior part of the posterior limb of the internal capsule separately from the motor and sensory pathways.

Images

Objective

Late-onset sepsis is responsible for high morbidity and mortality in newborn infants in the world and in particular in developing countries. In this study, we evaluated whether clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters and measurements of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) are able to discriminate between late neonatal sepsis and normal baby.

Methods

This was a prospective (case-control) study conducted between March 2007 and April 2008, at the neonatal intensive care unit, Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. The study comprised 93 neonates ≥72 hours of life. The infants were categorized in two groups based on the clinical presentation, and biochemical markers including complete blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood culture: 1) Control group including 42 infants with routine screening and 2) Case group consisting of 38 infants with definitive infection (positive blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid culture) or clinical sepsis (clinical and laboratory signs of infection without positive blood or CSF culture). Receiver-operating characteristic curves were used for the determination of thresholds for the infection group versus healthy neonate group.

Findings

Eighty infants were enrolled in this study. IL-8 and CRP decreased in order of definitive infection, clinical sepsis and healthy subjects respectively (P<0.001). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value for serum levels were 0.95, 0.1, 0.97, 0.1 for IL-8 and 0.83, 0.86, 0.83, 0.69 for CRP respectively (cut-off point for IL-8 >60pg/ml and for CRP>6mg/dl).

Conclusion

IL-8 may be a valid and early predictive marker of neonatal infection. Also, IL-8 is associated with severity of infection.

Background

Acute bacterial meningitis which is a pediatric emergency with high mortality and morbidity must be diagnosed and treat promptly. Often diagnosis of bacterial meningitis from viral meningitis is difficult after some days. Determination of some inflammatory mediators’ example IL-6 and HS-CRP were useful in differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis.

Objectives

This study attempted to Determining HS-CRP and IL6 in serum and CSF in children suspected meningitis and Comparing value HS-CRP and IL6 in bacterial/viral meningitis.

Patients and Methods

Of children that hospitalized in pediatric emergency ward (Ghaem Hospital Mashhad university of medical science, in duration 01 Dec 2010-01 Dec 2011) and for they performed lumbar puncture, 1cc serum and CSF of they were taken to laboratory and have measured IL-6 with Elisa method and HS-CRP with immunoturbidometry method, patients were followed up and finally we compared levels of this two mediators.

Results

Finally, this study performed on 81 children and infants. From 81 cases, 27 cases (33.3%) had bacterial meningitis 27 cases (33.3%) viral meningitis and 27 cases (33.3%) had normal CSF. IL-6 concentration in the CSF and serum were significantly raised in cases of bacterial meningitis (P = 0.001, P = 0.01) but HS-CRP concentration in the CSF and serum were not significantly raised in cases of bacterial meningitis (P = 0.46, P = 0.29). Mean IL-6 concentration in the CSF in bacterial meningitis was (180.74) and in viral meningitis was (39.08) .Mean HS-CRP in CSF in bacterial meningitis was (2.22) and viral meningitis was (1.29). Mean HS-CRP in serum in bacterial meningitis was (8.23) and viral meningitis was (6.36).

Conclusions

The measurement of IL-6 in the CSF and serum in potentially a very useful diagnostic tool for differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis.

Objectives: Cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are a recognised risk factor for post-stroke dementia. Their specific relations to cognitive impairment are still not well known. The purpose of this study was to explore how the severity and location of WMHs predict neuropsychological test performance in the context of other brain lesions in elderly stroke patients.

Methods: In the Helsinki Stroke Aging Memory Study, 323 patients, aged from 55 to 85 years, completed a detailed neuropsychological test battery and MRI 3 months after an ischaemic stroke. The demographic and MRI predictors of cognition were studied with sequential linear regression analyses.

Results: After age, education and total infarct volume were controlled for, the overall degree of WMHs predicted poor performance in tests of mental speed, executive functions, memory, and visuospatial functions, but not in those of short term memory storage or verbal conceptualisation. However, the contribution of separate white matter regions was relatively low. Only the lesions along the bodies of lateral ventricles were independently associated with speed and executive measures. Additionally, general cortical atrophy clearly predicted a wide range of cognitive deficits while infarct volume had less relevance. Further analyses revealed that executive functions act as a strong mediator between the relationship of WMHs to memory and visuospatial functions.

Conclusions: The degree of WMHs is independently related to post-stroke cognitive decline. The most affected cognitive domains seem to be executive functions and speed of mental processing, which may lead to secondary deficits of memory and visuospatial functions.

Background

Elevated serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) have been associated with cardioembolic (CE) stroke and increased post-stroke mortality. We sought to determine whether BNP levels were associated with functional outcome after ischemic stroke.

Methods

We measured BNP in consecutive patients aged ≥18 years admitted to our Stroke Unit between 2002–2005. BNP quintiles were used for analysis. Stroke subtypes were assigned using TOAST criteria. Outcomes were measured as 6-month modified Rankin Scale score (“good outcome” = 0–2 vs. “poor”) as well as mortality. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess association between the quintiles of BNP and outcomes. Predictive performance of BNP as compared to clinical model alone was assessed by comparing ROC curves.

Results

Of 569 ischemic stroke patients, 46% were female; mean age was 67.9 ± 15 years. In age- and gender-adjusted analysis, elevated BNP was associated with lower ejection fraction (p<0.0001) and left atrial dilatation (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, elevated BNP decreased the odds of good functional outcome (OR 0.64, 95%CI 0.41–0.98) and increased the odds of death (OR 1.75, 95%CI 1.36–2.24) in these patients. Addition of BNP to multivariate models increased their predictive performance for functional outcome (p=0.013) and mortality (p<0.03) after CE stroke.

Conclusions

Serum BNP levels are strongly associated with CE stroke and functional outcome at 6 months after ischemic stroke. Inclusion of BNP improved prediction of mortality in patients with CE stroke.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a higher risk for stroke in studies from developed countries. This prospective study was conducted to study the clinical profile, management, and outcome of stroke in patients of chronic kidney disease who had been admitted in our institute during the period from December 2004 to December 2006. A higher incidence of stroke was found in men and in the fifth decade of life. Hypertension and diabetes were found in 88.8 and 48.1% of the patients respectively. CKD was detected for the first time during stroke evaluation in 55.5% of the patients. Stroke was due to cerebral infarction in 48.14% and due to cerebral hemorrhage in 40.7% of the patients. Surgical intervention was needed in 14.8% of all patients while stroke was managed medically in the rest. Over 70% of the patients were discharged after they showed improvement in the symptoms.

Dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) is impaired following stroke. However, the relationship between dCA, brain atrophy, and functional outcomes following stroke remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine whether impairment of dCA is associated with atrophy in specific regions or globally, thereby affecting daily functions in stroke patients.

We performed a retrospective analysis of 33 subjects with chronic infarctions in the middle cerebral artery territory, and 109 age-matched non-stroke subjects. dCA was assessed via the phase relationship between arterial blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity. Brain tissue volumes were quantified from MRI. Functional status was assessed by gait speed, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), modified Rankin Scale, and NIH Stroke Score.

Compared to the non-stroke group, stroke subjects showed degraded dCA bilaterally, and showed gray matter atrophy in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes ipsilateral to infarct. In stroke subjects, better dCA was associated with less temporal lobe gray matter atrophy on the infracted side ( = 0.029), faster gait speed ( = 0.018) and lower IADL score (0.002). Our results indicate that better dynamic cerebral perfusion regulation is associated with less atrophy and better long-term functional status in older adults with chronic ischemic infarctions.