Stroke In Territory Research Articles

Deep Learning Classification of Ischemic Stroke Territory on Diffusion-Weighted MRI: Added Value of Augmenting the Input with Image Transformations.

Our primary aim with this study was to build a patient-level classifier for stroke territory in DWI using AI to facilitate fast triage of stroke to a dedicated stroke center. A retrospective collection of DWI images of 271 and 122 consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients from two centers was carried out. Pretrained MobileNetV2 and EfficientNetB0 architectures were used to classify territorial subtypes as middle cerebral artery, posterior circulation, or watershed infarcts along with normal slices. Various input combinations using edge maps, thresholding, and hard attention versions were explored. The effect of augmenting the three-channel inputs of pre-trained models on classification performance was analyzed. ROC analyses and confusion matrix-derived performance metrics of the models were reported. Of the 271 patients included in this study, 151 (55.7%) were male and 120 (44.3%) were female. One hundred twenty-nine patients had MCA (47.6%), 65 patients had posterior circulation (24%), and 77 patients had watershed (28.0%) infarcts for center 1. Of the 122 patients from center 2, 78 (64%) were male and 44 (34%) were female. Fifty-two patients (43%) had MCA, 51 patients had posterior circulation (42%), and 19 (15%) patients had watershed infarcts. The Mobile-Crop model had the best performance with 0.95 accuracy and a 0.91 mean f1 score for slice-wise classification and 0.88 accuracy on external test sets, along with a 0.92 mean AUC. In conclusion, modified pre-trained models may be augmented with the transformation of images to provide a more accurate classification of affected territory by stroke in DWI.

Myxomatous cause of multiple intracranial aneurysms and cognitive decline: a case report

BackgroundThe occurrence of cerebral aneurysm in a case of cardiac myxoma is rare with less than 60 cases reported worldwide. The course of management is still debatable given its rarity. We present a case of multiple intracranial aneurysms secondary to atrial myxoma in a young lady with a brief review of the literature.Case presentationA young lady in her late 30s with a history of right middle cerebral artery territory stroke eight years ago presented with gradually progressive symptoms in the form of holocranial headache, inattention and forgetfulness for the last few years. On neuroimaging, she was found to have multi-territorial lacunar infarcts and multiple intracranial artery aneurysms which was confirmed with a digital subtraction angiogram. A cardiac evaluation revealed a left atrial myxoma. The aetiology of subcortical cognitive decline and intracranial aneurysms was attributed to the myxoma with secondary myxomatous embolism. Other secondary causes were ruled out. She is being followed up medically after resection of the myxoma.ConclusionIntracranial aneurysms are rare complications of cardiac myxoma which may present before, concurrent or many years after diagnosis of the myxoma. Nonspecific neurological complaints occasionally are the ominous signs of intracranial aneurysms which mandate a low threshold for neuroimaging in a case of cardiac myxoma. Given the absence of definitive risk factors and unclear natural history, clinical and radiological follow-ups are critical.Learning PointsIntracranial aneurysms are rare complications of cardiac myxoma that may present before, concurrent or many years after diagnosis of the myxoma.Special attention must be given to nonspecific neurological complaints with a low threshold for neuroimaging in those with a prior history of cardiac myxoma.Given the absence of definitive risk factors and unclear natural history, clinical and radiological follow-up including conventional angiography and/or magnetic resonance imaging is critical.

No difference in 6-month functional outcome between early and late decompressive craniectomies following acute ischaemic stroke in a national neurosurgical centre: a single-centre retrospective case-cohort study.

Decompressive craniectomies (DCs) are recommended for the treatment of raised intracranial pressure after acute ischaemic stroke. Some studies have demonstrated improved outcomes with early decompressive craniectomy (< 48h from onset) in patients with malignant cerebral oedema following middle cerebral artery infarction. Limited data is available on suboccipital decompressive craniectomy after cerebellar infarction. Our primary objective was to determine whether the timing of DCs influenced functional outcomes at 6months. Our secondary objectives were to analyse whether age, gender, the territory of stroke, or preceding thrombectomy impacts functional outcome post-DC. We conducted a retrospective study of patients admitted between January 2014 and December 2020 who had DCs post-acute ischaemic stroke. Data was collected from ICU electronic records, individual patient charts, and the stroke database. Twenty-six patients had early DC (19 anterior/7 posterior) and 21 patients had late DC (17 anterior/4 posterior). There was no difference in the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of the two groups at 90 (p = 0.318) and 180 (p = 0.333) days post early vs late DC. Overall outcomes were poor, with 5 out of 46 patients (10.9%) having a mRS score ≤ 3 at 6months. There was no difference in mRS scores between the patients who had hemicraniectomies for anterior circulation stroke (n = 35) and suboccipital DC for posterior circulation stroke (n = 11) (p = 0.594). In this single-centre retrospective study, we found no significant difference in functional outcomes between patients who had early or late DC after ischaemic stroke.

Involvement of Subinsular Territory Stroke as Predictor of Outcome after Successful Endovascular Recanalization of Left Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion.

Subinsular stroke (subIS) can occur between the penetrating middle cerebral artery (MCA) branches, which clinical and radiological findings sometimes encounter in patients after the recanalization of left proximal MCA occlusion. However, no supportive data are available to clarify this relationship. This study investigated whether the involvement of subIS can impact outcomes after successful reperfusion therapy. Data from 152 consecutive patients who underwent endovascular thrombectomy between 2019 and 2023 were collected. A 3-month functional independence defined as a modified Rankin Scale 0-2 (primary outcome) and influencing factors were analyzed retrospectively. Recanalization was achieved in 35 patients, of whom 11 (31%) developed subIS. Patients with subIS were older in age (81 vs. 75; p < 0.05), had lower apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values on admission (0.52 vs. 0.62; p < 0.001), and higher modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores (4 vs. 2; p < 0.001) than those without subIS. In a multivariate analysis, subIS was independently associated with a worse functional outcome (odds ratio: 10.5, p = 0.02). The cut-off value of the ADCs was 0.52 with a sensitivity and specificity of 70% and 64%, respectively. Subinsular ischemic lesions contribute to poor functional independence in patients after the successful recanalization of left MCA occlusion. The attenuation of the ADC value in these territories could be a valuable predictor of the outcome.

Stroke pattern in giant-cell arteritis mostly involves watershed areas

ContextStroke related to giant cell arteritis (GCA) is rare and is associated with a poor outcome. One of the putative ischemic mechanisms is narrowing of the arterial lumen due to wall infiltration by inflammation and intimal proliferation, leading to reduced distal blood flow. It was hypothesized that GCA-related stroke could predominate in watershed areas (WA). MethodsLiterature review including all cases of GCA-related stroke with brain images. ResultsAmong 75 cases of GCA-related stroke, the anterior and posterior territories were involved in 48 % and 62.6 %, respectively. Up to 88.9 % of cases of anterior stroke probably involved WA. WA lesions in the posterior territories were as follows: uni/bilateral middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) lesions in 25.5 %, and with less confidence, non-wedge-shaped cerebellar lesions in 46.8 %, or combined lesions in 61.7 %. Stenosis or occlusion of the afferent artery was almost always observed. A few lesions were not easily explained by low flow. DiscussionDespite the limitations of arterial territory allocation especially in the posterior circulation, ischemic lesions mainly occurred in WA. MCP lesions, which were typically WA, were highly characteristic of GCA. Low flow downstream focal stenosis was the main, but not the unique, ischemic mechanism of GCA stroke.

The first experience of tele-primary vascular department to provide assistance to patients with ischemic stroke in the Krasnoyarsk territory

The first experience of tele-primary vascular department to provide assistance to patients with ischemic stroke in the Krasnoyarsk territory

Self-expanding intracranial drug-eluting stent system in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis: initial experience and midterm angiographic follow-up.

Symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is a major cause of ischemic stroke worldwide. In patients undergoing endovascular treatment for ICAS, in-stent restenosis (ISR) is associated with ischemic stroke recurrence. Intracranial drug-eluting self-expanding stent systems (COMETIU; Sinomed Neurovita Technology Inc., CHN) are new devices for treating ICAS. This study evaluated the perioperative experience and medium-term outcomes of COMETIU in 16 patients. We prospectively analyzed 16 patients with ICAS (≥ 70% stenosis) who underwent intravascular therapy between September 4, 2022, and February 1, 2023. The primary outcome was the incidence of ISR at 6 months postoperatively. The secondary efficacy outcomes were device and technical success rates. The secondary safety outcomes included stroke or death within 30 days after the procedure and the cumulative annual rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the target-vessel territory from 31 days to 6 months and 1 year. A total of 16 patients with 16 intracranial atherosclerotic lesions were treated with 16 COMETIUs. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia with 100% device and technical success rates, with no cases of periprocedural stroke or death. The mean radiographic follow-up duration was at least 6 months postoperatively, and all patients presented for radiographic and clinical follow-up. There were no reported ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes. Angiographic follow-up for all patients revealed no cases of ISR. COMETIU is safe and effective for treating ICAS, with minimal risk during the procedure and a low rate of ISR during medium-term follow-up.

Analysis of barriers associated with emergency medical service activation in patients with acute stroke and acute myocardial infarction from Zhongjiang County of Sichuan Province in China

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the preferred modes of transportation to the hospital among patients with acute stroke and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), as well as to identify the factors that influence the utilization of ambulances.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study, including patients who were diagnosed with acute stroke and AMI, at the people’s hospital of Zhongjiang, from September 30th, 2022 to August 30th, 2023. All patients were divided into emergency medical service (EMS)-activation group and self-transportation group. Chi-square and t-tests were utilized to discern differences between groups at baseline. To screen relevant variables, we employed the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis using R package glmnet. Subsequently, we performed a logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of EMS activation according the results of LASSO regression.Resultswe collected 929 valid questionnaires. 26.16% of the patients required the services of EMS. 90.9% of individuals have not received any formal first aid education. 42.1% of them reported that they had no understanding of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Diagnosed as AMI (OR 0.22, 95%CI 0.06 to 0.88) or acute cerebral infarction (OR 0.26, 0.10 to 0.68), the distance between the patient and the nearest 120 network hospital when the patient had these symptoms (OR 0.97, 0.94 to 0.99), the patient’s son or daughter was there when the patient was symptomatic (OR 0.58, 0.37 to 0.94), the patient (OR 0.19, 0.05 to 0.72) and the patient’s partner (wife or husband) (OR 0.36, 0.16 to 0.85) had decided that the patient needed further medical help, Among patients who did not seek immediate help after symptom onset, thinking that the symptoms will disappear spontaneously (OR 0.34, 0.13 to 0.92) or not wanting to disturb others (OR 0.06, 0.01 to 0.66) or believing that they are not important symptoms (OR 0.15, 0.05 to 0.42) were factors independently associated with less ambulance use. Age (OR 1.02, 1.00 to 1.04), Stroke patients have experienced symptoms of disturbance of consciousness or convulsions (OR 2.99, 1.72 to 5.2) were independent factors associated with increased ambulance use.ConclusionThere is still ambulance underutilization among patients with acute stroke and AMI in county territory of China. Moreover, it is needed to raise the level of first aid education and awareness about EMS. Additionally, private clinic doctors and the public should gain adequate understanding of the severity of acute stroke and AMI, as well as their common symptoms, the crucial importance of prompt medical intervention. Finally, we propose that all township hospitals should be integrated into the 120 emergency networks and equipped with emergency first aid capabilities, pre-hospital care, and transportation abilities.

Impact of qualifying artery on the efficacy of stenting plus medical therapy versus medical therapy alone in patients with symptomatic intracranial stenosis: a post-hoc analysis of the CASSISS trial

BackgroundA recent trial failed to show any benefit of stenting plus medical therapy over medical therapy alone in patients with symptomatic intracranial stenosis. We aimed to examine whether the symptomatic...

Balloon angiopLasty for intracranial Atherosclerotic minor Stroke/TIA (BLAST): study protocol for a multicenter prospective cohort study

Rationale/AimIntracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is a common cause of stroke in Asia and is significantly associated with stroke recurrence. The Balloon angiopLasty for intracranial Atherosclerotic minor Stroke/TIA (BLAST) study aims to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of early submaximal balloon angioplasty (SBA) combined with standard medical therapy vs. standard medical therapy alone in patients with minor stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) due to ICAS.MethodsThe BLAST study is a multicenter prospective cohort study which will enroll patients with minor stroke or TIA due to symptomatic ICAS within 1 week of symptom onset from 20 centers in China. Eligible patients will receive either SBA with standard medical therapy or standard medical therapy alone based on the decision of the patient or legal representative. Participants will be followed up for 1 year.Study outcomesThe primary outcome is a composite of stroke or death within 30 days or ischemic stroke in the culprit artery territory from 30 days to 1 year. Secondary outcomes include stroke or death within 30 days, ischemic stroke in the culprit artery territory from 30 days to 1 year, restenosis rate of the culprit artery at 1 year, and neurological improvement at 90 days (assessed by mRS score). Safety outcomes include intracranial hemorrhage within 30 days and endovascular complications.Sample size estimateAccording to previous studies, the incidence of the composite clinical outcomes is 15% in the group receiving medical therapy alone. We assumed the incidence would decrease to 5% in the SBA combined with the medical therapy group. The target sample size is 416 patients (208 per group), with 90% power and 5% type I error, allowing for a 10% loss to follow-up.ImplicationsThe BLAST study will provide evidence regarding whether early SBA can reduce stroke recurrence and mortality in patients with minor stroke/TIA due to ICAS compared with medical therapy alone.Clinical trial registration:Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT06014723.

Voxel level dense prediction of acute stroke territory in DWI using deep learning segmentation models and image enhancement strategies.

To build a stroke territory classifier model in DWI by designing the problem as a multiclass segmentation task by defining each stroke territory as distinct segmentation targets and leveraging the guidance of voxel wise dense predictions. Retrospective analysis of DWI images of 218 consecutive acute anterior or posterior ischemic stroke patients examined between January 2017 to April 2020 in a single center was carried out. Each stroke area was defined as distinct segmentation target with different class labels. U-Net based network was trained followed by majority voting of the voxel wise predictions of the model to transform them into patient level stroke territory classes. Effects of bias field correction and registration to a common space were explored. Of the 218 patients included in this study, 141 (65%) were anterior stroke, and 77 were posterior stroke (35%) whereas 117 (53%) were male and 101 (47%) were female. The model built with original images reached 0.77 accuracy, while the model built with N4 bias corrected images reached 0.80 and the model built with images which were N4 bias corrected and then registered into a common space reached 0.83 accuracy values. Voxel wise dense prediction coupled with bias field correction to eliminate artificial signal increase and registration to a common space help models for better performance than using original images. Knowing the properties of target domain while designing deep learning models is important for the overall success of these models.

Undoubtedly unaware of homonymous hemianopia: The contribution of overconfidence to anosognosia of hemianopia

A new functional deficit caused by a stroke can be understood as a situation of uncertainty that has to prompt deficit discovery and subsequent incorporation into an altered self-perception. Anosognosia for visual field deficits is frequent after stroke. For hemiplegia, patients' performance in a riddle test provided evidence that the inability to generate and adjust beliefs in face of uncertainty contributes to anosognosia for hemiplegia. In this prospective study, the same riddles are used in patients with homonymous hemianopia due to a first-ever stroke in the posterior cerebral artery territory and in an age-matched control cohort. The riddles create a situation of uncertainty that is resolved with five successive clues which progressively delimit the target word. After each clue, patients have to guess the target word and rate their confidence in the answer's correctness. Patients were tested once during the hospital stay. According to the Bisiach score for anosognosia, 12 out of 29 patients were unaware of their visual field deficits. All patients with anosognosia for hemianopia had right hemisphere lesions. Patients with and without anosognosia did not differ significantly in global cognitive impairment, mental flexibility or memory function. Importantly, patients with anosognosia showed higher confidence ratings than patients without anosognosia and controls in the first two clues (situations of uncertainty). This was demonstrated by a significant interaction effect in a mixed ANOVA with the factors group (anosognosia, nosognosia, controls) and riddle clues. An exploratory lesion subtraction analysis showed a high proportion of deficit unawareness in patients with lesions in the right fusiform and (para)hippocampal gyri. Our findings suggest that overconfidence in situations of uncertainty might contribute to the appearance of anosognosia for hemianopia. Because this has been demonstrated before in anosognosia for hemiplegia, we suggest that overconfidence is a supra-modal contributor to deficit unawareness.

Arterial Lesion Location and Outcomes of Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease.

Intracranial atherosclerosis is a leading cause of stroke with a high recurrence rate despite treatment. Numerous factors are proposed to influence stroke recurrence due to intracranial atherosclerosis including lesion eccentricity, plaque characteristics, and computational fluid dynamic metrics, such as wall shear stress. An overlooked variable that intrinsically relates to intracranial atherosclerosis is the location of the arterial segment where the lesion occurs. Variations in cerebral blood flow, arterial anatomy, and flow dynamics are likely drivers of initial lesion development and thus likely to influence stroke recurrence. To date, treatment trials of intracranial atherosclerosis have not considered arterial segment lesion location as an independent variable, failing to account for variations in flow dynamics between each artery. There are limited available data on differences between arterial segments, confined to only post hoc analyses. In this review, we summarize available data on such differences between arterial segments. With the limited arterial segment data available, multiple differences in recurrence of stroke in territory of lesion were identified across trials.

Triage mistakes in the Psychiatry Emergency Room: do we really know how to rule out organicity?

IntroductionIn Spain and other European countries, patients coming to the emergency room (ER) are usually classified as “organic” or “psychiatric” on arrival, but this may be complicated when psychiatric history is present as the focus can be misplaced (Leeman. IJPM 1975;6(4):544-40; Alam et al. Psychiatr. Clin. North Am. 2017;40(3):425–33).Objectives To describe three cases seen in the psychiatric emergency room (PER) in which triage errors occurred and to review whether it is widespread for psychiatric patients with organic pathology or in need of medical care to be wrongly triaged.Methods We retrospectively reviewed three cases seen in the PER of Hospital Clínic in July 2023 in which triage errors happened. Triage error was considered when patients triaged directly to the PER presented symptoms that either needed medical treatment or required medical clearance before being considered purely psychiatric.ResultsCase 1: A 27-year-old woman with history of depressive syndrome was triaged for a speech disturbance that had occurred fifteen minutes after intercourse. After being evaluated, she was referred to neurology where she was diagnosed with an acute ischaemic stroke in left middle cerebral artery territory, requiring thrombectomy and posterior admission to neurology.Case 2: A 50-year-old man with history of alcohol use disorder was brought to the PER after saying that “he was seeing people doing magic” at home. When evaluated, significant distal tremor, tachycardia and hypertension were observed, being compatible with withdrawal symptoms, so he was transferred to the ER. There he was monitored and treated, finally requiring admission to internal medicine due to persistent symptoms.Case 3: A 26-year-old man with history of substance use disorder was triaged for loss of consciousness and “spasms”. After evaluation, he was transferred to the ER, where organic screening was carried out, being oriented as a probable tonic-clonic seizure and discharged with outpatient follow-up.ConclusionsThe cases presented are instances in which somatic diseases in patients pre-labelled with psychiatric histories were wrongly assumed to be recurrences of their psychiatric disorders. In all cases, they needed to be re-examined by the corresponding medical specialty and required diagnostic tests, in two cases hospital admission was needed. Emergency physicians and emergency psychiatrists often disagree on how to medically clear patients (Alam et al. Psychiatr. Clin. North Am. 2017;40(3):425–33; Janiak et al. JEM. 2012;43(5):866–70), some authors have even proposed protocols for doing this in a more systematic way (Shah et al. JEM. 2012;43(5):871–5). To avoid a delay in diagnosis and treatment and the consequences that may result from it, establishing guidelines for proper triage of patients with psychiatric history should be considered.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Aggressive Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis in a Young Woman with a Past Mild SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Vaccine- induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) is a rare adverse event occurring after immunization with adenoviral vector-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. This life-threatening condition is characterized by thrombocytopenia, systemic activation of coagulation, and anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies, often resulting in extensive venous thrombosis. Arterial thrombosis is less common and mainly affects the aorta, peripheral arteries, heart, and brain. Several cases of ischemic stroke have been reported in VITT patients, frequently being associated with large vessel occlusion (LVO). Here, we present a case of aggressive VITT in a 46-year-old woman with a past mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, who was admitted with a left-middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory stroke and thrombocytopenia eight days after her first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. The patient developed a diffuse arterial thrombosis with concomitant thrombotic events in the intrahepatic portal branches. The patient’s clinical condition worsened rapidly due to a significant enlargement of the ischemic cerebral lesion in the left hemisphere, cerebral herniation, and incipient hydrocephalus requiring decompressive neurosurgery with an unfavorable outcome. Our observations may be indicative of a stroke variant in VITT and highlight the diverse clinical manifestations of the syndrome.

Risk factors and predictive markers of post-stroke cognitive decline-A mini review.

Stroke is one of the top causes of death and disability worldwide. Cognitive impairments are found in more than 70% of individuals who have survived a stroke. Cognitive decline is a major contributor to disability, dependency, and morbidity. The prevalence and severity of dementia vary depending on different characteristics of the stroke and other clinical risk factors. Here we discuss the effects of stroke territory, patients' age, sex, cerebral blood flow, acute reperfusion therapy, and cognitive reserve of post-stroke cognitive decline. Potential predictive molecular and genetic biomarkers of post-stroke cognitive impairments are also discussed.

Abstract WP137: A CT Perfusion Based Computational Modeling for Improved Risk Stratification of Haemodynamically Significant ICAD

Aim: In endovascular ICAD treatment, an individualized patient-specific treatment pathway may be very helpful. Patient selection for endovascular treatment based on anatomical markers has not been shown to be effective in past clinical trials. This pilot study combines CT perfusion (CTP) analysis and computational fluid dynamics to identify hemodynamically significant patients for a reliable pathway for intervention planning. Methods: We assessed patients from two stroke centers with 50-99% ICAD lesions. Using a novel technique, CTP scans generated acute vascular territory maps for major cerebral arteries (ACA,MCA,PCA) with perfusion Time-to-peak (TTP) maps. Patient-specific blood flow simulations using physiology-informed boundary conditions calculated stenotic pressure ratios for both the patient’s acute and a population-based healthy scenario. The changes in affected territory volumes and pressure ratio between healthy and acute conditions and the acute TTP delays were presented to an expert reader who stratified cases into three clinical groups (A) non-hemodynamic, (B) hemodynamically hazardous with insufficient collateral support and (C) hemodynamically stable due to collateralisation. These results were compared against patient outcomes of recurrent ischemic events attributed to the target stenosis using the commonly used 70% threshold. Results: (95%CI in brackets) Patients (n=47, age: 73±11Y, 23F/24M) were stratified across the three categories A) 30, B) 15, C) 2. Of the patient groups with follow-up (n=31), categorisation of hemodynamic ICAD against recurrent ipsilateral stroke in territory (n=8) yielded a sensitivity of 75% [34-97] and specificity of 91% [72-98]. Mean±standard deviation of stenosis degree (SD) 55±14% for patients across each cohort was A) 50±11%, B) 70±9%, C) 70%. This is compared to using 70% stenosis threshold for dichotomising patients against risk of recurrent stroke, which yielded a sensitivity of 62.5% [24-91], and specificity of 87% [66-97]. Conclusions: We report on a CTP derived method for stratifying hemodynamically significant ICAD. The methodology has potential in both in assessing symptomatic chronic ICAD and identifying cohorts who would benefit from endovascular intervention.

Comparison of the safety and efficacy of Neuroform Atlas stent deployed via Gateway balloon catheter and microcatheter for the treatment of intracranial stenosis

ObjectiveThis study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of the Atlas stent released by the Gateway catheter and microcatheter in the treatment of intracranial stenosis (IS). MethodsThe primary efficacy and safety outcomes were the in-stent restenosis (ISR) rate and post-procedural stroke or death within one month. ResultsAtlas stents were deployed using the Gateway catheter and microcatheter in 19 (57.6 %) and 14 (42.4 %) procedures, respectively. Follow-up imaging data were available for 26 patients; the incidence of ISR was 15.4 %, and the ISR rate was higher, though not significantly, in the microcatheter group than in the Gateway group (30.0% vs. 6.25 %, P = .39). Clinical follow-up data were available for 30 patients; the post-procedural stroke rate was 3.3 % within one month and 13.3 % from one month to one year. The post-procedural stroke rate within one month was higher, though not significantly, in the microcatheter group than in the Gateway group (7.7% vs. 0 %, P = .43). The Gateway group had a significantly lower rate of post-procedural stroke in the same territory than that of the microcatheter group (0% vs. 30.8 %, P = .026). A higher incidence of residual stenosis <30 % was found in the non-ISR group than in the ISR group (72.2% vs. 0 %, P = .014). ConclusionsThis study provides preliminary evidence that the Atlas stent is safe and effective for IS treatment. The use of the Gateway catheter to deliver the Atlas stent appears to be safer than using microcatheter. The incidence of ISR may be related to the degree of the residual stenosis.

Region-specific interobserver agreement of the Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score: A meta-analysis.

The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a widely used scoring system for evaluating ischemic stroke to determine therapeutic strategy. However, there is variation in the interobserver agreement of ASPECTS. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the interobserver agreement of total and regional ASPECTS. A comprehensive search was conducted in the Web of Sciences, PubMed, and Scopus databases to identify relevant studies. Inclusion criteria were studies of noncontrast CT performed within 24hours of ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory. A total of 20 studies, with 3482 patients, reporting interobserver agreement of total and regional ASPECTS were included in the meta-analysis. The interobserver agreement for total ASPECTS in studies using Kappa coefficient (κ) analysis was substantial (κ=.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: .57-.78). In studies using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis, agreement was excellent (ICC=.84, 95% CI: .77-.90). Interobserver agreement was higher in studies in which the observer was unblinded to clinical scenario in both groups (κ=.74, 95% CI: .59-.89, and ICC=.82, 95% CI: .79-.85). Per-region analysis showed that the caudate nucleus had the highest agreement (κ=.68, 95% CI: .60-.76, and ICC=.84, 95% CI: .74-.93), while M2 and internal capsule in Kappa studies (κ=.45, 95% CI: .34-.55 and κ=.47, 95% CI: .28-.66), and M4 and internal capsule in ICC studies (ICC=.54, 95% CI: .43-.64 and ICC=.55, 95% CI: .18-.91) had the lowest agreement. This meta-analysis demonstrates substantial to excellent interobserver agreement for total ASPECTS, which supports using this method for stroke treatment. However, findings emphasize the need to consider interobserver agreement in specific regions of ASPECTS for treatment decisions.

Klüver–Bucy Syndrome Secondary to A Dominant Middle Cerebral Artery Ischemic Stroke: A Case Report and Review of The Literature

Abstract Klüver–Bucy syndrome (KBS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder secondary to temporal lobe damage. This can be associated with various causes. This syndrome is rarely caused by stroke. We describe the case of a KBS, admitted to the neurology department of the military hospital of Agadir, in September 2022 secondary to ischemic stroke in middle cerebral artery territory. The patient presented most of the clinical features of KBS. These neurobehavioral manifestations improved after the start of treatment.