Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Smoking is an established risk factor for ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but the impact of smoking on intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is less clear. ⋯ This prospective study suggests an increased risk of total hemorrhagic stroke, ICH, and SAH in current cigarette smokers with a graded increase in risk that depended on how many cigarettes were smoked. The effect of smoking on ICH is of about the same magnitude as the effect of smoking on ischemic stroke. Our results add to the multiple health benefits that can be accrued by abstaining from cigarette smoking.
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Multicenter Study
Frequency of thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke and the risk of in-hospital mortality: the German Stroke Registers Study Group.
There is little information about early outcome after intravenous application of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) for stroke patients treated in community-based settings. We investigated the association between tPA therapy and in-hospital mortality in a pooled analysis of German stroke registers. ⋯ In-hospital mortality of ischemic stroke patients after tPA use varied between hospitals with different experience in tPA treatment in routine clinical practice. Our study suggested that thrombolytic therapy in hospitals with limited experience in its application increase the risk of in-hospital mortality.
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Studies suggest that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is neuroprotective after experimental cerebral ischemia, but the mechanism is unknown. This study tested the hypotheses that postischemic HBO affords clinical and histopathological neuroprotection after experimental cardiac arrest and resuscitation (A/R) and that this neuroprotection results from improved cerebral oxygen metabolism after A/R. ⋯ HBO inhibits neuronal death and improves neurological outcome after A/R; the mechanism of HBO neuroprotection is not due to stimulation of oxidative cerebral energy metabolism.
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Duplex ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography compared with digital subtraction angiography in carotid artery stenosis: a systematic review.
The purpose of this work was to review and compare published data on the diagnostic value of duplex ultrasonography (DUS), MR angiography (MRA), and conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for the diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis. ⋯ These results suggest that MRA has a better discriminatory power compared with DUS in diagnosing 70% to 99% stenosis and is a sensitive and specific test compared with DSA in the evaluation of carotid artery stenosis. For detecting occlusion, both DUS and MRA are very accurate.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Dexmedetomidine and meperidine additively reduce the shivering threshold in humans.
Hypothermia might prove to be therapeutically beneficial in stroke victims; however, even mild hypothermia provokes vigorous shivering. Meperidine and dexmedetomidine each linearly reduce the shivering threshold (triggering core temperature) with minimal sedation. We tested the hypothesis that meperidine and dexmedetomidine synergistically reduce the shivering threshold without producing substantial sedation or respiratory depression. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine and meperidine additively reduce the shivering threshold; in the small doses tested, the combination produced only mild sedation and no respiratory toxicity.