Cerebrovascular diseases
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2017
Case ReportsPrehospital Computed Tomography Angiography in Acute Stroke Management.
An ambulance equipped with a computed tomography (CT) scanner, a point-of-care laboratory, and telemedicine capabilities (mobile stroke unit [MSU]) has been shown to enable the delivery of thrombolysis to stroke patients directly at the emergency site, thereby significantly decreasing time to treatment. However, work-up in an MSU that includes CT angiography (CTA) may also potentially facilitate triage of patients directly to the appropriate target hospital and specialized treatment, according to their individual vascular pathology. ⋯ Defining the vascular pathology by CTA directly at the emergency site may be beneficial in triaging patients with various cerebrovascular diseases to the most appropriate target hospital and specialized treatment.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2017
The Prevalence of and Factors Related to Vascular Hyperintensity on T1-Weighted Imaging in Acute Ischemic Stroke.
Thrombus visualization in patients with acute ischemic stroke has been detected and reported using various imaging modalities. T1-weighted imaging (T1-WI) can depict thrombi as hyperintense signals within vessels. Moreover, in addition to thrombi, T1-WI hyperintensities in arteries may suggest arterial dissection. However, the frequency of and factors related to the T1-hyperintense vessel sign (T1-HVS) are not fully known. The aim of this study was to clarify the prevalence of and related factors for the T1-HVS in patients with acute ischemic stroke. ⋯ The T1-HVS was observed in 4.5% of acute ischemic stroke patients. T1-HVSs appeared in the subacute phase in arteries with persistent occlusion and remained for a few months.
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Cerebrovascular diseases · Jan 2017
Apelin-13 Protects against Ischemic Blood-Brain Barrier Damage through the Effects of Aquaporin-4.
Apelin-13 has been found to have protective effects on many neurological diseases, including cerebral ischemia. However, whether Apelin-13 acts on blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption following cerebral ischemia is largely unknown. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) has a close link with BBB due to the high concentration in astrocyte foot processes and regulation of astrocytes function. Here, we aimed to test Apelin-13's effects on ischemic BBB injury and examine whether the effects were dependent on AQP4. ⋯ Our data suggest that Apelin-13 protects BBB from disruption after cerebral ischemia both morphologically and functionally, which is highly associated with the increased levels of AQP4, possibly through the activation of ERK and PI3K/Akt pathways. This study provides double targets to protection of ischemic BBB damage, which can present new insights to drugs development.