Funct Neurol
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The Italian region of Lombardy, with its existing stroke centers and high-technology laboratories, provides a favorable context for studying monogenic diseases associated with stroke. The Lombardia GENS project was set up to create a regional network for the diagnosis of six monogenic diseases associated with stroke: CADASIL, Fabry disease, MELAS, familial and sporadic hemiplegic migraine, hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Marfan syndrome. The network comprises 36 stroke centers and seven high-technology laboratories, performing molecular analysis. ⋯ Demographic, clinical and family data and diagnostic criteria are collected using standardized forms. On the basis of stroke incidence in Lombardy and the reported prevalence of the diseases considered, we expect, during the course of the study, to collect datasets and DNA samples from more than 200 stroke patients suspected of having monogenic diseases. This will allow evaluation of the regional burden and better phenotype characterization of monogenic diseases associated with stroke.
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Multicenter Study
Depressive symptoms among surrogate decision makers in Lebanese ICUs.
Surrogate decision making is advocated to protect the vulnerable patient. Family members of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are prone to develop depressive symptoms which may undermine their decisional capacity. Lebanon is a multicultural country where paternalism still dominates the physician-patient relationship and ethics are far from being the subject of research and studies. ⋯ Severity of depression and suicidal ideation were not related to any of the studied factors. Depressive symptoms are prevalent among family members deciding on behalf of ICU patients, rendering them vulnerable. Appropriate measures should be taken to identify and treat them.