Concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide of newly diagnosed glioblastoma in elderly patients

Objective

The effect of concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide in glioblastoma patients above the age of 65 years lacks evidence. However, after combined treatment became standard at our center all patients were considered for combined therapy. We retrospectively analyzed the effect of temozolomide focused on elderly patients.

Methods

293 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated single-centered between 1998 and 2010, by radiation alone or concomitant and adjuvant radiochemotherapy, were included. Treatment groups were analyzed by multi- and univariate analysis. Matched pairs for age, by a 5-year-caliper, extent of resection and general state was generated for all patients and elderly subgroups.

Results

103 patients received radiation only and 190 combined treatment. Multivariate and matched pair analysis revealed a benefit due to combined temozolomide (HR 1.895 and 1.752, respectively). For patients older than 65 years median survival was 3.6 (95% CI 3.2–4.7) and 8.7 months (6.3–11.8) for radiotherapy only and combined treatment (HR 3.097, p < 0.0001, n = 90). Over the age of 70 and 75 years median survival was 3.2 (2.3–4.2) vs. 7.5 (5.1–10.9, HR 4.453, p < 0.0001, n = 62) and 3.2 (1.4–3.9) vs. 9.2 months (4.7–13.5; HR 9.037, p < 0.0001, n = 24), respectively. In 8/56 (14%) patients over the age of 70 years temozolomide was terminated due to toxicity.

Conclusion

Retrospective matched pair analysis gives class 2b evidence for prolonged survival due to concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide in elderly glioblastoma patients. Until prospective data for combined radiochemotherapy in elderly patients will be available concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide therapy should not be withheld.     

Treatment of sleep disorders may improve fatigue in multiple sclerosis

Objective

In a previous polysomnographic cross-sectional study we found a significant relationship between sleep disorders and multiple sclerosis (MS) related fatigue. The purpose of this open follow-up observation was to compare the impact of treatment of sleep disorders on MS related fatigue measured with the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS).

Methods

Non-randomized follow-up observation: treated versus untreated patients, subgroups according to compliance with sleep medical treatment recommendations (univariate, multivariate analysis, multiple logistic regression). 66 MS patients were followed after polysomnography, 49 patients with relevant sleep disorders and 17 without.

Results

Mean MFIS scores decreased from 41.2 to 26.2 (p = 0.025) in patients with good compliance (GC; n = 18), from 42.4 to 32.1 (p = 0.12) in patients with moderate compliance (MC; n = 12), and from 41.6 to 35.5 (p = 0.17) in non-compliant patients (NC; n = 17). Mean MFIS values increased in patients without sleep disorders from 22.9 to 25.4 (NSD; n = 12, p = 0.56). In multiple logistic regression, treatment of sleep disorders predicted decrease of MFIS-values (GC versus NSD odds ratio 13.4; p = 0.015; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7–107.2, MC versus NSD odds ratio 13.8; p = 0.028; 95% CI 1.3–143.3).

Conclusions

Sleep medical treatment may improve MS related fatigue when patients adhere to treatment recommendations.     

The number of involved extracranial organs: A new predictor of survival in breast cancer patients with brain metastasis

Objective

This study was performed to investigate the potential impact of the number of involved extracranial organs on survival in patients with brain metastasis from breast cancer.

Methods

The data of 196 patients treated with whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) alone for brain metastases from breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Six potential prognostic factors were evaluated for associations with survival. These factors included WBRT regimen, age, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), number of brain metastases, interval from breast cancer diagnosis to WBRT, and the number of involved extracranial organs.

Results

The 6-month survival rates of patients with involvement of 0, 1, 2, 3 and ≥4 extracranial organs were 59%, 49%, 26%, 26% and 13%, respectively, and the 12-month survival rates were 45%, 36%, 17%, 17% and 13%, respectively (p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, the number of involved extracranial organs (risk ratio 1.17; 95%-confidence interval 1.02–1.35; p = 0.028) maintained significance, as did KPS (p < 0.001), but not age (p = 0.27).

Conclusion

The number of involved extracranial organs is an independent prognostic factor of survival in patients with brain metastasis from breast cancer.     

Electroconvulsive therapy in pregnant patients

Objectives

In this study, the aim was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of patients that received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during pregnancy due to psychiatric disorders, evaluate the safety and efficacy of ECT in pregnant women, and evaluate the overall status of mothers and babies during the postpartum period.

Methods

The study included 33 patients who were admitted as inpatients with the indication of ECT due to pregnancy and concurrent psychiatric disorders.

Results

Upon ECT administration, a complete response to treatment was seen in 84.21% of patients with major depression (n= 16), a partial response to treatment in 15.78% of patients (n= 3), a complete response to treatment in 91.66% of patients with bipolar disorder (n= 11), a partial response to treatment in 8.33% of the patients(n= 1), and a full response to treatment in 50% of patients with schizophrenia (n= 1) and a partial response to treatment in 50% of patients with schizophrenia (n= 1) were obtained. We had after birth information of 27 infants from total 33. It was learned that two of them had disease, one was stillbirth and 24 of them did not have any health problems.

Conclusions

ECT administration during pregnancy to treat psychiatric disorders was found to be an effective treatment method. No risk of preterm birth in mothers treated with ECT during pregnancy was detected.     

Endovascular treatment of distal intracranial aneurysms with Onyx 18/34

Objective

Surgical clipping and coil embolization of distally located intracranial aneurysms can be challenging. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility, safety and efficacy of treatment of distal aneurysms with the liquid embolic agent Onyx 18/34.

Methods

Sixteen patients were treated with Onyx 18/34 for distally located aneurysms in our institution between March 2009 and September 2012. The technique consists of occluding the aneurysm as well as the parent vessel at the level of aneurysm with Onyx 18 or 34. Candidates for this treatment were patients with distal aneurysms including mycotic aneurysms, dissecting aneurysms, and pseudoaneurysms in which coiling was considered impossible.

Results

Of the 16 patients, 12 presented with subarachnoid and/or intracerebral hemorrhage. Median aneurysm size was 4.6 mm. Aneurysm locations were as follows: Posterior inferior cerebellar artery (n = 5), distal anterior inferior cerebellar artery (n = 3), distal pericallosal (n = 3), distal anterior cerebral artery (n = 3), lenticulostriate artery (n = 1), and anterior ethmoidal artery (n = 1). There were 4 mycotic aneurysms. Complete aneurysm obliteration was achieved in all 6 patients with available angiographic follow-up. There was only 1 (6.3%) symptomatic complication in the series. There were no instances of reflux or accidental migration of embolic material. Favorable outcomes were noted in 82% of patients at discharge. Two patients with mycotic aneurysms died from cardiac complications of endocarditis. No aneurysm recanalization or rehemorrhage were seen.

Conclusion

Parent vessel trapping with Onyx 18/34 offers a simple, safe, and effective means of achieving obliteration of distal challenging aneurysms.     

Management and outcome of primary spinal ependymomas: A single center experience from Taiwan

Background

Surgical treatment of spinal ependymomas requires careful consideration of the relative risks of neurological worsening from surgery. Our aim was to determine the risk factors of neurological deterioration after surgery for spinal ependymomas.

Material and methods

This 20-year study included 17 patients (seven men and 10 women; 44.65 ± 13.62 years) with histologically confirmed spinal ependymomas. The basic features were reviewed and the functional status was assessed by using the modified McCormick classification. We subdivided the patient population into two groups according to whether neurological deterioration occurred after primary tumor resection (N = 5) or not (N = 12), and compared their clinical characteristics.

Results

The average duration of presenting symptoms in the 17 patients was 23.53 ± 21.45 months. Three (17.6%) patients underwent subtotal or partial resection and 14 (82.4%) patients underwent gross total resection. The incidence of neurological deterioration after primary resection of spinal ependymomas was 29.4%. There were five (100%) and two (16.7%) male patients in the neurological-deterioration and no-deterioration groups, respectively (p = 0.003). The duration of presenting symptoms was 24 months or over in all the patients with neurological deterioration and five of the 12 patients with improved or stabilized function (p = 0.044).

Conclusion

The risk associated with surgical resection of spinal ependymomas should not be overlooked because of the significant incidence of neurological deterioration. The male gender and long-standing symptom (≥24 months) are risk factors of postoperative neurological worsening. Early diagnosis and surgery are therefore critical for successful treatment of spinal ependymomas.     

Patterns of care and survival of glioblastoma patients: A comparative study between 2004 and 2008 in Lyon,France

Introduction

The treatment of glioblastomas (GBMs) has changed significantly since 2005. However, the extent to which this change has improved overall survival (OS) of patients treated outside clinical trials remains to be determined.

Methods

We compared the patterns of care and OS of all GBM patients diagnosed in 2004 (n = 105) and in 2008 (n = 130) in our center.

Results

Younger patients (aged < 70 years) diagnosed in 2008 received temozolomide radiochemotherapy as the initial treatment and bevacizumab at recurrence more frequently than those diagnosed in 2004 (69% vs 26% P < 10⁻⁴ and 41% vs 3%, P < 10⁻⁴, respectively). Elderly patients (aged ≥ 70 years) diagnosed in 2008 received an oncological treatment (radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy) more frequently than those diagnosed in 2004 (67% vs 38%, P = 0.006). The patients diagnosed in 2008 had longer OS than those diagnosed in 2004 (10.5 months vs 5.3 months, P = 0.001). This finding was true for both younger and elderly patients (15.3 months vs 8.9 months, P = 0.02 and 6.4 months vs 3.2 months, P = 0.0002, respectively) and when considering only IDH1 wild-type patients (8.9 months vs 5.3 months, P = 0.004).

Conclusion

In our center, the change in the patterns of care for GBMs between 2004 and 2008 has been associated with a significant improvement in OS.     

Clinical outcome of surgically treated low-grade gliomas: A retrospective analysis of a single institute

Objective

Low grade gliomas (LGGs) are slow-growing primary brain tumors with heterogeneous clinical behaviors. The aim of our study is to review the treatment outcome of 63 patients with LGGs focusing on surgical outcome and the current therapeutic strategy.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 63 patients surgically treated for LGGs. The gross total resection (GTR) was performed in 35 patients (60.3%), subtotal resection (STR) was performed in 19 patients (31.7%) and partial resection (PR) or biopsy was performed in 9 patients (14.3%). We analyzed their progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and malignant transformation with regard to age, gender, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), clinical presentation, tumor location, radiologic pattern, contrast enhancement, extent of removal, pathologic subtype, chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) treatment.

Results

Among all LGGs, the 3-year OS rate was 80% and the 5-year OS was 76%. The 3-year PFS rate was 83.6% and the 5-year PFS was 25%. The non-eloquent area location showed a longer PFS than the eloquent area location (p = 0.05). Oligodendroglial pathology showed a longer PFS compared to oligoastrocytomas and astrocytomas (p = 0.02). Patients older than 60 years had poorer OS than younger patients (p < 0.05). Female gender had a shorter OS than male gender (p < 0.05), and a KPS of 90 or 100 had a longer OS than a KPS of 80 (p < 0.05). Oligodendroglial pathology statistically correlated with a longer OS (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The findings from our study, which were confirmed by uni- and multivariate analyses, demonstrated that radical tumor resection was associated with better long-term outcomes and tumor progression for patients with LGG.     

Parent artery occlusion with bypass surgery for the treatment of internal carotid artery aneurysms: Clinical and hemodynamic results

Objective

Parent artery occlusion with/without bypass surgery is one of the treatment choices for the internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysm difficult to treat by clipping or coiling. There have been few reports regarding postoperative cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes after surgery. This study evaluated the present bypass selection strategy based on balloon test occlusion (BTO) in terms of clinical and hemodynamic outcomes.

Methods

Twenty-one consecutive patients with ICA aneurysms underwent parent artery occlusion. High flow bypass (n = 9), superficial temporal artery–middle cerebral artery bypass (n = 10), or no bypass (n = 2) was performed depending on the changes in clinical symptoms and CBF during BTO. Quantitative CBF measurement with acetazolamide challenge was performed in the chronic stage.

Results

Overall outcome at discharge was good recovery 18, moderate disability 2, and severe disability 1. Two patients suffered symptomatic embolic or perforator infarction associated with the surgical manipulations. Preoperative cranial nerve pareses improved completely or partially in all patients except one. CBF in the chronic stage (n = 18) demonstrated no significant difference between the surgical and non-surgical cerebral hemispheres. No cerebral ischemic event was observed during the follow-up period (mean 2.9 years).

Conclusion

The present surgical strategy based on preoperative BTO provides a reliable tool to achieve acceptable clinical and hemodynamic outcomes in patients with complex ICA aneurysms to be treated by parent artery occlusion.     

Preoperative spinal tumor embolization: An institutional experience with Onyx

Background

Preoperative embolization has the potential to decrease intraoperative blood loss and facilitate spinal cord decompression and tumor resection.

Objective

We report our institutional experience with the embolization of hypervascular extradural spinal tumors with Onyx as well as earlier embolic agents in a series of 28 patients.

Methods

A retrospective case review was conducted on patients undergoing preoperative transarterial embolization of a spinal tumor between 1995 and 2012 at our institution.

Results

Twenty-eight patients met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 60.6 years. Twenty-eight patients had metastatic tumors. In 14 (50%) patients the metastases were from renal cell carcinomas. Fifty-four vessels were embolized using PVA, NBCA, Onyx, coils, or embospheres. Sixteen patients were treated with Onyx, 6 patients with PVA, 3 patients with embospheres, 2 patients with NBCA, and 3 patients with a combination of embolic agents. The average decrease in tumor blush was 97.8% with Onyx versus 92.7% with the rest of the embolic agents (p = 0.08). The estimated blood loss was 1616 ml (range 350–5000 ml). Blood loss was 750 cm³ on average with Onyx versus 1844 with the rest of the embolic agents (p = 0.14). The mean length of stay was 16 days. The mortality rate was zero. Pre- and post-operative modified Rankin Score (mRS) did not differ significantly in the series (3.12 versus 3.10, respectively, p = 0.9).

Conclusion

In our experience, the use of transarterial tumor embolization as an adjunct for spinal surgery is a safe and feasible option.     

Interhemispheric approach to tumors of the posterior gyrus cinguli

Objective

Posterior gyrus cinguli tumors are a well-defined group of tumors that pose considerable challenges in creating surgical access and manipulating adjacent eloquent areas (visual and motor). Here we report our 5-year experience in the surgical treatment of these tumors and describe tumor characteristics, surgical steps, critical aspects, and prognostic factors.

Methods

This series comprises 37 patients operated on for glioma (high-grade in 28, low-grade in 9), often presenting with motor impairment (n = 20), intracranial hypertension (n = 15), seizures (n = 11), and/or hemianopia (n = 9). Preoperative assessment was performed with magnetic resonance imaging. Half of the tumors were more than 4 cm in size, and the majority presented secondary extension into the fronto-parieto-occipital area, the temporo-mesial area, and/or the corpus callosum. Positioning and assisted surgery were optimized in each patient based on preoperative planning.

Results

The ipsilateral interhemispheric approach was elected in all cases. Tumor size and extension were significantly associated with the degree of tumor removal. Total removal was achieved in 25 patients (65%); 4 (10%) had persistent morbidity (visual or motor deficits). The occurrence of local and systemic complications was negligible.

Conclusions

Surgical treatment of posterior gyrus cinguli tumors can be safely approached via the interhemispheric route as it permits several beneficial operative maneuvers in selected cases.     

Short-course whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for brain metastases due to small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)

Objective

Many patients with brain metastases due to SCLC have a poor survival prognosis. The most common treatment is whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). This retrospective study compares short-course WBRT with 5 × 4 Gy in 1 week to standard WBRT with 10 × 3 Gy in 2 weeks.

Methods

Forty-four SCLC patients receiving WBRT with 5 × 4 Gy were compared to 102 patients receiving 10 × 3 Gy for survival (OS) and local (intracerebral) control (LC). Seven further potential prognostic factors were investigated: age, gender, Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), number of brain metastases, extracerebral metastases, interval from tumor diagnosis to WBRT, RPA (Recursive Partitioning Analysis) class.

Results

After 5 × 4 Gy, 12-month OS was 15%, versus 22% after 10 × 3 Gy (p = 0.69). On multivariate analysis, improved OS was associated with age ≤60 years (p = 0.013), KPS ≥70 (p < 0.001), <4 brain metastases (p = 0.011), and RPA class 1 (p < 0.001). 12-month LC was 34% after 5 × 4 Gy versus 25% after 10 × 3 Gy (p = 0.32). On multivariate analysis, improved LC was associated with KPS ≥70 (p < 0.001), <4 brain metastases (p = 0.027), and RPA class 1 (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

In patients with brain metastases due to SCLC, short-course WBRT with 5 × 4 Gy provided similar outcomes as 10 × 3 Gy and appears preferable, particularly for patients with poor estimated survival.     

Successful treatment with Yokukansan for behavioral and psychological symptoms of Parkinsonian dementia

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yokukansan, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, for treating behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with Parkinson disease (PD; n = 7) and those with PD with dementia (PDD; n = 7).

Background

BPSD are often seen in patients with senile dementia and have serious deleterious effects on the lives of patients and caregivers. Recent studies indicate that the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Yokukansan may be safe and beneficial for the treatment of BPSD patients.

Methods

We treated 7 PD and 7 PDD patients for 4 weeks with Yokukansan and observed them without Yokukansan for 4 weeks. Changes in behavioral and psychological symptoms were evaluated every 4 weeks according to the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scale.

Results

Significant improvements in behavioral and psychological symptoms, particularly in the incidence and duration of hallucinations, were observed in most PD and PDD patients after 4 weeks of Yokukansan treatment. No significant changes were observed in the laboratory tests, cognitive function, activities of daily living, or parkinsonism.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that Yokukansan improves BPSD in both PD and PDD patients without worsening their cognitive function, ability to perform activities of daily living, or parkinsonism.     

Comparison of the efficacy between paroxetine and sertraline augmented with aripiprazole in patients with refractory major depressive disorder

Objective

Only two-thirds of depressive patients respond to antidepressant treatment. In recent years, addition of an atypical antipsychotic drug to ongoing treatment with an antidepressant has been considered effective and well-tolerated. In the present study, we compared the efficacy between paroxetine and sertraline augmented with aripiprazole in patients with refractory major depression.

Subjects and methods

Twenty-four patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder who did not at least two different classes of antidepressants were enrolled in the study. Nine were male and thirteen were female, and their ages ranged from 28 to 66 (mean ± SD = 39 ± 12) years. Patients were prescribed paroxetine (n = 11) or sertraline (n = 13) for 4 weeks. Then, those whose scores on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD17) decreased below 50% received adjunctive therapy of aripiprazole for 4 weeks.

Results

Although the use of either combination treatment decreased the HAMD17 scores compared to the respective monotherapy, there was no significant difference in HAMD17 scores between the paroxetine plus aripiprazole group and sertraline plus aripiprazole group.

Conclusion

Aripiprazole augmentation therapy with paroxetine or sertraline was equally effective and tolerated in patients with refractory major depressive order.     

Epilepsy in children with periventricular leukomalacia

Objective

We aimed to analyze the development of epilepsy in a patient group with periventricular leukomalacia followed at a tertiary pediatric neurology center.

Patients and methods

The study included 108 children aged between 2 and 8 years with radiologically proven periventricular leukomalacia who had been regularly observed at the Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Neurology outpatient clinic between January 2006 and December 2011.

Results

Neonatal seizures were reported in 22 patients (20.3%), 14 of whom developed epilepsy. A significant correlation was found between neonatal seizures and prematurity and newborn asphyxia (p = 0.013 and p = 0.010, respectively). Epilepsy developed in 35 patients (32.4%), history of neonatal seizures and more severe loss of white matter, periventricular hyperintensity and corpus callosum involvement were found to be correlated with epilepsy (p = 0.001, p = 0.004, p = 0.016, and p = 0.004, respectively). The most common seizure pattern observed was generalized tonic clonic seizures (n = 13) and complex partial seizures (n = 11). Those with focal EEG findings had a significantly better neurodevelopmental and cognitive level than those with multifocal/generalized EEG findings (p = 0.024). Seizures continued with varying frequency in 14 epileptic patients (40%) despite antiepileptic treatment.

Conclusion

Almost a third of patients with periventricular leukomalacia develop epilepsy that can be intractable in substantial part. Neonatal seizures and severe MRI findings are important clues that can indicate the development of epilepsy in these patients.     

Emotional lability: The discriminative value in the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults

Objective

The aim of this study is to assess the discriminative value of emotional lability (EL) in the diagnosis of adults with ADHD.

Methods

A group of adults who met ADHD DSM-IV diagnostic criteria (n = 589), a clinical control group (n = 138) and a community control group (n = 98) were compared in EL scores. SCID-I, SCID-II and CAADID were used to select subjects. The specific subscale on EL of the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) was used to evaluate EL.

Results

An analysis of the covariance was carried out in order to explore the association between EL, ADHD and comorbidity. The group factor (ADHD, clinical or community group) and the comorbidity factor (presence or absence of other psychiatric disorders different from ADHD) showed to be significant on EL intensity (group: F = 81.78 p = 0.000; comorbidity: F = 25.48 p = 0.000). However, no significant differences were found in the group × comorbidity interaction (F = 1.006, p = 0.366). EL showed a sensitivity of 87.1% and a specificity of 46.6% in discriminating between ADHD patients and subjects with other psychiatric disorders.

Conclusion

EL is specifically related to ADHD and this association is not explained for the presence of other psychiatric disorders. The presence of comorbid disorders is only related to a major intensity of EL.     

Lumbar laminectomy and fusion with routine local application of vancomycin powder: Decreased infection rate in instrumented and non-instrumented cases

Objective

Wound infections are one of the most common and potentially devastating complications of spinal surgery. Intra-wound application of vancomycin powder has been shown to lower the infection risk following posterior instrumented fusion, but little evidence supports use in other spinal operations. The goal of this study is to assess the efficacy of vancomycin powder for lumbar laminectomy and fusion, both instrumented and non-instrumented.

Methods

All cases of lumbar laminectomy and posterior fusion (with or without pedicle screw fixation) by a single surgeon were reviewed from 2007 to 2011. Routine application of 1 g vancomycin powder was started in August 2009. Baseline characteristics and operative data were compared between untreated patients and those who received vancomycin powder. Rates of wound infection were compared for all fusions, and then separately for instrumented and non-instrumented cases.

Results

253 patients underwent lumbar laminectomy and fusion between 2007 and 2011. Baseline and operative variables were similar between untreated patients (n = 97) and those who received vancomycin powder (n = 156). Patients were followed for at least one year. The infection rate fell significantly following introduction of vancomycin powder (from 11% to 0%, p = 0.000018). Subgroup analysis revealed significant infection reduction for both instrumented cases (from 12% to 0%, p = 0.000806) and non-instrumented cases (from 10% to 0%, p = 0.0496). No complications attributable to vancomycin powder were identified.

Conclusion

Local vancomycin powder appears to lower the risk of wound infection following lumbar laminectomy and fusion, both instrumented and non-instrumented. Further studies are needed to optimize dosing of vancomycin powder, assess long-term safety and efficacy, and evaluate use in other spinal operations.     

Demographic,circadian, and climatic factors in non-aneurysmal versus aneursymal subarachnoid hemorrhage

Background

Although, the relationship of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) to climatic or circadian factors has been widely studied, epidemiologic, circardian and climatic factors in non-aneurysmal SAH (naSAH), particularly perimesencephalic SAH (PMH), has not been reported before.

Objective

For the first time, demographic, climatic, and circadian variables are examined together as possible contributing factors comparing aSAH and naSAH.

Methods

We reviewed records for 384 patients admitted to University of Wisconsin Neurosurgery Service from January 2005 to December 2010 with spontaneous non-traumatic SAH. Patients were grouped as aSAH (n = 338) or naSAH (n = 46) on clinical and radiological criteria. PMH (n = 32) was identified as a subgroup of naSAH based on radiological criteria. We logged demographic data, time of SAH, temperature at onset and atmospheric pressure at onset. The three subgroups were compared.

Results

Aneurysmal SAH occurred most often from 6 am to 12 pm (p < 0.001); this correlation was not found in naSAH or PMH subgroups. Demographic analysis demonstrated predominance of female gender (p = 0.008) and smoking (p = 0.002) in aSAH, with predominance of hypercholesterolemia in naSAH (p = 0.033). Atmospheric pressure, correlated with aSAH in the main county referral area, where we had detailed weather data (p < 0.05); however, there was no weather correlation in the entire referral region taken together. Multivariate analysis supported a statistical difference only in smoking status between aSAH and naSAH groups (p = 0.0159).

Conclusion

Statistical differences in gender, smoking status, and history of hypercholesterolemia support a clinical distinction between aSAH and naSAH. Furthermore, circadian patterning of aSAH is not reproduced in naSAH, supporting pathophysiologic differences. Only smoking status provides a robust difference in aSAH and naSAH groups. Our data prompt further investigation into the relationship between aSAH and atmospheric pressure.     

Atrial fibrillation predicts good functional outcome following intravenous tissue plasminogen activator in patients with severe stroke

Objective

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with poor outcome after intravenous thrombolysis probably due to greater pretreatment stroke severity. We conducted this retrospective study to determine whether AF is an independent predictor for clinical outcome in patients stratified by initial stroke severity.

Methods

A total of 143 acute ischemic stroke patients who received intravenous thrombolysis within 3 h after onset were enrolled. The patients were categorized according to the baseline stroke severity by National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (≤10 vs. >10) and the presence of AF or not. Favorable 90-day outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score < 2.

Results

Among the 100 patients with severe stroke (NIHSS > 10), those with AF (n = 52) had a higher proportion of favorable 90-day outcome than those without AF (31% vs. 8%, P = 0.005). After adjustment for age, baseline glucose level, and onset to treatment time, the difference remained significant (odds ratio 5.80, 95% confidence interval 1.63–20.68). In patients with mild stroke (NIHSS ≤ 10), no difference in clinical outcome was found between AF (n = 20) and non-AF (n = 23) groups.

Conclusion

Presence of AF was associated with favorable 90-day outcome following intravenous thrombolysis in patients with severe stroke at baseline, while the association did not exist in patients with mild stroke.     

Resting brain perfusion in alcohol-induced psychotic disorder: A comparison in patients with alcohol dependence,schizophrenia and healthy controls

Introduction

Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder (AIPD), also known as alcohol hallucinosis, is a rare complication of alcohol abuse. The underlying pathophysiology is poorly understood, and the disorder needs to be differentiated from alcohol withdrawal delirium and schizophrenia. No brain-imaging studies in AIPD have been reported to date. Case reports of brain imaging in AIPD suggest possible dysfunction in the thalamus, basal ganglia, frontal lobes and cerebellum. Our aim was to prospectively compare resting brain perfusion (rCBF) in patients with AIPD, uncomplicated alcohol dependence, schizophrenia and healthy volunteers.

Methods

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was utilized to compare rCBF in patients with AIPD (n = 19), schizophrenia (n = 16), uncomplicated alcohol dependence (n = 20) and healthy volunteers (n = 19).

Results

Increased rCBF was demonstrated in the right calcarine area in patients with AIPD compared to healthy volunteers, with a trend towards increased rCBF to the frontal and temporal lobes and the right pallidum. Decreased left sided rCBF to the putamen, parietal, mid-frontal and mid-temporal lobes and heterogenous flow to the cerebellum were demonstrated in patients with AIPD when compared to patients with uncomplicated alcohol dependence. The left posterior cingulate and right cerebellum showed higher and lower rCBF respectively in patients with AIPD compared to patients with schizophrenia.

Conclusion

Our findings implicate the right occipital lobe and possibly the cerebellum in the pathogenesis of AIPD and have similarities with those previously reported in alcohol withdrawal. Reduced rCBF to the frontal lobes, thalamus and basal ganglia in AIPD as suggested in previous case reports could not be confirmed.