Depressive symptoms following ischemic stroke

Depressed mood and other depressive symptoms frequently seen after cerebral stroke contribute to an unfavorable prognosis in this patient population. Identification of the subgroup of patients at increased risk for depressive symptoms is a prerequisite of early treatment. In the study aimed at evaluation of post-stroke depressive symptoms prevalence and risk factors participants were 766 consecutive patients with ischemic cerebral infarction, admitted in the years 1997-2000 to the Stroke Unit, Neurology Department in Cracow. Data concerning depressive symptoms, demographic characteristics and clinical variables were obtained from medical records. Depressive symptoms during the hospitalization were found in 19% of cases. Younger age, neurological deficits and previous history of psychiatric disorders were independent factors increasing the risk of post-stroke depressive symptoms. The study allowed to identify the subpopulation of stroke patients at risk for affective disorders following a cerebrovascular accident.     

Line quadrisection errors in patients with hemispatial neglect

Patients with left unilateral neglect misbisect lines toward the right. To discriminate between contralesional unawareness and ipsilesional hyperattention hypotheses for this ipsilesional bias, we performed the line quadrisection test on 18 patients with and 25 without neglect, and 24 normal controls. Overall the patients with neglect were unbiased when performing the left quadrisection task, but erred rightward on the right quadrisection task. These results suggest that the ipsilesional bisection errors produced by patients with neglect are primarily influenced by ipsilesional hyperattention rather than contralesional unawareness. However, further analyses showed heterogeneity of performance in left quadrisection, which can be explained by multiple factors that include the top down attention to left space associated with left quadrisection, the orienting to the salience of the line's left end, and distorted mental representation, in addition to ipsilesional hyperattention.     

Line quadrisection errors in patients with hemispatial neglect

Patients with left unilateral neglect misbisect lines toward the right. To discriminate between contralesional unawareness and ipsilesional hyperattention hypotheses for this ipsilesional bias, we performed the line quadrisection test on 18 patients with and 25 without neglect, and 24 normal controls. Overall the patients with neglect were unbiased when performing the left quadrisection task, but erred rightward on the right quadrisection task. These results suggest that the ipsilesional bisection errors produced by patients with neglect are primarily influenced by ipsilesional hyperattention rather than contralesional unawareness. However, further analyses showed heterogeneity of performance in left quadrisection, which can be explained by multiple factors that include the top down attention to left space associated with left quadrisection, the orienting to the salience of the line's left end, and distorted mental representation, in addition to ipsilesional hyperattention.     

Influencing factors for the disappearance of hemispatial neglect in patients during acute stroke

INTRODUCTION Hemispatial neglect (HSN) is characterized by losing reaction, re- sponse and direct dysfunction of contralateral space of focal hemi- sphere. Many researches suggest that these symptoms are easy to onset after injury of right hemisphere[1]. …     

Association between the related characters of hemispatial neglect and prognosis in stroke patients

IN T R O D U C T IO NH em ispatialneglect(H S N ), also nam ed as unilateralneglector visu- ospatialneglect,belongs to the body dysm orphic disorder in agnosia, itrefers to the loss ofreactions and responses to contralateralspatial stim ulation offocalhem…     

Non-lateralised deficits in anti-saccade performance in patients with hemispatial neglect

We tested patients suffering from hemispatial neglect on the anti-saccade paradigm to assess voluntary control of saccades. In this task participants are required to saccade away from an abrupt onset target. As has been previously reported, in the pro-saccade condition neglect patients showed increased latencies towards targets presented on the left and their accuracy was reduced as a result of greater undershoot. To our surprise though, in the anti-saccade condition, we found strong bilateral effects: the neglect patients produced large numbers of erroneous pro-saccades to both left and right stimuli. This deficit in voluntary control was present even in patients whose lesions spared the frontal lobes. These results suggest that the voluntary control of action is supported by an integrated network of cortical regions, including more posterior areas. Damage to one or more components within this network may result in impaired voluntary control.     

Marchiafava-Bignami disease with symptoms of the motor impersistence and unilateral hemispatial neglect

Machiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) occurs in the alcoholic patients. It is characterized clinically by interhemispheric disconnection syndrome, resulting from demyelination and necrosis of the corpus callosum. We performed a neuropsychological study of an alcoholic patient, diagnosed as MBD by X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 123I IMP-SPECT of the patient revealed the reduction of the blood flow in both cerebral hemispheres without laterality though both the X-ray CT and MRI showed no abnormality in the cerebral hemispheres. In neuropsychological studies, we observed not only interhemispheric disconnection syndrome such as an unilateral left agraphia and left apraxia but also left hemispatial neglect demonstrated in right-hand performance and motor impersistence. Because there were no abnormal lesions in the right hemisphere, these symptoms might be attributable to the lesions of corpus callosum.     

Depressive symptoms following ischemic stroke: a study of 207 patients

Depression is a frequent and important problem for patients who have experienced strokes. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms, their clinical correlations, and the effects of depressive symptoms on stroke recovery. A consecutive cohort of 207 ischemic stroke patients with a mean age of 64 years, were studied for ascertaining any correlation between potential risk factors and the incidence of post-stroke depression (PSD). Depressive symptoms were relatively common (34.3% Hamilton depression rating scale > 10), but the prevalence of severe depression (HDRS > 17) was only 7.7%. Patients with depressive symptoms were more likely to be female, have a family history of depression, and a poor functional outcome. There were no significant differences between depressive symptoms and age, marital status, location of stroke lesion, and duration after stroke onset. Our findings indicate that depressive symptoms occurred in about one third of post stroke patients. There is a negative correlation between depressive symptoms and functional status of the patients.     

Cerebral blood flow following normavolemic hemodilution in patients with high hematocrit

The effects on cerebral hemodynamics of venisection and a 4% albumin-saline infusion were studied in six patients withhigh hematocrit (mean, 51.5%). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured using the xenon 133 intracarotid injection method. Blood gases were measured in arterial and jugular venous blood. Rapid two-stage hemodilution, which lowered mean hematocrit by 9 and 13%, resulted in CBF increases of 19 and 23%, respectively. Jugular venous partial pressure of oxygen and oxygen delivery capacity (CBF × arterial oxygen content) did not change significantly from baseline. The cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen increased slightly following stage 1 hemodilution but returned to baseline value following stage 2. The study lends no support to the concept that patients whose hematocrit is at the high end of the normal range have genealized cerebral hypoxia.     

Cerebral blood flow in acute and chronic ischemic stroke using xenon-133 inhalation tomography

Serial measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF) were performed in 12 patients with acute symptoms of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. CBF was measured by xenon-133 inhalation and single photon emission computer tomography. Six patients had severe strokes and large infarcts on the CT scan. They showed in the acute phase (Days 1-3) very large low-flow areas, larger than the hypodense areas seen on the CT scan. The cerebral vasoconstrictor and vasodilator capacity was tested in the acute phase following aminophylline and acetazolamide, respectively. A preserved but reduced reactivity was seen at both tests in all 6 cases in the infarct and the peri-infarct areas. On Days 5-25, 4 of the patients had transitory increases (59-108%) of CBF, probably corresponding to lysis of an intracerebral embolic occlusion. The other 2 patients showed on Days 7-15 only a moderate CBF increase (appr. 20%), both had occlusion of the relevant internal carotid artery. In all 6 patients, CBF studies at 2 and 6 months resembled the acute phase, showing large areas with reduced flow. At the 6 months follow-up, the vasodilatory stress test was repeated, and all but one showed a preserved but reduced vasoreactivity in the infarct and peri-infarct tissue. Of the remaining 6 patients, one had a pontine infarct and one had no lesions on the CT scan, both having normal angiograms and CBF maps. Four patients had small deep or subcortical CT lesions, and showed a slight, but persistent CBF reduction of about 6-8% in the parietal region on the affected side. No changes in the flow pattern were seen at the vasoreactive studies. A likely explanation for the finding of superjacent low-flow areas is an intrahemispheric uncrossed diaschisis. This interpretation is discussed in relation to the peri-infarct low-flow area seen in the 6 cases with large infarcts.     

Cerebral blood flow and CO2 reactivity in patients with transient ischemic attack]

To elucidate the changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and CO2 reactivity in patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA), 10 patients with TIA and 5 healthy adults (controls) underwent two consecutive CBF measurements (i.e. the first measurement during room air inhalation and the second measurement during 5%CO2 inhalation). Hemispheric mean CBF was determined by each CBF measurement using 133Xenon inhalation method. CO2 reactivity was evaluated by analysing delta CBF (= mean CBF during hypercapnea-mean CBF at rest) and delta CBF/delta PaCO2. The resting mean CBF values in the bilateral hemispheres (i.e. both of the affected and unaffected hemispheres) were significantly lower in TIA patients than controls (p less than 0.05). Inhalation of 5%CO2 significantly increased mean CBF in TIA patients bilaterally, however the mean CBF value during hypercapnea was again significantly lower in TIA patients than controls (p less than 0.05). CO2 reactivity in TIA patients was not significantly different from controls (p greater than 0.05). The result demonstrated that TIA patients have a chronic and global cerebral oligemia with normal CO2 reactivity. The chronic and global cerebral oligemia may develop a transient ischemic neurological symptom by being superimposed with local decrease of CBF.     

Cerebral thrombolysis in patients with ischemic stroke and heart failure

Background

Heart failure (HF) is common among patients with ischemic stroke (IS), however its impact on outcome after iv-thrombolysis has not been fully determined. Moreover, definition of HF has been recently modified, but majority of stroke studies classified patients regarding an old HF criteria. Thus, the aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between both, newly and formerly defined HF and the long-term outcome, mortality and the presence of hemorrhagic complications in patients with acute IS treated with iv-thrombolysis.

Integrative cerebral blood flow regulation in ischemic stroke

Optimizing cerebral perfusion is key to rescuing salvageable ischemic brain tissue. Despite being an important determinant of cerebral perfusion, there are no effective guidelines for blood pressure (BP) management in acute stroke. The control of cerebral blood flow (CBF) involves a myriad of complex pathways which are largely unaccounted for in stroke management. Due to its unique anatomy and physiology, the cerebrovascular circulation is often treated as a stand-alone system rather than an integral component of the cardiovascular system. In order to optimize the strategies for BP management in acute ischemic stroke, a critical reappraisal of the mechanisms involved in CBF control is needed. In this review, we highlight the important role of collateral circulation and re-examine the pathophysiology of CBF control, namely the determinants of cerebral perfusion pressure gradient and resistance, in the context of stroke. Finally, we summarize the state of our knowledge regarding cardiovascular and cerebrovascular interaction and explore some potential avenues for future research in ischemic stroke.     

Postictal but not interictal hemispatial neglect in patients with seizures of lateralized onset

PURPOSE: Unilateral spatial neglect, defined as a failure to report, respond, or orient to stimuli that are presented contralaterally, has been widely documented after brain damage to right, and to a lesser degree, left frontotemporoparietal networks. Group studies involving patients with seizures with a lateralized focus have demonstrated transient dysfunctions in memory and language; however, so far, only two case reports have described transient neglect after an epileptic seizure. METHODS: To assess the existence and consistency of this phenomenon, we evaluated 33 epilepsy patients on a line-bisection task in interictal and postictal states as compared with an age- and sex-matched control group. RESULTS: Spatial neglect, as determined by this test, was found in the postictal but not interictal examination in patients with right parietal epileptic foci and was maximal for the left-positioned lines, whereas no neglect was found in other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that patients with right parietal foci can present a transient neglect phenomenon on the line-bisection task in the postictal period, even in the absence of overt clinical neglect signs. These findings might be useful in establishing the laterality and even localization of epileptic foci based on the postictal neuropsychological evaluation.     

无高血压病史急性脑梗死患者脑内微出血的临床研究

目的 探讨有、无高血压的急性脑梗死患者中脑内微出血(cerebral microbleeds,CMBs)的危险因素和影像学上分布特点的不同.方法 连续性收集急性脑梗死患者,进行磁共振扫描,包括T1、T2 加权相以及梯度回波序列(gradient-echo T2 *,GRE-T2*).分析患者临床特点、MRI上脑白质病变的严重程度和CMBs病灶的分布特点.结果 共入选998例急性脑梗死患者,CMBs发生于273例患者,其中62例无高血压病史.在无高血压病史的急性脑梗死患者中CMBs发生率为18.5%(62/335),低于有高血压病史的急性脑梗死患者(211/663,31.8%,P＜0.0001).无高血压患者的CMBs局限于皮层和皮层下者占40.3%(25/62),高于有高血压的患者(20.4%,43/211,P=0.001).脑白质病变的严重程度,入院时收缩压是无高血压病史急性脑梗死患者发生CMBs的独立危险因素.结论 有高血压和无高血压的急性脑梗死患者CMBs分布部位有所不同,后者更多地集中于皮层和皮层下.控制血压在有、无高血压病史的CMBs患者均必要.