Intracranial Angioplasty and Stenting in the Awake Patient

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Endovascular treatment for intracranial atherosclerosis is evolving, but complications remain an issue. Most interventions are performed under general anesthesia, preventing intraprocedural clinical evaluations. We describe our approach to intracranial angioplasty and stenting, using local rather than general anesthesia, and intraprocedural neurological assessment. METHODS: We prospectively collected procedural and outcome information on all patients undergoing intracranial angioplasty and stenting. Patients underwent interventions under local anesthesia with mild intravenous sedation or analgesia only if needed. Intraoperative neurological evaluations were performed, and symptomatology was used to guide the interventional technique. RESULTS: Forty-eight arteries in 40 patients with a mean age of 65.2 years were treated. Thirty-two anterior and 16 posterior circulation segments were treated. Technical success was achieved in 100% of patients with reduction of the mean pretreatment stenosis from 85 +/- 8.6% to 7 +/- 10.1%. Stents were deployed in 40 segments; five patients were treated with drug-eluting stents. The cobalt-chromium coronary stents were the easiest to deliver. Thirty-seven patients were treated under local anesthesia and, of those, 61.4% experienced intraprocedural symptoms that led to some alteration of the interventional technique. Headache was the most common symptom, and, when persistent, it heralded the occurrence of subarachnoid hemorrhage. There were seven total neurological complications, but only five (10.5%) led to permanent morbidity (4 strokes) or mortality (1 death). CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial angioplasty and stenting can be successfully performed using coronary techniques and equipment including drug-eluting stents. Local anesthesia permits neurological evaluations and often leads to the adjustment of the interventional technique, potentially making the procedure safer.     

Hemiballismus from a parietal stroke in a Parkinson patient.

Stroke-induced hemiballismus (HB) has been reported to improve motor function in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). We report on a patient who developed HB from a parietal infarct. The HB was improved by very low-dose clozapine but the HB did not improve the parkinsonism. This suggests that HB itself, whether from a lesion in the subthalamic nucleus or elsewhere, is not what improves motor function in PD; instead, the physiological function of the damaged structure is the determining factor.     

脑梗死急性期降压治疗对预后的影响

目的 研究脑梗死急性期降压及在不同时间进行降压治疗对患者近期预后的影响.方法 据发病后是否降压及进行降压的时间,将198例急性脑梗死患者分为6组,观察各组患者神经功能缺损程度及心脑血管事件的再发生率和病死率.结果 在发病后进行降压治疗的患者中其心脑血管事件再发率和病死率明显低于未降压组（P＜0.01） 3d后降压组患者神经功能恢复的程度明显好于未降压组（P＜0.01）.结论 降压治疗可以降低患者心脑血管事件的发生率和病死率3d后进行降压治疗的患者神经功能恢复明显要好.     

Clinical efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic properties of the factor VIII concentrate Haemoctin® SDH in previously treated patients with severe haemophilia A

Clinical efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic properties of the high-purity double-virus inactivated plasma-derived factor VIII concentrate Haemoctin SDH (pdFVIII) were evaluated in three prospective open-label uncontrolled studies in previously treated patients (PTPs) with severe haemophilia A. The pharmacokinetic properties assessed at baseline and after 3 months of treatment are in accurate accordance with published data and remain unchanged over time (study A, n = 12). Mean terminal elimination half-life was 11.8 and 11.9 h, mean incremental recovery (IU dL(-1)/IU kg(-1)) was 2.3 and 2.0, respectively. Long-term efficacy and safety, in particular the potential immunogenicity, were investigated in a total of 53 PTPs (studies A and B) treated prophylactically and on-demand, as required. PdFVIII has shown to be effective in preventing and controlling bleeding episodes; 23.5% of patients were free of bleeding events. A total of 177 haemorrhages occurred with 74.0% resolving after a single infusion, 87.6% within two infusions. 98.3% of responses reported on haemorrhages were rated as 'excellent' or 'good'. Moreover, 'excellent' haemostatic efficacy has been demonstrated in 10 surgical procedures including general and severe orthopaedic interventions (study C). No complication occurred in any surgery. Few adverse events were reported, one patient developed a high-titre FVIII inhibitor without clinical relevance. In all three studies, over 6 million units were administered in nearly 4300 infusions, approximately 94% units or infusions were given for prophylaxis and only 6% for treatment on-demand. In conclusion, pdFVIII has shown to be effective, safe and well tolerated in long-term prophylaxis and treatment on-demand as well as after minor and major surgical procedures.     

Acute subcortical stroke and early serotonergic modification: a IDAP study

The intensity dependence of the auditory-evoked potentials (IDAP) is inversely related to serotonergic tone. Depression is frequently observed after stroke, associated with cognitive impairment and increased mortality. Aim of this study was to investigate the serotonergic tone in acute stroke patients by IDAP. Consecutive patients with an acute stroke admitted in our stroke unit were evaluated using clinical and instrumental examinations and compared with healthy controls. The IDAP was calculated as the linear amplitude/stimulus intensity function (ASF) slope, by measuring the peak-to-peak amplitude of Nl-P2 on four blocks of different stimulus intensities. Twenty patients were enrolled; 11 had a right brain infarction; nine had depressive symptoms (DS). The ASF slope of the auditory-evoked potentials was markedly increased in stroke patients compared with controls ( P  = 0.021). Stroke patients with DS had a significant steeper ASF slope than controls ( P  = 0.017). There was no statistical difference in ASF slope between stroke patients without DS and controls. Post-stroke depression pathophysiology is still debated. Our study suggests that in acute stroke patients with DS, there is a direct involvement of the serotonergic system, regardless the degree of disability and the site of the lesion.     

Newer aspects of antiarrhythmic drug development: Introduction

Although cardiac arrhythmias remain a serious clinical problem in many patients with heart disease, the exact role of antiarrhythmic drug therapy is currently under intense evaluation. Within the last several years it has become clear that there are significant risks as well as potential benefits associated with existing agents. Ongoing studies in large patient populations should help determine the benefit/risk ratio of traditional therapy. Regardless of the outcome of these trials, current electrophysiological dogma will have to be re-evaluated and newer concepts evolve for drug development to make further progress. The goal of this symposium is to exchange information among basic and clinical investigators so as to facilitate the emergence of novel electrophysiological concepts that will form the basis for future generations of antiarrhythmic drugs.     

嗜铬细胞瘤患者围手术期处理的改进

目的：探讨提高嗜铬细胞瘤患者围手术期安全性的措施。方法：对15例嗜铬细胞瘤患者、术前采用选择性α1受体阻滞剂多沙唑嗪控释片(可多华)控制高血压；11例患者采用3D DCEMRA进行肿瘤定位；术中均采用联合高容量血液稀释(AHH)和术中患者自体血回输纠正血容量。结果：除1例持续性高血压患者需联合钙离子拮抗剂和ACEI药物降压外．其余患者血压控制均为满意；根据3D DCEMRA定位选择手术径路者均顺利完成手术；AHH联合术中自体血回输使14例患者避免了异体输血。结论：本文围手术期处理改进．可多华可明显减少药物的不良反应；采用3D DCEMRA进行肿瘤定位，可增加手术安全性；AHH联合术中自体血回输可减少医疗成本和异体输血，以及由此而引起的并发症。     

Early Stroke Recognition: Developing an Out-of-hospital NIH Stroke Scale

Objective : To develop an abbreviated and practical neurologic scale that could assist emergency medical services or triage personnel in identifying patients with stroke.
Methods : A prospective, observational, cohort study was performed at university-based EDs. Participants were 74 patients treated in a thrombolytic stroke trial and 225 consecutive non-stroke patients evaluated during 4 random 12-hour shifts in the ED. Scores on the NIH Stroke Scale were obtained for all patients by physicians. Items of this scale were modified and recoded to a binomial (normal or abnormal) scale. Serial univariate analyses using χ² were performed to rank items. Recursive partitioning was then performed to develop the decision rule for predicting the presence of stroke.
Results : Three items identified 100% of patients with stroke: facial palsy, motor arm, and dysarthria. An Abbreviated NIH Stroke Scale based on these items had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 92%. A proposed Out-of-hospital NIH Stroke Scale consisting of facial palsy, motor arm, and a combination of dysarthria and best language items (abnormal speech) had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 88%.
Conclusion : Using the derivation data set, a proposed Out-of-hospital NIH Stroke Scale had a high sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients with stroke when performed by physicians in this group of 299 ED patients. Prospective studies of other health care professionals using the scale in the out-of-hospital arena are needed.