Publications by authors named "Ajith J Thomas"

Introduction: Asymptomatic moyamoya angiopathy (MMA) is increasingly detected through noninvasive imaging; however, its optimal management remains controversial. This multicenter retrospective cohort study compared outcomes in asymptomatic versus symptomatic MMA patients undergoing surgical revascularization.

Patients And Methods: A total of 475 patients treated with bypass surgery across multiple academic centers were included, with 56 (11.

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Background: The Monopoint reperfusion system (Monopoint; Route 92 Medical, San Mateo, California, USA) is a large bore (0.088 or 0.070 inch inner diameter) aspiration thrombectomy platform designed to minimize ledge effect and improve neurovascular navigation and embolectomy.

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Purpose: To evaluate the potential overestimation of cerebral microbleed (CMB) burden by Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) compared to 2D gradient recalled echo (2D GRE), as well as the impact of increased motion degradation due to longer scan times, reduced CMB detection from skull-stripping failures, and the relative visibility of CMBs between techniques.

Methods: Seventy-nine adult subjects with intracranial hemorrhage underwent same-session brain MRI including 2D GRE and multi-echo GRE for QSM processing, as part of routine clinical care. Images were reviewed by a neuroradiologist and trained research assistant for CMB detection, visibility rating, and anatomical distribution.

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BackgroundMiddle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) is a promising treatment for chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH). Cancer patients are at risk for cSDH due to thrombocytopenia. The efficacy of MMAE in this population has not been studied.

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BackgroundWe investigated racial disparities in radiologic and clinical outcomes of patients after middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) with or without evacuation surgery.MethodsThis multicenter retrospective study includes consecutive patients who underwent MMAE across 11 institutions in North America (10 in the United States and 1 in Canada). Patients were stratified using self-reported racial data.

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Background Chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) is a common neurosurgical condition, and middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) has emerged as a minimally invasive adjunct to surgery, but optimal timing remains unclear. Purpose To investigate radiographic and clinical outcomes of patients with cSDH undergoing MMAE as an adjunct to surgical evacuation, focusing on order and timing of MMAE relative to surgery. Materials and Methods This multicenter, retrospective study included consecutive patients undergoing MMAE adjunct to surgery for cSDH at 10 U.

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Disease-Associated Microglia (DAM) are a focus in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research due to their central involvement in the response to amyloid-beta plaques. Microglial Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is instrumental in the binding of fibrillary amyloid proteins, while Lyn kinase (Lyn) is a member of the Src family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases involved in immune signaling. Lyn is a novel, non-canonical, intracellular adaptor with diverse roles in cell-specific signaling which directly binds to TLR4 to modify its function.

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Purpose: Optimizing clinical imaging parameters balances scan time and image quality. Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) MRI, particularly for detecting intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), involves multiple echo times (TEs), leading to longer scan durations that can impact patient comfort and imaging efficiency. This study evaluates the necessity of specific TEs for QSM MRI in ICH patients and identifies shorter scan protocols using Computer Vision Metrics (CVMs) to maintain diagnostic accuracy.

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Background: Flow-diverter stents (FDS) have become the standard of care for a wide range of intracranial aneurysms, but their efficacy/safety in the context of recurrent/recanalized aneurysms following stent-assisted coiling (SAC) is not well established. We evaluate the outcomes of FDS retreatment in a large multicenter cohort.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 118 patients across 22 institutions who underwent FDS retreatment for recurrent/persistent aneurysms after SAC (2008-22).

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Introduction: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a chronic cerebrovascular disorder characterized by progressive stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid arteries and the development of collateral moyamoya vessels. Surgical revascularization is commonly used to prevent future ischemic events in ischemic-type MMD, but there remains a high rate of stroke perioperatively. This study aims to analyze the predictive factors for perioperative stroke in patients with ischemic-type MMD undergoing surgical revascularization using a large multicenter database.

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Purpose: Accurate detection of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) is important for detection of multiple conditions. However, CMBs can be challenging to identify on MR images, especially for distinguishing CMBs from the mimic of calcification. We performed a comparative reader study to assess the diagnostic performance of two primary MR sequences for differentiating CMBs from calcification.

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Objectives: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a cerebrovascular disorder marked by the progressive steno-occlusion of the bilateral internal carotid arteries and the formation of abnormal collateral vessel networks at the base of the brain. Previous studies have attempted to identify risk factors predictive of postoperative complications to improve patient management. This study aims to identify pretreatment factors associated with post-bypass symptomatic strokes in MMD patients.

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Background: In large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke patients transferred to a comprehensive stroke center for thrombectomy, spontaneous reperfusion may occur during transport, and anecdotally more frequently in patients transferred via helicopter than by ground. This pattern has been more often observed in conjunction with tenecteplase (TNK) treatment prior to helicopter transport. We aim to explore the "chopperlysis" effect-how helicopter transport, particularly with thrombolytics, may affect reperfusion and clinical outcomes.

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Background And Objectives: Multiple preferences exist for embolic materials selection in middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) for chronic subdural hematoma with limited comparative literature data. Herein, we compare different embolic materials.

Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing MMAE for chronic subdural hematoma at 14 North-American centers (2018-2023) were classified into 3 groups: (a) particles, (b) Onyx, (c) n-butyl cyanoacrylate (n-BCA).

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Background And Objectives: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is characterized by progressive steno-occlusion of the internal carotid arteries, leading to compensatory collateral vessel formation. The optimal surgical approach for MMD remains debated, with bilateral revascularization potentially offering more comprehensive protection but involving more extensive surgery compared to unilateral revascularization. This study aims to compare bilateral revascularization and unilateral revascularization short-term safety profile in the treatment of MMD.

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Background: Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) is an emerging MRI technique with multiple clinical applications. As tissue susceptibility cannot be directly measured using MRI, QSM imaging techniques must indirectly compute susceptibility values, requiring regularization methods. CSF is a popular choice for regularization due to its near water susceptibility in healthy controls.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare brain disorder that causes narrowing of blood vessels, often accompanied by high blood pressure, which complicates the condition's outcomes; this study compares MMD patients with and without hypertension.
  • - A total of 598 MMD patients were analyzed from multiple institutions, with hypertensive (292) and non-hypertensive (306) groups evaluated for clinical characteristics and outcomes using statistical adjustments to account for differences in their backgrounds.
  • - Results indicated that although hypertensive patients showed higher rates of certain risk factors (like diabetes and smoking) and higher stroke rates before adjustments, post-matching analysis revealed no significant differences in stroke rates or recovery outcomes between the two groups, suggesting effective
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  • * Data from 459 patients with vessel perforation showed a 90-day mortality rate of 51.9%, with only 16.3% achieving a favorable recovery (mRS 0-2).
  • * The findings indicate that large vessel perforation leads to worse outcomes, while thrombolysis doesn’t worsen prognoses; quick management of bleeding is crucial for survival.
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  • * Data from 670 patients revealed that while IVT may improve some outcomes, such as higher chances of achieving a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2 in univariable analysis, this benefit was not consistently observed in more rigorous multivariable analyses.
  • * Overall, the findings suggest that adjunctive IVT may not significantly enhance clinical outcomes or safety compared to MT alone for this patient population.
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  • - The study compared the effectiveness and safety of four first-generation flow diverters (FDs) used for treating sidewall ICA intracranial aneurysms, which include Pipeline, Silk, FRED, and Surpass devices, using data from 444 patients across 18 institutions from 2009-2016.
  • - Analysis revealed no significant differences in retreatment rates or complications among the devices; however, the Surpass device showed the highest probability of achieving effective occlusion at follow-up, followed by FRED, Pipeline, and Silk.
  • - Although all devices had good clinical outcomes, the study highlights the need for prospective research to further clarify the differences and long-term effects of these flow diverters.
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Background: With transradial access (TRA) being more progressively used in neuroendovascular procedures, we compared TRA with transfemoral access (TFA) in middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) for chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH).

Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing MMAE for cSDH at 14 North American centers (2018-23) were included. TRA and TFA groups were compared using propensity score matching (PSM) controlling for: age, sex, concurrent surgery, previous surgery, hematoma thickness and side, midline shift, and pretreatment antithrombotics.

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Background: Optimal anesthetic strategy for the endovascular treatment of stroke is still under debate. Despite scarce data concerning anesthetic management for medium and distal vessel occlusions (MeVOs) some centers empirically support a general anesthesia (GA) strategy in these patients.

Methods: We conducted an international retrospective study of MeVO cases.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A retrospective analysis of trauma patients from 2020 to 2022 identified a small number of cerebral stroke cases, out of which 10 met the criteria for further evaluation, mostly admitted after falls.
  • * The AI program successfully detected 83.3% of large vessel occlusions within an hour of patient arrival without misidentifying any non-occlusions, suggesting potential benefits for timely stroke treatment in trauma settings and a need for further research on its effectiveness.
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Background And Purpose: Core-lab adjudicated data regarding the efficacy of the single-stent assisted aneurysm coiling technique 'L-stenting' are lacking. We present a multicenter, core-lab adjudicated study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of single-stent assisted coiling in the treatment of wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms (WNBAs).

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent L-stenting for WNBAs at three academic institutions between 2015 and 2019 were included in this retrospective study.

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