Differences in Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study from International Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q).

Background: Stroke globally impacts mortality and disability. Compliance with international standards and evidence-based practices for acute stroke management would improve patient outcomes.

Objectives: We aimed to present a descriptive analysis of the quality of acute stroke care across different countries using the Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q).

Changes in Infarct Volume and Cerebral Edema After Mechanical Thrombectomy in Patients With Stroke Randomized to ApTOLL or Placebo: A Secondary Analysis of APRIL Trial.

Background: APRIL (A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Phase Ib/IIa Clinical Study of ApTOLL for the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke), a randomized placebo-controlled phase Ib/IIa trial, showed safety and reduced mortality and disability at 90 days of ApTOLL 0.2 mg/kg in combination with endovascular treatment in patients with acute large vessel occlusion within a 6-hour window. We studied the effect of ApTOLL against placebo on final infarct volume, infarct growth, and cerebral edema.

CTA-based evaluation of carotid body size reveals associations with cardiovascular and metabolic conditions.

Background: The carotid body (CB) detects blood oxygen changes and may play a role in metabolic diseases. Several studies have suggested a link between CB size and cardiovascular conditions. This study aimed to evaluate CB size using computed tomography angiography (CTA) and investigate its associations with cardiovascular and metabolic conditions.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study After Intraarterial Cell Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Substudy of the IBIS Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Bone marrow mononuclear cell (BM-MNC) intraarterial transplantation has emerged as a potential stroke therapy. We aimed to determine whether BM-MNC therapy induces changes in diffusion tensor imaging metrics of major white matter tracts.

Methods: The IBIS trial was an investigator-initiated multicenter, phase IIb, randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded, clinical trial.

A Randomized Trial on Hemodynamic Optimization of Cerebral Perfusion after Successful Endovascular Therapy in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke (HOPE).

Introduction: In patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary to intracranial large vessel occlusion, optimal blood pressure (BP) management following endovascular treatment (EVT) has not yet been established. The randomized trial on Hemodynamic Optimization of Cerebral Perfusion after Successful Endovascular Therapy in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke (HOPE) (clinicaltrials.gov id: NCT04892511) aims to demonstrate whether hemodynamic optimization using different systolic BP targets following EVT according to the degree of final recanalization, is more effective than currently recommended BP management in improving functional outcomes of patients with AIS.

Closing the Sex-Based Differences in Stroke Care: Insights from a Large Telestroke Network on Treatment and Postacute Management.

Background: The evolution of ischemic stroke is different accordin'g to sex and is one of the main causes of death in women. Previous studies have shown that women are less likely to receive acute treatment, and stroke center type is an important predictor of door-to-needle times. We investigated whether women are attended in a similar way to men in the telestroke network with specialized stroke physicians.

Tirofiban versus aspirin to prevent in-stent thrombosis after emergent carotid artery stenting in acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Several antithrombotic treatments during emergent carotid artery stenting (eCAS) have been proposed, but an appropriate protocol to balance risk-benefit is not well known.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of tirofiban compared with aspirin in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing eCAS.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective single-center study of the prospective ARTISTA Registry, including patients with atherosclerotic internal carotid artery occlusion treated with eCAS.

Editor's Choice - Development of a Risk Prediction Nomogram for Carotid Re-Stenosis in the One Year RECAST Registry.

Objective: The long term benefit of carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) can be reduced by recurrent stroke related to in stent re-stenosis (ISR). An individualised predictive tool is needed to identify ISR events. A nomogram for individual risk assessment of ISR ≥ 70% after CAS is proposed.

Early automated cerebral edema assessment following endovascular therapy: impact on stroke outcome.

Background: Cerebral edema (CED) is associated with poorer outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The aim of the study was to investigate the factors contributing to greater early CED formation in patients with AIS who underwent endovascular therapy (EVT) and its association with functional outcome.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter cohort study of patients with an anterior circulation AIS undergoing EVT.

Stroke-associated pneumonia according to mCDC criteria: impact on prognosis and antibiotic therapy.

Objective: The modified Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (mCDC) criteria have been proposed for diagnosing and managing stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP). The objective was to investigate the impact of SAP on stroke outcome depending on whether or not it conforms to mCDC criteria. Our secondary objective was to identify the responsible factors for antibiotic initiation in stroke patients.

Safety and Efficacy of ApTOLL in Patients With Ischemic Stroke Undergoing Endovascular Treatment: A Phase 1/2 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: ApTOLL is a TLR4 antagonist with proven preclinical neuroprotective effect and a safe profile in healthy volunteers.

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of ApTOLL in combination with endovascular treatment (EVT) for patients with ischemic stroke.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This phase 1b/2a, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted at 15 sites in Spain and France from 2020 to 2022.

Safety and efficacy of tirofiban in acute ischemic stroke due to tandem lesions undergoing mechanical thrombectomy: A multicenter randomized clinical trial (ATILA) protocol.

Background: In-stent thrombosis after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) worsen outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to tandem lesions (TL). Although an optimal antiplatelet therapy is needed, the best approach to avoid in-stent thrombosis is yet to be elucidated.

Hypothesis: Low-dose intravenous tirofiban is superior to intravenous aspirin in avoiding in-stent thrombosis in patients undergoing MT plus carotid stenting in the setting of AIS due to TL.

Safety and efficacy of intra-arterial bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation in patients with acute ischaemic stroke in Spain (IBIS trial): a phase 2, randomised, open-label, standard-of-care controlled, multicentre trial.

Background: Pilot clinical trials have shown the safety of intra-arterial bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) in stroke. However, the efficacy of different doses of intra-arterial BMMNCs in patients with acute stroke has not been tested in a randomised clinical trial. We aimed to show safety and efficacy of two different doses of autologous intra-arterial BMMNC transplantation in patients with acute stroke.

Predictive Factors for Stroke and TIA Following Carotid Artery Stenting.

Purpose: Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is an effective and minimally invasive method for the treatment of extracranial carotid artery stenosis. The aim of the present study was to explore independent risk factors to predict cerebrovascular events following CAS to identify high-risk patients and improve the safety of CAS in this population.

Materials And Methods: HISPANIAS is a national prospective multicenter study that included 14 hospitals that collected data from patients who underwent CAS.

Mediterranean Diet and its Effects on Silent Brain Infarcts in a Cohort of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background And Aims: The benefits of Mediterranean Diet (MeDiet) in prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in general and ischemic stroke (IS) have been extensively studied and reported. We hypothesize that the consumption of nutrients typical of MeDiet would also reduce the rate of silent brain infarcts (SBI) among AF patients.

Methods And Results: Patients with a history of AF who scored 0 to 1 in the CHADS2 score, ⩾50 years and with absence of neurological symptoms were selected from Seville urban area using the Andalusian electronic healthcare database.

Association of blood-based biomarkers with radiologic markers and cognitive decline in atrial fibrillation patients.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with an increased risk of silent brain infarcts (SBI) and cognitive impairment, even in patients with low embolic risk. We aimed to test the association between 11 blood-biomarkers representing different AF-related pathways, and SBI, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and cognitive decline in patients with AF and low embolic risk.

Methods: The present study followed a cross-sectional design.

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: A 1-Year Follow-up.

Background And Objectives: Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).

Express improvement of acute stroke care accessibility in large regions using a centralized telestroke network.

Introduction: Acute ischemic stroke therapy has improved in recent decades, decreasing the rates of disability and death among stroke patients. Unfortunately, all health care systems have geographical disparities in infrastructure for stroke patients. A centralized telestroke network might be a low-cost strategy to reduce differences in terms of geographical barriers, equitable access, and quality monitoring across different hospitals.

Relevance of Carotid Reocclusion in Tandem Lesions.

Aims: Carotid reocclusion (CRO) after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to tandem lesion (TL) or isolated internal carotid occlusion (ICO) is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Our aim was to analyze the predictors and clinical impact of CRO.

Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis of all patients with anterior circulation strokes who underwent MT prospectively included in a registry between 2017 and 2020 was performed.

Intensive 90-day textile wearable Holter monitoring: an alternative to detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in selected patients with cryptogenic stroke.

We aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of 90-day cardiac monitoring with an external Holter device and to find a target population able to benefit from such a technique. Cryptogenic stroke patients were continuously monitored for 90 days with a textile wearable Holter (TWH). Compliance and quality of the monitoring were assessed by the number of hours of ECG stored per month.

Blood-Based Biomarkers to Search for Atrial Fibrillation in High-Risk Asymptomatic Individuals and Cryptogenic Stroke Patients.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of ischemic stroke in asymptomatic individuals and may be the underlying cause of many cryptogenic strokes. We aimed to test the usefulness of candidate blood-biomarkers related to AF pathophysiology in two prospective cohorts representative of those populations.

Methods: Two hundred seventy-four subjects aged 65-75 years with hypertension and diabetes from the AFRICAT cohort, and 218 cryptogenic stroke patients aged >55 years from the CRYPTO-AF cohort were analyzed.

Proteins and pathways in atrial fibrillation and atrial cardiomyopathy underlying cryptogenic stroke.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most prevalent causes of cryptogenic stroke. Also, apart from AF itself, structural and remodelling changes in the atria might be an underlying cause of cryptogenic stroke. We aimed to discover circulating proteins and reveal pathways altered in AF and atrial cardiomyopathy, measured by left atrial volume index (LAVI) and peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS), in patients with cryptogenic stroke.