Anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic sensory neuropathy and breast cancer.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Arboix.
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OBJECTIVES: To compare the occurrence of lacunar infarcts in the very elderly ( > or = 85 years of age) and in patients below 85. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data of 374 consecutive patients with lacunar infarcts were collected from a prospective hospital-based stroke registry in which 2000 patients are included. Distinctive clinical features of lacunar infarct in the very elderly were assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Lacunar infarcts were diagnosed in 39 (15%) of the 262 very elderly patients of our stroke registry. Lacunar infarcts in the very elderly accounted for 10.5% of all lacunes. There was no statistical difference in the occurrence of different lacunar syndromes between the very elderly patients and patients below 85. However, the very old group with lacunar infarct showed a significantly higher proportion of the female sex (56.4% vs 37.3%) and history of atrial fibrillation (28.2% vs 8.7%), chronic renal disease and pathologic condition and a significantly lower proportion of hypertension (61.5% vs 77.3%), diabetes (7.7%) vs 28.4%), ischemic heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, and absence of neurologic deficit at discharge from the hospital than patients below 85. After multivariate analysis only atrial fibrillation (OR = 3.77), female gender (OR =2.52), hypertension (OR = 0.35), and diabetes (OR = 0.16) were independent clinical factors for developing lacunar infarction in the very elderly. CONCLUSION: In the very elderly the higher occurrence of atrial fibrillation, the lower prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, and the greater focal neurological impairment suggest that the cardioembolic pathogenetic mechanisms may be more frequent than generally established for lacunar infarcts in stroke patients.
OBJECTIVES: To characterize the vascular risk factor profiles in different subtypes of ischemic stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 1473 consecutive ischemic stroke patients collected in a prospective stroke registry. The prevalence of vascular risk factors in each stroke subtype was analyzed independently and in comparison with other subtypes of stroke pooled together by means of univariate analysis and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Hypertension was present in 52% of patients followed by atrial fibrillation in 27% and diabetes in 20%. The pattern of risk factors associated with atherothrombotic stroke included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.63), hypertension (OR = 2.55), diabetes (OR = 2.26), transient ischemic attack (OR = 1.61), and age (OR = 1.03). Previous cerebral hemorrhage (OR = 4.72), hypertension (OR = 4.29), obesity (OR = 2.45), and diabetes (OR = 1.73) were strong predictors of lacunar stroke. In the case of cardioembolic stroke, atrial fibrillation (OR = 22.24), valvular heart disease (OR = 10.97), and female gender (OR = 1.66) occurred more frequently among patients with this stroke subtype than among the other stroke subtypes combined. CONCLUSION: Different potentially modifiable vascular risk factor profiles were identified for each subtype of ischemic stroke, particularly COPD in the case of atherothrombotic stroke and previous cerebral hemorrhage and hypertension in the case of lacunar infarction.
OBJECTIVES: To examine demographic characteristics, clinical features, neuroimaging data, and outcome of all acute stroke events occurring in individuals aged 85 years or older. DESIGN: Collection of data from a prospective hospital-based stroke registry. SETTING: Between January 1986 and December 1995, the data was collected of 2,000 stroke patients admitted consecutively to the department of neurology ( having 25 beds and an acute stroke unit) of Sagrat Cor-L'Alianza Hospital of Barcelona (an acute care, 350-bed teaching hospital serving a population of approximately 250,000). PARTICIPANTS AND MEASUREMENTS: For the purpose of this study, very old patients (aged 85 years or older) were selected (n = 262). The data of very old stroke patients were compared with the data of patients younger than 85 years of age (n = 1738). Predictors of in-hospital mortality based on clinical and neuroimaging variables were recorded within 48 hours of stroke onset, and outcome variables (medical complications that developed during hospitalization) were assessed by multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The very old patients showed a significantly greater frequency of atherothrombotic (27.5% vs. 21.9%, P<.05) and cardioembolic infarctions (24.4% vs. 26.3%, P<.001) and a lesser frequency of stroke of unusual cause. Acute stroke in the very old patients was more severe than in patients younger than 85 years of age, with greater rates of in-hospital mortality (27% vs. 13.5%, P<.001), longer duration of hospital stay (22.03+/-29.6 vs. 17.5+/-21.5 days, P<.001), and lesser frequency of absence of neurologic deficit at the time of hospital discharge (21.4% vs. 33.1%, P<.001). Altered consciousness, limb weakness, sensory symptoms, involvement of the parietal lobe and temporal lobe, involvement of the internal capsule (with a protective effect), intraventricular hemorrhage, cardiac events, and respiratory events were selected as independent predictors of in-hospital mortality in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Very old patients with acute stroke showed a differential clinical profile, different frequency of stroke subtypes, and a poorer outcome compared with stroke patients who were younger than 85 years of age. Clinical and neuroimaging factors that are indicative of the severity of stroke and that were available at the time of the initial diagnosis and at the time of the development of cardiac and respiratory complications showed a predominant influence on in-hospital mortality and may help clinicians to establish prognosis more accurately.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Clomethiazole is a neuroprotective drug that enhances gamma-aminobutyrate type A (GABA(A)) receptor activity. Its efficacy and safety were tested in the CLomethiazole Acute Stroke Study (CLASS). The protocol allowed a CT scan to be done after randomization but within 7 days of stroke onset to minimize delays before start of treatment. Ninety-five of the 1360 patients randomized were diagnosed as having intracranial hemorrhage rather than ischemic stroke. Safety results for clomethiazole compared with placebo in this group are reported. METHODS: The study included patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute hemispheric cerebral infarction. Treatment was a 24-hour intravenous infusion of 75 mg/kg clomethiazole or placebo. Patients with intracranial hemorrhage discovered on a postrandomization CT were withdrawn from study treatment if treatment was ongoing, and all patients were followed up to 90 days. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients received treatment, 47 in each group. The hemorrhage was classified as intracerebral in 89 patients (94%). Mortality at 90 days was 19.1% in the clomethiazole group and 23.4% in the placebo group. Sedation was the most common adverse event, occurring at a higher incidence in clomethiazole-treated patients (clomethiazole 53%, placebo 17%), followed by rhinitis and coughing. The incidence and pattern of serious adverse events was similar between the treatment groups. The percentage of patients reaching relative functional independence on the Barthel Index (score >/=60) at 90 days was 59.6% in the clomethiazole group and 53.2% in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Clomethiazole appears safe to administer to hemorrhagic stroke patients compared with placebo. These results would obviate the need for a CT scan before therapy is initiated in acute stroke. The safety of clomethiazole in hemorrhagic stroke patients will be further evaluated in a prospective study that is under way in North America.
To investigate the prevalence and behavior of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) associated with a first-ever stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), we prospectively studied 161 consecutive patients admitted to our stroke unit. Complete neurological assessment was performed to determine parenchymatous and vascular localization of the neurological lesion. Stroke subtype was categorized as TIA, ischemic (IS), or hemorrhagic (HS). A portable respiratory recording (PRR) study was performed within 48-72 h after admission (acute phase), and subsequently after 3 mo (stable phase). During the acute phase, 116 patients (71.4%) had an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) > 10 events/h and 45 (28%) had an AHI > 30. No relationships were found between sleep-related respiratory events and the topographical parenchymatous location of the neurological lesion or vascular involvement. Cheyne-Stokes breathing (CSB) was observed in 42 cases (26.1%). There were no significant differences in SRBD according to the stroke subtype except for the central apnea index (CAI). During the stable phase a second PRR was performed in 86 patients: 53 of 86 had an AHI > 10 and 17 of 86 had an AHI > 30. The AHI and CAI were significantly lower than those in the acute phase (16.9 +/- 13.8 versus 22.4 +/- 17.3 and 3.3 +/- 7.6 versus 6.2 +/- 10.2, respectively) (p < 0.05) while the obstructive apnea index (OAI) remained unchanged. CSB was observed in 6 of 86 patients. The prevalence of SRBD in patients with first-ever stroke or TIA is higher than expected from the available epidemiological data in our country. No correlation was found between neurological location and the presence or type of SRBD. Obstructive events seem to be a condition prior to the neurological disease whereas central events and CSB could be its consequence.
OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that diabetes is an independent determinant of outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a hospital-based prospective study The setting was an acute care 350-bed hospital in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Spontaneous ICH was diagnosed in 229 (11%) of 2,000 consecutive stroke patients included in a prospective stroke registry during a 10-year period. Main outcome measures were frequency of demographic variables, risk factors, clinical events, neuroimaging data, and outcome in ICH patients with and without diabetes. Variables related to vital status at discharge (alive or dead) in the univariate analysis plus age were studied in 4 logistical regression models. RESULTS: A total of 35 patients (15.3%) had diabetes. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 54.3% in the diabetic group and 26.3% in the nondiabetic group (P < 0.001). Previous cerebral infarction, altered consciousness, sensory symptoms, cranial nerve palsy, multiple topography of the hematoma, intraventricular hemorrhage, and infectious complications were significantly more frequent in diabetic patients than in nondiabetic patients. The presence of diabetes was a significant predictive variable in the model based on demographic variables and cardiovascular risk factors (odds ratio 2.98 [95% CI 1.37-6.46]) and in the models based on these variables plus clinical variables (5.76 [2.01-16.51]), neuroimaging variables (5.59 [1.87-16.691), and outcome data (6.10 [2.04-18.291). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes is an independent determinant of death after ICH. ICH in diabetic individuals presents some different clinical features compared with ICH in nondiabetic patients.
This study was conducted to determine clinical predictors of very early in-hospital mortality (within the first 72 h) in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. Data of 184 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage were obtained from consecutive stroke patients included in the prospective Barcelona Stroke Registry. Demographic, anamnestic, clinical, neurological and neuroimaging variables in the subgroup of patients who died within 72 h after the onset of symptoms were compared with those in the subgroup of patients that had survived this initial period. The independent predictive value of each variable on the development of very early death was assessed with a logistic regression analysis. Very early in-hospital death was observed in 18 patients (9.8%). These patients were significantly more likely to have progressive deficit, seizures, altered consciousness, limb weakness, sensory involvement and basal ganglia hematoma than patients without very early death. After multivariate analysis, only progressive deficit (odds ratio (OR) 6.90; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2-23.80) and limb weakness (OR 5.46; 95% CI 1.78-16.77) were independent clinical predictors of very early mortality. Progressive neurological deficit and limb weakness at the onset of stroke was independent predictive factors of very early death in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. These results further emphasize the need to establish an early etiological diagnosis and to manage these patients aggressively including early surgery in selected cases.
The aim of this study was to determine factors predictive of cerebral infarction subtype from clinical data collected within 48 h of neurologic deficit. All cardioembolic (n = 231) and atherothrombotic infarctions (n = 369) included in prospective stroke registry of the Sagrat Cor-Alianza Hospital of Barcelona were analysed. Demographic characteristics, anamnestic findings, cerebrovascular risk factors and clinical data of patients with embolic stroke and patients with thrombotic infarction were compared. Predictors of stroke subtype were assessed by means of a logistic regression model based on 16 clinical variables. After multivariate analysis, atrial dysrhythmia and sudden onset to maximal deficit were significant predictors of embolic stroke, whereas hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertriglyceridemia and age were independent predictive factors of atherothrombotic stroke. Setting a cut-off point of 0.50 for predicting mechanism of stroke on admission resulted in a sensitivity of 76%, specificity of 87% and total correct classification of 83%. Clinical features alone that are observed at stroke onset can help to distinguish cardioembolic from atherothrombotic infarctions.
The Barcelona Stroke Registry was established to collect clinical data of hospitalized patients with stroke, in order to study their clinical characteristics and outcome. Data were collected over a 17-year period in 3,577 consecutive patients with first-ever stroke admitted to a stroke unit in two university hospitals in the city of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Patients were generally admitted within 48 h from stroke onset, were evaluated by a neurologist, and clinical data were collected using a standardized protocol. All subjects underwent computerized tomography (CT) examination. Data on the 3,577 patients revealed the following stroke subtypes: cerebral infarction (81%), corresponding to the varieties of atherothrombotic (39.5%), cardioembolic (17.5%), lacunar (11%), unusual (5%), or unknown (8%); and cerebral hemorrhage. We analyzed age distribution (mean age 66 years); risk factors (the most frequent being hypertension, present in 54% of cerebral infarctions and in 65% of hemorrhages); clinical manifestations (the most salient being abrupt onset in one half of the cases; high frequency of decreased consciousness in cardioembolic infarction; headache, seizures and nuclear palsy in 'unusual' cerebral infarctions; vomiting and coma in hemorrhage); localizations by vascular territories; mechanisms of the various stroke subtypes; complications (present in one third of patients, with a mortality of 14%), and outcome. Two out of 3 hospitalized stroke patients are first-ever stroke sufferers. Neuroimaging shows a cerebral infarct in 86.5% of cases. Clinical and laboratory investigations cannot determine the mechanism of 8% of infarcts and of 23% of hemorrhages. The high frequency of medical complications, mortality, and disability highlights the need to establish stroke units and stroke registries in order to perform further research into the diagnosis and management of patients with cerebrovascular disease.
Non pharmacological treatments are useful in cerebral vascular diseases. An adequate diet, physical exercise and avoidance of modificable risk factors associated with lifestyle (smoking, obesity and alcohol abuse) are recommended as primary prevention against these diseases. In the early treatment, on initiation of the neurologic focalization, hyperthermia and hyperglycemia should be avoided and adequate nutrition must be achieved. The cephalic position of the patient should be adequate and physiotherapy should be initiated early. Urinary dysfunction, fecal incontinence and cutaneous complications should be prevented and appropriately controlled.
BACKGROUND: There are few studies which analyze clinical and patients' care implications of the continuous application of acute stroke registry. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study was carried out on 2,000 consecutive patients with acute stroke who were admitted in the neurology department over a period of 10 years (1986-1995). A descriptive clinical analysis of the last 1,000 patients (1986-1991) and a comparative clinical analysis between the last 1,000 patients and the first 1,000 patients (1991-1995) were performed. CT scan and/or MRI were performed in all patients. We used a previously validated registry and we studied clinical and assistance implications of its systematic use. RESULTS: Between the last 1,000 patients and the first 1,000 patients there were significant differences in the frequency of transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) (15% vs 9%; p < 0.0001), lacunar infarcts (20.5% vs 17%; p < 0.04), cardioembolic infarcts (22.3% vs 12.4%; p < 0.0001), infarcts of undetermined cause (7.5% vs 15%; p < 0.0005), intraparenchymatous hemorrhage (9% vs 14%; p < 0.0005), in-hospital mortality (13.8% vs 16.7%; p = 0.07, NS) and mean length of hospital stay (16.5 vs 19.5 days; p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The continuous application of stroke registry brought major interest to the care of stroke patients, resulting in a higher admission rate of TIA patients, a better diagnosis of cardioembolic and lacunar stroke and fewer infarcts of undetermined cause. A decrease in the mean length of hospital stay was observed as well as a lower in-hospital mortality rate.
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INTRODUCTION: There are few clinico-anatomopathological studies of lacunar infarcts (LI), because of the excellent functional prognosis and unlikelihood of death occurring whilst in hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed the 10 main anatomopathological series of LI in the literature. A personal contribution was made based on analysis of the LI analyzed in 50 consecutive autopsies of patients with cerebrovascular disease. A descriptive clinico-anatomopathological assessment was done. Cerebrovascular risk factors, associated neurological syndromes and causes of death were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 1,200 cases were analyzed in the 11 anatomopathological series. The most usual number of LI was between 2 and 5 per brain (6 series). The commonest topographical lesions found, in order of frequency, were: In the lenticular nucleus (9 series), thalamus (4 series) and frontal white matter (4 series). The main risk factor was arterial hypertension (AHT), which occurred in between 58% and 90%. The main clinical findings were: Pseudobulbar syndrome (6 series), pure motor hemiparesia (3 series) and clinically silent ischemia (2 series). The causes of death were mainly non-neurological and due to ischemic cardiopathy, sepsis and pulmonary embolism. CONCLUSIONS: LI are usually multiple, and topographically they are found at the level of the basal ganglia. AHT is the main cerebrovascular risk factor. The causes of death are usually non-neurological.
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