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[An elder case of neurosarcoidosis associated with brain infarction].

A 75-year-old woman with sarcoidosis developed sudden weakness of the left upper and lower limbs. Neurological examination revealed left-sided hemiplegia, hyperreflexia with pathological reflexes and hypesthesia. She was disoriented and euphoric. Diffusion-weighted brain MRI showed high intensity lesions in the right parietooccipital lobes. Electroencephalogram showed diffuse slowing of the background activity. Serum lysozyme increased to 18.4 mg/ml, CSF protein to 51 mg/dl. After admission, she presented psychotic manifestation followed by a progressive disturbance of consciousness. Epithelioid granulomas without caseous necrosis were present in the biopsied lymph node and specimens from the occipital cortex, indicating neurosarcoidosis. Necrosis was also present in the sampled brain tissue. The psychotic symptoms and consciousness disturbance rapidly ameliorated after the treatment with oral prednisolone, 40 mg/day. Neurosarcoidosis should be considered even in an elder case of sarcoidosis complicated with a stroke.

Aged↗

Acute and chronic brain infarcts on MR imaging in a 20-year-old woman with acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy.

A 20-year-old woman recently diagnosed with acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy developed headaches, weakness, and paresthesias. MR imaging of the brain revealed an acute infarct (demonstrated by diffusion-weighted images) in the head of the right caudate nucleus, a chronic infarct with encephalomalacia in the body of the corpus callosum, and multiple foci of abnormal signal intensity in the white matter of the centrum semiovale.

Acute Disease↗

[Early recovery from locked-in syndrome due to brain infarction in a young patient with hypoplasia of bilateral vertebral arteries and a persistence of primitive trigeminal artery].

A 36-year-old man was admitted to Kanto Chuo Hospital because of hearing loss and dysphagia. On admission physical and neurological findings revealed obesity, hypertension, nystagmus, right hearing loss, dysarthria, and dysphagia. Routine laboratory findings disclosed leukocytosis, liver dysfunction, hypercholesterolemia, proteinuria, and glucosuria. Immunological, coagulopathic, and endocrinological findings, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and brain CT scan were unremarkable. He was diagnosed as brainstem infarction, and then conservative therapies were begun. Seven hours after admission, he suddenly fell into coma and apneutic state, requiring artificial ventilation. The next day he was fully conscious, but could'nt make any voluntary movements except for vertical eye movements, suggesting locked-in syndrome (LIS). Brain MRI showed infarction of pons, medulla oblongata, and right cerebellum. Cerebral angiography revealed hypoplasia of bilateral vertebral arteries, a persistence of right primitive trigeminal artery (PTA), and retrograde blood flow of basilar artery from the PTA. Then he made a rapid recovery, and on 80th day he was discharged only with right hearing disturbance and mild left cerebellar sign. We speculated that hypoplasia of the bilateral vertebral arteries caused the brain infarction, and that back flow of the basilar artery from the PTA, in part, contributed to the early recovery from the LIS.

Adult↗

Distribution of brain infarction in children with tuberculous meningitis and correlation with outcome score at 6 months.

BACKGROUND: Prognostic indicators for tuberculous meningitis (TBM) offer realistic expectations for parents of affected children. Infarctions affecting the basal ganglia are associated with a poor outcome. OBJECTIVE: To correlate the distribution of infarction in children with TBM on CT with an outcome score (OS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: CT brain scans in children with TBM were retrospectively reviewed and the distribution of infarctions recorded. The degree of correlation with OS at 6 months was determined. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant association between all sites of infarction (P = 0.0001-0.001), other than hemispheric (P = 0.35), and outcome score. There was also a statistically significant association between all types of infarction (P = 0.0001-0.02), other than hemispheric (P = 0.05), and overall poor outcome. The odds ratio for poor outcome with bilateral basal ganglia and internal capsule infarction was 12. The odds ratio for poor outcome with 'any infarction' was 4.91 (CI 2.24-10.74), with 'bilateral infarctions' 8.50 (CI 2.49-28.59), with basal ganglia infarction 5.73 (CI 2.60-12.64), and for hemispheric infarction 2.30 (CI 1.00-5.28). CONCLUSION: Infarction is associated with a poor outcome unless purely hemispheric. MRI diffusion-weighted imaging was not part of this study, but is likely to play a central role in detecting infarctions not demonstrated by CT.

Adolescent↗

Incidence, manifestations, and predictors of brain infarcts defined by serial cranial magnetic resonance imaging in the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MRI-defined infarcts are common in the elderly. We sought to explore incidence, manifestations, and predictors of such infarcts. METHODS: The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is a population-based, longitudinal study of 5888 people aged > or =65 years. Participants have had extensive baseline and follow-up evaluations; 1433 participants underwent 2 MRI scans separated by 5 years and had no infarcts on initial MRI. RESULTS: On follow-up MRI, 254 participants (17.7%) had 1 or more infarcts. Most were single (75.6%), subcortical (79.9%), and small (3 to 20 mm in 87.0%). Only 11.4% of those with infarcts experienced a documented transient ischemic attack or stroke between the scans. Although participants were similar at initial MRI, those with MRI-defined infarcts on follow-up experienced greater decline than those without infarcts on the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination and Digit-Symbol Substitution test (both P<0.01). Severity of white matter changes on initial MRI was the strongest predictor of incident infarcts. When it was excluded from stepwise multivariable models, predictors were serum creatinine, age, and ankle-arm index. CONCLUSIONS: Incident MRI-defined infarcts commonly affect the elderly. Most are small, subcortical, and not associated with acute symptoms recognized as a transient ischemic attack or stroke. Nonetheless, they cannot be considered silent because of their association with subtle cognitive deficits. These covert infarcts are associated with white matter changes, which may share a common pathophysiology. Whether control of vascular risk factors, such as blood pressure, would reduce the risk of developing these infarcts and associated cognitive decline deserves further investigation.

Aged↗

Multiple brain infarcts and Balint syndrome in aortic arch angiosarcoma.

A 50-year-old woman presented with subacute cognitive decline, impaired eye movements, and simultanagnosia, components of the Balint syndrome. She had relatively low blood pressure in the left arm and left finger clubbing. Brain imaging identified multiple acute infarcts. Transesophageal echocardiography showed no cardiac abnormalities but demonstrated a thickened aortic wall and an intraluminal aortic arch mass. The surgical specimen revealed angiosarcoma. Of the few reported angiosarcomas involving the aorta, most have been located in the abdominal segment. This is only the second reported case of aortic arch sarcoma presenting with stroke.

Agnosia↗

P2X7 receptor modulation on microglial cells and reduction of brain infarct caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat.

Adenosine 5'-triphosphate outflow increases after an ischemic insult in the brain and may induce the expression of P2X7 receptors in resting microglia, determining its modification into an activated state. To assess the effects of P2X7 receptor blockade in preventing microglia activation and ameliorating brain damage and neurological impairment, we delivered the P2 unselective antagonist Reactive Blue 2 to rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion. In sham-operated animals, devoid of brain damage, double immunofluorescence verified the absence of P2X7 immunoreactivity on resting microglia, astrocytes, and neurons, identified, respectively, by OX-42, glial fibrillary acid protein, and neuronal nuclei (NeuN) immunoreactivity. After ischemia, vehicle-treated rats showed monolateral sensorimotor deficit and tissue damage in striatum and frontoparietal cortex. Moreover, P2X7 immunoreactivity was de novo expressed on activated microglia in infarcted and surrounding areas, as well as on a reactive form of microglia, resting in shape but P2X7 immunoreactive, present in ipsi- and contralateral cingulate and medial frontal cortex. Reactive Blue 2 improved sensorimotor deficit and restricted the volume of infarction, without preventing the expression of P2X7, but inducing it in the microglia of contralateral frontal and parietal cortex and striatum, which had lost reciprocal connections with the remote infarct area. De novo expression of P2X7 occurred in both activated and reactive microglia, suggesting their differentiated roles in the area of infarct and in remote regions. Reactive Blue 2 reduced ischemic brain damage, likely blocking the function of activated microglia in the infarct area, but in the remote brain regions promoted the expression of P2X7 on reactive microglia, developing defense and reparative processes.

Animals↗

Allopurinol and dimethylthiourea reduce brain infarction following middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

Free radicals have been shown to play an important role in ischemia-reperfusion injury in several organ systems; however, the role of free radicals in central nervous system ischemia has been less well studied. Many potential free radical-generating systems exist. The primary products of these reactions, superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, may combine to produce hydroxyl radicals. Of the many potential sources of free radical generation, the enzyme xanthine oxidase has been shown to be important in ischemia in noncerebral tissue. We investigated the effect of the hydroxyl radical scavenger dimethylthiourea and the xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol on infarct volume in a model of continuous partial ischemia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with dimethylthiourea or allopurinol before middle cerebral artery occlusion. Infarct volume was measured by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining of brains removed 3 or 24 hours after occlusion. Stroke volume was reduced by 30% after dimethylthiourea treatment and by 32-35% after allopurinol treatment. At 24 hours after stroke, cortical tissue was more effectively protected than caudate tissue with both agents. Pretreatment with dimethylthiourea and allopurinol also significantly reduced cerebral edema formation and improved blood-brain barrier function as measured by fluorescein uptake. Our results imply that hydroxyl radicals are important in tissue injury secondary to partial cerebral ischemia and that xanthine oxidase may be the primary source of these radicals.

Allopurinol↗

Magnetic resonance angiography in childhood arterial brain infarcts: a comparative study with contrast angiography.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Contrast angiography (CA) is the reference examination for the diagnosis of cerebral arterial abnormality, but this procedure is invasive. In childhood, ischemic strokes are being increasingly investigated by means of MRI, including MR angiography (MRA). Very few data are available about the accuracy of MRA compared with CA in the specific context of acute pediatric stroke. We sought to compare the results of MRA with those of CA for the study of cerebral arteries in children with arterial infarction in an arterial distribution. METHODS: Twenty-four children presenting with 26 infarcts were studied. All were examined with cerebral MRI and MRA and with CA. The interval between CA and MRA was <3 days for most of the patients. RESULTS: Arterial lesions were detected in all but 2 children. They were located in the major cerebral arteries, predominantly in the anterior circulation (85% of cases). All lesions shown by CA were present on MRA (19 cases). Patients with no lesion on MRA had normal CA (2 cases). Associated distal vascular lesions and degree of arterial stenosis were more accurately detected with CA. CONCLUSIONS: MRA is sensitive enough to provide an adequate initial evaluation of arterial brain disease in childhood.

Adolescent↗