Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) affects mainly working-aged individuals. Functional recovery after CVT is generally considered good with about 3/4 of patients achieving short-term independence. ...However, vascular events, long-term functional outcome, and employment after CVT remain poorly investigated. We identified consecutive adult CVT patients treated at the Helsinki University Hospital (1987–2013) and invited them to a follow-up visit. Each clinical examination was combined with interview. We also recorded recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) and hemorrhagic events during follow-up and antithrombotic medication use. A modified Rankin Scale (mRS) served to assess functional outcome. Logistic regression served to identify independent factors associated with unemployment and functional recovery. Of the 195 patients identified, 21 died, 9 declined to participate, and 4 were excluded from the study. Thus, 161 patients (106 women) underwent an examination after a median of 39 months (interquartile range 14–95). VTE (one of which was CVT) occurred in 9 (6 %) patients, and severe hemorrhagic events in 10 (6 %). Functional outcome was good, with 84 % scoring 0–1 on the mRS; 42 % reported residual symptoms. Altogether, 91 (57 %) patients were employed. After adjusting for age and sex, a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score >2 at admission and low education level, associated with both unfavorable functional outcome and unemployment. Long-term functional outcome after CVT may appear good if measured with mRS, but patients often have residual symptoms and are frequently unable to return to their previous work.
Background: Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating complication of oral anticoagulation. The aim of this study was to describe the spectrum of ICH and to evaluate the association of warfarin ...control with the risk of ICH in a nationwide cohort of unselected atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. Methods and Results: The FinWAF is a retrospective registry-linkage study. Data were collected from several nationwide Finnish health-care registers and laboratory databases. The primary outcome was any ICH (traumatic or non-traumatic). The quality of warfarin therapy was assessed continuously by calculating the time in therapeutic range in a 60-day window (TTR60). Adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used. A total of 53,953 patients were included (53% men; mean age, 73 years; mean follow-up, 2.94 years; mean TTR, 63%). In 129,684 patient-years, 1,196 patients had ICH (non-traumatic, 53.5%; traumatic, 43.6%; traumatic subdural, 38.6%); crude annual rate, 0.92%; 95% CI: 0.87–0.98). A lower TTR60 was significantly associated with higher risk of ICH (TTR60 ≤40% vs. TTR60 >80%; adjusted hazard ratio, 2.16; 95% CI: 1.83–2.54). Other variables independently associated with ICH included age >65 years, previous stroke, male sex, low hemoglobin, thrombocytopenia, elevated alanine aminotransferase, and previous bleeding other than ICH. Conclusions: Poor control of warfarin treatment was associated with elevated risk of ICH. Approximately half of the ICH were traumatic, mainly subdural.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE—Seizures are a common complication of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We developed a novel tool to quantify this risk in individual patients.
METHODS—Retrospective analysis of ...the observational Helsinki ICH Study (n=993; median follow-up, 2.7 years) and the Lille Prognosis of InTra-Cerebral Hemorrhage (n=325; 2.2 years) cohorts of consecutive ICH patients admitted between 2004 and 2010. Helsinki ICH Study patients’ province-wide electronic records were evaluated for early seizures occurring within 7 days of ICH and among 7-day survivors (n=764) for late seizures (LSs) occurring >7 days from ICH. A Cox regression model estimating risk of LSs was used to derive a prognostic score, validated in the Prognosis of InTra-Cerebral Hemorrhage cohort.
RESULTS—Of the Helsinki ICH Study patients, 109 (11.0%) had early seizures within 7 days of ICH. Among the 7-day survivors, 70 (9.2%) patients developed LSs. The cumulative risk of LSs was 7.1%, 10.0%, 10.2%, 11.0%, and 11.8% at 1 to 5 years after ICH, respectively. We created the CAVE score (0–4 points) to estimate the risk of LSs, with 1 point for each of cortical involvement, age <65 years, volume >10 mL, and early seizures within 7 days of ICH. The risk of LSs was 0.6%, 3.6%, 9.8%, 34.8%, and 46.2% for CAVE scores 0 to 4, respectively. The c-statistic was 0.81 (0.76–0.86) and 0.69 (0.59–0.78) in the validation cohort.
CONCLUSIONS—One in 10 patients will develop seizures after ICH. The risk of this adverse outcome can be estimated by a simple score based on baseline variables.
Background
The role of coagulopathy in patients with traumatic brain injury has remained elusive. In the present study, we aim to assess the prevalence of coagulopathy in patients with traumatic ...intracranial hemorrhage, their clinical features, and the effect of coagulopathy on treatment and mortality.
Methods
An observational, retrospective single-center cohort of consecutive patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage treated at Helsinki University Hospital between 01 January and 31 December 2010. We compared clinical and radiological parameters in patients with and without coagulopathy defined as drug- or disease-induced, i.e., antiplatelet or anticoagulant medication at a therapeutic dose, thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 100 E9/L), international normalized ratio > 1.2, or thromboplastin time < 60%. Primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Logistic regression analysis allowed to assess for factors associated with coagulopathy and mortality.
Results
Of our 505 patients (median age 61 years, 65.5% male), 206 (40.8%) had coagulopathy. Compared to non-coagulopathy patients, coagulopathy patients had larger hemorrhage volumes (mean 140.0 mL vs. 98.4 mL,
p
< 0.001) and higher 30-day mortality (18.9% vs. 9.7%,
p
= 0.003). In multivariable analysis, older age, lower admission Glasgow Coma Scale score, larger hemorrhage volume, and conservative treatment were independently associated with mortality. Surgical treatment was associated with lower mortality in both patients with and without coagulopathy.
Conclusions
Coagulopathy was more frequent in patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage presenting larger hemorrhage volumes compared to non-coagulopathy patients but was not independently associated with higher 30-day mortality. Hematoma evacuation, in turn, was associated with lower mortality irrespective of coagulopathy.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of ischemic stroke and the number of AF patients is increasing. Thus, up-to-date multifaceted data about the characteristics of AF patients, their ...treatments, and outcomes are urgently needed. The Finnish anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation (FinACAF) study has collected comprehensive data on all Finnish AF patients from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2018. The aim of this paper is to describe the study rationale, the process of integrating data from the applied resources and to define the study cohort. Using national unique personal identification number, individual patient data is linked from nationwide health care registries (primary, secondary, and tertiary care), drug purchases, education, and socio-economic status as well as places of domicile, incomes, and taxes. Six regional laboratory databases (~ 282,000, 77% of the patients) are also included. The study cohort comprises of a total of 411,000 patients. Since the introduction of the national primary care register in 2012, 9% of all AF patients were identified outside hospital care registers. The prevalence of AF in Finland—4.1% of whole population—is for the first time now established. The FinACAF study allows a unique possibility to investigate the epidemiology and socio-medico-economic impact of AF as well as the cost effectiveness of different AF management strategies in a completely unselected, nationwide population. This article provides the rationale and design of the study together with a summary of the characteristics of the cohort.
This article reviews current knowledge on epidemiology, risk factors and causes, diagnostic considerations, management, and prognosis of ischemic stroke in young adults (those 55 years old and ...younger).
The incidence of ischemic stroke in young adults has been increasing since the 1980s, which has occurred in parallel with increasing prevalence of vascular risk factors and substance abuse among the younger population. Young adults have a considerably wider range of risk factors than older patients, including age-specific factors such as pregnancy/puerperium and oral contraceptive use. Behavioral risk factors such as low physical activity, excess alcohol consumption, and smoking are factors as well. More than 150 identified causes of early-onset ischemic stroke exist, including rare monogenic disorders. Several recent advances have been made in diagnosis and management of stroke in young adults, including molecular characterization of monogenic vasculitis due to deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 and transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale for secondary prevention. Compared with the background population of the same age and sex, long-term mortality in patients remains fourfold higher with cardiovascular causes underlying most of the deaths. The cumulative rate of recurrent stroke extends up to 15% at 10 years. Patients with atherosclerosis, high-risk sources of cardioembolism, and small vessel disease underlying their stroke seem to have the worst prognosis regarding survival and recurrent vascular events. Young stroke survivors also often have other adverse outcomes in the long term, including epilepsy, pain, cognitive problems, and depression.
Systematic identification of risk factors and causes and the motivation of patients for long-term prevention and lifestyle changes are of utmost importance to improve the prognosis of early-onset ischemic stroke.
Objective
To assess the association between migraine and cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CIS) in young adults, with subgroup analyses stratified by sex and presence of patent foramen ovale (PFO).
...Methods
We prospectively enrolled 347 consecutive patients aged 18 to 49 years with a recent CIS and 347 age‐ and sex‐matched (±5 years) stroke‐free controls. Any migraine and migraine with (MA) and migraine without aura (MO) were identified by a screener, which we validated against a headache neurologist. We used conditional logistic regression adjusting for age, education, hypertension, diabetes, waist‐to‐hip ratio, physical inactivity, current smoking, heavy drinking, and oral estrogen use to assess independent association between migraine and CIS. The effect of PFO on the association between migraine and CIS was analyzed with logistic regression in a subgroup investigated with transcranial Doppler bubble screen.
Results
The screener performance was excellent (Cohen kappa > 0.75) in patients and controls. Compared with nonmigraineurs, any migraine (odds ratio OR = 2.48, 95% confidence interval CI = 1.63–3.76) and MA (OR = 3.50, 95% CI = 2.19–5.61) were associated with CIS, whereas MO was not. The association emerged in both women (OR = 2.97 for any migraine, 95% CI = 1.61–5.47; OR = 4.32 for MA, 95% CI = 2.16–8.65) and men (OR = 2.47 for any migraine, 95% CI = 1.32–4.61; OR = 3.61 for MA, 95% CI = 1.75–7.45). Specifically for MA, the association with CIS remained significant irrespective of PFO. MA prevalence increased with increasing magnitude of the right‐to‐left shunt in patients with PFO.
Interpretation
MA has a strong association with CIS in young patients, independent of vascular risk factors and presence of PFO. ANN NEUROL 2021;89:242–253
We examined the association between initiation of antidepressants within the first year after ischaemic stroke (IS) in young adults and long-term fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, as well as ...all-cause mortality.
The Helsinki Young Stroke Registry (HYSR) includes patients aged 15-49 years with their first-ever IS occurring 1994-2007. From nationwide registers, we obtained data on prescriptions (1993-2011) and outcomes of interest (1994-2011). Time of initiating post-stroke antidepressants (PSADs) was defined as time of the first filled prescription for antidepressants within the first year from IS. To account for non-random assignment of PSADs, we performed propensity score matching and studied the relationship between PSAD initiation and outcomes using Cox regression models with time-varying coefficients.
Of all patients (n = 888), 206 (23.2%) initiated PSADs within the first year, of which 203 (98.5%) could be matched to 406 non-initiators. In this matched sample of 609 patients, the median follow-up time was 8.1 (interquartile range IQR 5.0-12.6) years and 169 (28.9%) patients had any cardiovascular events, 95 (15.8%) had recurrent ischaemic or haemorrhagic strokes and 106 (17.4%) died. Adjusted for sociodemographics and cardiovascular comorbidities, PSAD initiation was associated with recurrent ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke 5-10 years after IS (hazard ratio HR 3.07, 95% confidence interval CI 1.32-7.12). No association emerged between PSAD initiation and other outcomes.
In young adults, PSAD initiation within the first year after IS was associated with a heightened hazard of recurrent ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke in the long term. Future studies are needed to verify the results and to further study the nature of this finding.
KEY MESSAGES
Initiation of post-stroke antidepressants (PSADs) within the first year after ischaemic stroke (IS) was associated with a heightened hazard of recurrent ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke in the long term.
Patients starting antidepressants after IS should be followed up more closely in case of recurrent events.
Future studies are needed to verify the results and to further study the nature of this finding.
Central poststroke pain (CPSP), a neuropathic pain condition, is difficult to treat. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeted to the primary motor cortex (M1) can alleviate the ...condition, but not all patients respond. We aimed to assess a promising alternative rTMS target, the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), for CPSP treatment.
This prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled three-arm crossover trial assessed navigated rTMS (nrTMS) targeted to M1 and S2 (10 sessions, 5050 pulses per session at 10 Hz). Participants were evaluated for pain, depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, upper limb function, and three plasticity-related gene polymorphisms including Dopamine D2 Receptor (DRD2). We monitored pain intensity and interference before and during stimulations and at one month. A conditioned pain modulation test was performed using the cold pressor test. This assessed the efficacy of the descending inhibitory system, which may transmit TMS effects in pain control.
We prescreened 73 patients, screened 29, and included 21, of whom 17 completed the trial. NrTMS targeted to S2 resulted in long-term (from baseline to one-month follow-up) pain intensity reduction of ≥30% in 18% (3/17) of participants. All stimulations showed a short-term effect on pain (17–20% pain relief), with no difference between M1, S2, or sham stimulations, indicating a strong placebo effect. Only nrTMS targeted to S2 resulted in a significant long-term pain intensity reduction (15% pain relief). The cold pressor test reduced CPSP pain intensity significantly (p = 0.001), indicating functioning descending inhibitory controls. The homozygous DRD2 T/T genotype is associated with the M1 stimulation response.
S2 is a promising nrTMS target in the treatment of CPSP. The DRD2 T/T genotype might be a biomarker for M1 nrTMS response, but this needs confirmation from a larger study.
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