Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) is a focal epilepsy with seizures arising mainly during sleep and characterized by complex motor behavior or sustained dystonic posturing. First described in ...1981, it was considered a motor disorder of sleep and was indicated as nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia (NPD). The debated on epileptic origin of this condition was demonstrated in 1990 and the term NFLE was introduced. Since then it has been demonstrated that the heterogeneous aspects of morpheic seizures were responsive to antiepileptic drugs (AED's) with sodium blocking action mechanism, especially the carbamazepine (CBZ). Aim of Work and Methods: We report a clinical experience of NFLE patients associated with sleep disorders treated with Lacosamide, AED's with a novel mechanism of action. In vitro electrophysiology studies have shown that lacosamide selectively boosts the slow inactivation of the sodium-voltage-dependent channels, resulting in a stabilization of the hypersensitive neuronal membranes.
On the treated patients we observed a positive clinical response to lacosamide therapy without significant side effects. In particular, the effective clinical response to the pharmacological treatment was obtained at a dose of 200 mg/day.
Stroke is a major cause of seizures and epilepsy in adults. Stroke severity, younger age, hemorrhagic subtype of stroke, and alcohol use have been identified as risk factors for the development of ...stroke-related epilepsy. Despite being a common complication in stroke survivors, current guidelines do not provide strong recommendations about the optimal treatment of post-stroke seizures. No clear guidance is given about the preferred antiseizure medications (ASMs), primary and secondary prophylaxis, and ASMs withdrawal. The management of older patients is further complicated by the presence of comorbidities, pharmacokinetic alterations, and intake of several medications. We present a case of a 77-year-old man affected by epidermolysis bullosa and diabetes mellitus, who suffered from ischemic stroke and then developed post-stroke seizures. This case shows how complex it is to manage post-stroke seizures in an older patient with multiple comorbidities.
A wide range of acute neurological disorders may present with symptoms similar to a stroke, so-called 'stroke mimics'. Migraine aura and seizures account for the most extensive stroke mimics ...population. A large number of patients with a definite stroke mimics diagnosis (most commonly those with psychiatric disorders or seizures) had been treated with IV alteplase without adverse related events. We report a case of a man aged 70 years admitted to the emergency room because of acute onset of delirium and a loss of strength in the left arm (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale {NIHSS}: 10), severe hyponatremia (127 mEq/L), and no evidence of intracranial arterial occlusion at CT scan. He was eligible for intravenous thrombolysis and, after treatment, neurological symptoms improved (NIHSS: 2). The subsequent appearance of “clonus” in the left lower limb, the persistence of hyponatremia, and the presence of electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities led to the clinical suspicion of focal motor-onset seizure with impaired awareness. The patient was treated successfully with anti-seizure medications (ASMs): lacosamide 200 mg IV during the acute setting care, followed by oral lacosamide 200 mg bis in die (BID). Since two other focal seizures occurred, brivaracetam 25 mg BID has been added in therapy with subsequent clinical discontinuance and EEG normalization. Two consecutive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations showed several cortical lesions restricted in high signal in diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) which corresponding to T2‐weighted and fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintensities, but without lesions evidence in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map. These radiological changes disappeared at a follow-up MRI performed 20 days after the symptoms’ onset. The patient fully recovered was discharged home without developing pharmacological adverse events. In this case, MRI provided an opportunity for early identification of seizure-related alterations. Hence, we discuss how prospective MRI studies during seizures and interictal period would contribute to defining the relationship between the electroclinical characteristics and MRI alteration patterns, and therefore, the potential role of MRI in the differential diagnosis between seizures and stroke mimic.
IntroductionPoststroke spasticity (PSS) affects up to 40% of patients who had a stroke. Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) has been shown to improve spasticity, but the optimal timing of its ...application remains unclear. While several predictors of upper limb PSS are known, their utility in clinical practice in relation to BoNT-A treatment has yet to be fully elucidated. The COLOSSEO-BoNT study aims to investigate predictors of PSS and the effects of BoNT-A timing on spasticity-related metrics in a real-world setting.Methods and analysisThe recruitment will involve approximately 960 patients who have recently experienced an ischaemic stroke (within 10 days, V0) and will follow them up for 24 months. Parameters will be gathered at specific intervals: (V1) 4, (V2) 8, (V3) 12, (V4) 18 months and (V5) 24 months following enrolment. Patients will be monitored throughout their rehabilitation and outpatient clinic journeys and will be compared based on their BoNT-A treatment status—distinguishing between patients receiving treatment at different timings and those who undergo rehabilitation without treatment. Potential predictors will encompass the Fugl-Meyer assessment, the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), stroke radiological characteristics, performance status, therapies and access to patient care pathways. Outcomes will evaluate muscle stiffness using the modified Ashworth scale and passive range of motion, along with measures of quality of life, pain, and functionality.Ethics and disseminationThis study underwent review and approval by the Ethics Committee of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy. Regardless of the outcome, the findings will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international conferences.Trial registration numberNCT05379413.
Cerebral collateral circulation is a network of blood vessels which stabilizes blood flow and maintains cerebral perfusion whenever the main arteries fail to provide an adequate blood supply, as ...happens in ischemic stroke. These arterial networks are able to divert blood flow to hypoperfused cerebral areas. The extent of the collateral circulation determines the volume of the salvageable tissue, the so-called "
". Clinically, this is associated with greater efficacy of reperfusion therapies (thrombolysis and thrombectomy) in terms of better short- and long-term functional outcomes, lower incidence of hemorrhagic transformation and of malignant oedema, and smaller cerebral infarctions. Recent advancements in brain imaging techniques (CT and MRI) allow us to study these anastomotic networks in detail and increase the likelihood of making effective therapeutic choices. In this narrative review we will investigate the pathophysiology, the clinical aspects, and the possible diagnostic and therapeutic role of collateral circulation in acute ischemic stroke.
The association between atrial fibrillation (AF), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and stroke is a complex scenario in which the assessment of both thrombotic and hemorrhagic risk is necessary for ...scheduling an individually tailored therapeutic plan. Recent clinical trials investigating new antithrombotic drugs and dual and triple pathways in high-risk cardiovascular patients have revealed a new therapeutic scenario. In this paper, we review the burden of ischemic stroke (IS) in patients post-myocardial infarction with and without atrial fibrillation and the possible therapeutic strategies from a stroke point of view.
Dystonia is the third most common movement disorder. Cervical dystonia is the most common form of dystonia, a subtype of Primary Focal Dystonia due to the phasic and/or tonic involuntary contractions ...of different combinations of neck muscles, generally treated with good clinical results with botulin toxin type A or B injection. The etiology of cervical dystonia is still unknown. It was recently proposed that the cervical dystonia is due to malfunctioning of the head neural integrator, that result of impairment in cerebellar, basal ganglia, or proprioceptive feedback. The hypothesis of the existence of an electrical circuit that connects the basal ganglia with the cerebellum and the proprioception feedback, participating in the neural integrator of the head, explains that the damage at any point of the network can lead to motor deficits. Although dystonia is often associated with abnormal dopamine neurotransmission, dopaminergic drugs are not currently used to treat dystonia because there is a general view that they are ineffective. The results from the clinical trials and tests in mice suggest that the coactivation of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors may be an effective therapeutic strategy in some patients. These results support the assumption that dopamine receptors could be considered as targets for treating dystonia. Furthermore, a dopamine agonist-response dystonia in patients with an autosomal recessive L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency, has been described in the scientific literature. We report a case of focal cervical dystonia successful treated with a dopamine agonist (D3>D2>D1) Rotigotine, a transdermal drug that induces a continuous dopaminergic stimulation
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We aimed to investigate the rate of hospital admissions for cerebrovascular events and of revascularization treatments for acute ischemic stroke in Italy during the coronavirus disease 2019 ...(COVID-19) outbreak.
The Italian Stroke Organization performed a multicenter study involving 93 Italian Stroke Units. We collected information on hospital admissions for cerebrovascular events from March 1 to March 31, 2020 (study period), and from March 1 to March 31, 2019 (control period).
Ischemic strokes decreased from 2399 in 2019 to 1810 in 2020, with a corresponding hospitalization rate ratio (RR) of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.71-0.80
<0.001); intracerebral hemorrhages decreased from 400 to 322 (hospitalization RR, 0.81 95% CI, 0.69-0.93;
=0.004), and transient ischemic attacks decreased from 322 to 196 (hospitalization RR, 0.61 95% CI, 0.51-0.73;
<0.001). Hospitalizations decreased in Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. Intravenous thrombolyses decreased from 531 (22.1%) in 2019 to 345 in 2020 (19.1%; RR, 0.86 95% CI, 0.75-0.99;
=0.032), while primary endovascular procedures increased in Northern Italy (RR, 1.61 95% CI, 1.13-2.32;
=0.008). We found no correlation (
=0.517) between the hospitalization RRs for all strokes or transient ischemic attack and COVID-19 incidence in the different areas.
Hospitalizations for stroke or transient ischemic attacks across Italy were reduced during the worst period of the COVID-19 outbreak. Intravenous thrombolytic treatments also decreased, while endovascular treatments remained unchanged and even increased in the area of maximum expression of the outbreak. Limited hospitalization of the less severe patients and delays in hospital admission, due to overcharge of the emergency system by COVID-19 patients, may explain these data.
The major endovascular mechanic thrombectomy (MT) techniques are: Stent-Retriever (SR), aspiration first pass technique (ADAPT) and Solumbra (Aspiration + SR), which are interchangeable (defined as ...switching strategy (SS)). The purpose of this study is to report the added value of switching from ADAPT to Solumbra in unsuccessful revascularization stroke patients.
This is a retrospective, single center, pragmatic, cohort study. From December 2017 to November 2019, 935 consecutive patients were admitted to the Stroke Unit and 176/935 (18.8%) were eligible for MT. In 135/176 (76.7%) patients, ADAPT was used as the first-line strategy. SS was defined as the difference between first technique adopted and the final technique. Revascularization was evaluated with modified Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (TICI) with success defined as mTICI ≥ 2b. Procedural time (PT) and time to reperfusion (TTR) were recorded.
Stroke involved: Anterior circulation in 121/135 (89.6%) patients and posterior circulation in 14/135 (10.4%) patients. ADAPT was the most common first-line technique vs. both SR and Solumbra (135/176 (76.7%) vs. 10/176 (5.7%) vs. 31/176 (17.6%), respectively). In 28/135 (20.7%) patients, the mTICI was ≤ 2a requiring switch to Solumbra. The vessel's diameter positively predicted SS result (odd ratio (OR) 1.12, confidence of interval (CI) 95% 1.03-1.22;
= 0.006). The mean number of passes before SS was 2.0 ± 1.2. ADAPT to Solumbra improved successful revascularization by 13.3% (107/135 (79.3%) vs. 125/135 (92.6%)). PT was superior for SS comparing with ADAPT (71.1 min (CI 95% 53.2-109.0) vs. 40.0 min (CI 95% 35.0-45.2);
= 0.0004), although, TTR was similar (324.1 min (CI 95% 311.4-387.0) vs. 311.4 min (CI 95% 285.5-338.7);
= 0.23).
Successful revascularization was improved by 13.3% after switching form ADAPT to Solumbra (final mTICI ≥ 2b was 92.6%). Vessel's diameter positively predicted recourse to SS.
Purpose of review
This narrative review summarized the major studies focusing on the association between revascularization therapies (intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy) and ...collateral circulation status in terms of outcome and safety. Our aim is to elucidate, drawing upon the latest scientific evidence, the pivotal role that collateral circulation plays in shaping the prognosis and potential therapeutic in patients with ischemic stroke.
Recent findings
The data currently available suggest that pre-treatment assessment of collateral circulation may be crucial, as a good collateral circulation status appears to be associated with better outcomes in terms of both early revascularization and long-term disability. There is limited literature about the assessment of collateral circulation prior to acute reperfusion therapy.
Summary
The role of the intracranial collateral circulation is gaining increasing attention in the field of ischemic stroke, both in terms of outcome prognosis and therapeutic interventions. These findings need to be confirmed by more structured randomized controlled trials (RCTs), but they suggest that investigating therapeutic strategies to maintain and support collateral circulation may represent the future of ischemic stroke therapy.
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