scholarly journals Children with post-stroke epilepsy have poorer outcomes one year after stroke

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 820-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine K Fox ◽  
Lori C Jordan ◽  
Lauren A Beslow ◽  
Jennifer Armstrong ◽  
Mark T Mackay ◽  
...  

Background Epilepsy is a common complication of pediatric stroke. Aim In this study, we aim to measure the association between epilepsy and neurologic outcome after childhood arterial ischemic stroke. Methods Prospective cohort study of children (29 days–19 years) enrolled after an acute arterial ischemic stroke at 21 international pediatric stroke centers and followed to identify epilepsy. One year post-stroke, outcomes were scored using the examination-based Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure (range = 0–10); higher values reflect greater disability. Ordinal logistic regression was used to measure the association of Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure scores (categorized as 0–1, 1.5–3, 3.5–6, 6.5–10) with epilepsy. Results Investigators enrolled 86 children (median age = 6.1 years, interquartile range (IQR) = 1.4–12.2 years) with acute stroke. At 1 year, 18/80 (23%) remained on an anticonvulsant including 8/80 (10%) with epilepsy. Among the 70 with Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure scored, the median was 0.5 (IQR = 0–1.5) for children without epilepsy ( n = 63), and 6 (IQR = 0.5–10) for children with epilepsy ( n = 7). In univariable analyses, poorer 1-year outcome was associated with middle cerebral artery stroke, cortical infarcts, hemorrhagic transformation, hospital disposition not to home, and epilepsy. In multivariable analysis, middle cerebral artery stroke (odds ratio (OR) = 4.9, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.1–21.3) and epilepsy (OR = 24.1, CI = 1.5–380) remained associated with poorer outcome. Conclusions Children who developed epilepsy during the first year post-stroke had poorer neurologic outcomes than those without epilepsy.

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Oesch ◽  
Francisco A. Perez ◽  
Mark S. Wainwright ◽  
Dennis W.W. Shaw ◽  
Catherine Amlie-Lefond

Background and Purpose: Focal cerebral arteriopathy (FCA) of childhood with unilateral stenosis of the anterior circulation is reported to account for up to one-quarter of childhood arterial ischemic stroke, with stroke recurrence in 25% of cases. Limited knowledge regarding pathophysiology and outcome results in inconsistent treatment of FCA. Methods: Children with arterial ischemic stroke due to FCA between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2019, were retrospectively identified at our institution which serves the US Pacific Northwest region. Electronic health record data, including neuroimaging studies, were reviewed, and the Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure at 1 year was determined as the primary clinical end point. Results: Fifteen children were diagnosed with FCA, accounting for 19% of children with cerebral arteriopathies (n=77). Among children with FCA, the median age at the time of stroke was 6.8 years (Q1–Q3, 1.9–14.0 years). Four (20%) patients had worsening stroke, 3 of whom had concurrent infection. Three (20%) FCA cases were treated with steroids, one of whom had worsening stroke. Median Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure at 1 year was 1.0 (Q1–Q3, 0.6–2.0). Variability in arteriopathy severity was observed within many patients. Patients with more severe arteriopathy using the Focal Cerebral Arteriopathy Severity Score had larger strokes and were more likely to have worsening stroke. The most common long-term neurological deficit was hemiparesis, which was present in 11 (73%) patients and associated with middle cerebral artery arteriopathy and infarcts. Conclusions: FCA may be less common than previously reported. Neuroimaging in FCA can help identify patients at greater risk for worsening stroke.


Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine K Fox ◽  
Lori C Jordan ◽  
Mark T Mackay ◽  
Gabrielle deVeber ◽  

Introduction: Post-stroke epilepsy is common in children, but the relationship of childhood epilepsy with stroke outcome is poorly understood. Hypothesis: Children with epilepsy after arterial ischemic stroke have worse outcomes than those without epilepsy. Methods: We prospectively enrolled children (birth-18 years) with arterial ischemic stroke and identified remote seizures (occurring ≥ 7 days post-stroke). At one-year, patients with active epilepsy (≥ 1 remote seizure + maintenance anti-convulsant) were identified and Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure (PSOM) was scored. Total PSOM scores range from 0-10; higher values reflect more severe neurologic deficits. Ordinal logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between clinical factors and PSOM scores. PSOM scores were categorized 0-1, 1.5-3, 3.5-6, 6.5-10 to depict stratified distribution. Results: Among 94 children (54% male; 20% Hispanic; 25% neonatal strokes; median age for childhood strokes 6.1 years, IQR 1.3-12), 12 had ≥ 1 remote seizure during the first year post-stroke. At one-year follow-up, 19 children were taking a maintenance anti-convulsant and 10 children had active epilepsy. Median PSOM score at one-year for the overall cohort was 0.5 (IQR 0-1.5). Median PSOM score among children with active epilepsy was 3.3 (IQR 0.5-6). Figure demonstrates distribution of categorized PSOM scores stratified by the presence of active epilepsy. On univariable regression analyses, older age (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.1, P=0.02), maintenance anti-convulsant at one-year (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.0, P=0.04) and active epilepsy (OR 6.3, 95% CI 1.7-25, P=0.007) were associated with higher total PSOM scores. After multivariable adjustment for age and maintenance anti-convulsant, active epilepsy remained associated with higher total PSOM score (OR 7.8, 95% CI 1.3-46, P=0.02). Conclusions: Active epilepsy one-year after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke is associated with poorer neurologic outcome.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Steiner ◽  
Andrea Federspiel ◽  
Jasmine Jaros ◽  
Nedelina Slavova ◽  
Roland Wiest ◽  
...  

Abstract Adaptive recovery of cerebral perfusion after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) is sought to be crucial for sustainable rehabilitation of cognitive functions. We therefore examined cerebral blood flow in the chronic stage after stroke and its association with cognitive outcome in patients after pediatric arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). This cross-sectional study investigated cerebral blood flow and cognitive functions in 14 patients (age 13.5 ± 4.4 years) after pediatric AIS in the middle cerebral artery (time since AIS was at least 2 years prior to assessment) when compared with 36 healthy controls (aged 13.8 ± 4.3 years). Cognitive functions were assessed using neuropsychological tests and cerebral blood flow was measured with arterial spin labeled imaging in the area of the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral artery (ACA, MCA, PCA). Patients had significantly lower IQ scores and poorer cognitive functions compared to healthy controls. Arterial spin labeled imaging revealed significantly lower cerebral blood flow in the ipsilesional MCA and PCA in patients compared to healthy controls. Further, we found significantly higher interhemispheric perfusion imbalance in the MCA in patients compared to controls. Higher interhemispheric perfusion imbalance in the MCA was significantly associated with lower working memory performance. Our findings revealed that even years after pediatric stroke in the MCA, reduced ipsilesional cerebral blood flow occurs in the MCA and PCA and interhemispheric imbalance is associated with cognitive performance. Thus, our data suggest that cerebral hypoperfusion might underlie some of the variability observed in long-term outcome after pediatric stroke.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 765-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura L. Lehman ◽  
Gabrielle DeVeber ◽  
Paola Pergami ◽  
Kristin P. Guilliams ◽  
Melissa Chung ◽  
...  

The outcome of children with acute ischemic stroke treated with craniectomy has not been thoroughly examined. In adults, hemicraniectomy after middle cerebral artery territory stroke and posterior decompression after posterior circulation stroke has been shown to improve outcome. Pediatric cases of hemicraniectomy for middle cerebral artery stroke and posterior decompression following posterior circulation stroke suggest relatively good outcome. There are no published data in adults or children with craniectomy after cerebral sinovenous thrombosis. Our aim was to determine the outcome of children with acute ischemic stroke treated with craniectomy in the International Pediatric Stroke Study (IPSS). We included children enrolled who had a craniectomy following stroke presentation. Of 4294 patients in IPSS, 38 children (1%) were found to have craniectomy following an ischemic stroke. Of 38 craniectomy cases, 29 had anterior circulation strokes, 5 had posterior circulation strokes, and 4 had cerebral sinovenous thromboses. The mortality rate was 8%. Overall, children who have craniectomies have significant neurologic deficits. Prospective studies are needed to examine long-term morbidity following craniectomy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 2837-2844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Wenzel ◽  
Dimitrios Spyropoulos ◽  
Julian Christopher Assmann ◽  
Mahtab Ahmad Khan ◽  
Ines Stölting ◽  
...  

Objective: THBD (thrombomodulin) is part of the anticoagulant protein C-system that acts at the endothelium and is involved in anti-inflammatory and barrier-stabilizing processes. A recombinant soluble form of THBD was shown to have protective effects in different organs, but how the endogenous THBD is regulated during ischemia, particularly in the brain is not known to date. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of THBD, especially in brain endothelial cells, during ischemic stroke. Approach and Results: To induce ischemic brain damage, we occluded the middle cerebral artery of mice. We found an increased endothelial expression of Thbd in the peri-infarct area, whereas in the core of the ischemic tissue Thbd expression was decreased compared with the contralateral side. We generated a novel Cre/loxP-based mouse line that allows for the inducible deletion of Thbd specifically in brain endothelial cells, which worsened stroke outcome 48 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion. Unexpectedly, we found no signs of increased coagulation, thrombosis, or inflammation in the brain but decreased vessel diameters and impaired angiogenesis in the peri-infarct area that led to a reduced overall vessel length 1 week after stroke induction. Conclusions: Endogenous THBD acts as a protective factor in the brain during ischemic stroke and enhances vessel diameter and proliferation. These previously unknown properties of THBD could offer new opportunities to affect vessel function after ischemia and thereby improve stroke outcome.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Jing Chan ◽  
Mary P. E. Ng ◽  
Hui Zhao ◽  
Geelyn J. L. Ng ◽  
Chuan De Foo ◽  
...  

Abstract Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) has been implicated in ischemic stroke pathology. We examined the prognostic significance of LTB4 levels in patients with acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction and their mechanisms in rat stroke models. In ischemic stroke patients with middle cerebral artery infarction, plasma LTB4 levels were found to increase rapidly, roughly doubling within 24 h when compared to initial post-stroke levels. Further analyses indicate that poor functional recovery is associated with early and more sustained increase in LTB4 rather than the peak levels. Results from studies using a rat embolic stroke model showed increased 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) expression in the ipsilateral infarcted cortex compared with sham control or respective contralateral regions at 24 h post-stroke with a concomitant increase in LTB4 levels. In addition, neutrophil influx was also observed in the infarcted cortex. Double immunostaining indicated that neutrophils express 5-LOX and leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H), highlighting the pivotal contributions of neutrophils as a source of LTB4. Importantly, rise in plasma LTB4 levels corresponded with an increase in LTB4 amount in the infarcted cortex, thereby supporting the use of plasma as a surrogate for brain LTB4 levels. Pre-stroke LTB4 loading increased brain infarct volume in tMCAO rats. Conversely, administration of the 5-LOX-activating protein (FLAP) inhibitor BAY-X1005 or B-leukotriene receptor (BLTR) antagonist LY255283 decreased the infarct volume by a similar extent. To conclude, targeted interruption of the LTB4 pathway might be a viable treatment strategy for acute ischemic stroke.


Stroke ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Lo ◽  
Anne Gordon ◽  
Mardee Greenham ◽  
Alison Gomes ◽  
Christine Hajek ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure (PSOM), a 10 point scale based on 5 domains, is one of the few measures of outcome in pediatric stroke. The PSOM has been used to estimate global deficit for studies of stroke outcome and post-stroke quality of life, but its sensitivity to cognitive and functional impairments has received little attention. To address this question, we examined the ability of the PSOM to predict cognitive functioning and behavior after childhood stroke. METHODS: Children ages 6-15 years who had neonatal or childhood onset arterial ischemic stroke were identified by chart review at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, OH, USA) and Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne, Australia). Subjects were included if they could complete the test battery. Age- and gender-matched children who had asthma were selected as controls. Stroke cases were assessed with the PSOM and had an MRI brain scan after the acute phase of stroke. Cases and controls underwent functional assessments at least 1 year after the incident stroke. The battery of tests and ratings included the Child Behavior Checklist, Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Child and Adolescent Scales of Participation, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence (WASI), and the WISC-4 Processing Speed Index. Infarct volumes were measured by manual segmentation. RESULTS: The sample included 36 children with perinatal or childhood stroke, and 15 controls. Median age at assessment was 8.7 yrs (IQR 6.9-11.9) and median time after presentation was 5.1 yrs (IQR 2.8-7.4). The total PSOM was significantly and inversely related to all measures of cognitive functioning (p range for WISC and WASI 0.001-0.048), multiple measures of adaptive behavior (p range for ABAS scales 0.000-0.031), and all measures of social participation (p range for CASP scales 0.000-0.007). The cognitive/behavioral (C/B) scale of the PSOM was significantly and inversely related to all measures of social participation (p values for CASP 0.000) and multiple measures of adaptive behavior (p range for ABAS scales 0.001-0.057), and positively related to multiple measures of behavior problems (p range for CBCL scales 0.001-0.037). Conclusions: The total PSOM can predict multiple areas of intellectual impairment, and also predicts impairment in adaptive behavior and social participation. In addition the C/B scale can predict behavior problems. The C/B scale depends upon parental report and the clinician's impression, so it is noteworthy that abnormalities on this four-point scale can suggest impairments in a broad range of domains. In addition to a quantitative measure of stroke outcome, the PSOM can serve as a useful screening tool for the identification of intellectual or functional deficits that warrant further investigation for appropriate intervention.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E Maniskas ◽  
Jill M Roberts ◽  
Rebecca Trueman ◽  
Annastazia E Learoyd ◽  
Amanda Gorman ◽  
...  

BackgroundNitroglycerin (also known as glyceryl trinitrate (GTN)), a vasodilator best known for treatment of ischemic heart disease, has also been investigated for its potential therapeutic benefit in ischemic stroke. The completed Efficacy of Nitric Oxide in Stroke trial suggested that GTN has therapeutic benefit with acute (within 6 hours) transdermal systemic sustained release therapy.ObjectiveTo examine an alternative use of GTN as an acute therapy for ischemic stroke following successful recanalization.MethodsWe administered GTN IA following transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice. Because no standard dose of GTN is available following emergent large vessel occlusion, we performed a dose–response (3.12, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 µg/µL) analysis. Next, we looked at blood perfusion (flow) through the middle cerebral artery using laser Doppler flowmetry. Functional outcomes, including forced motor movement rotor rod, were assessed in the 3.12, 6.25, and 12.5 µg/µL groups. Histological analysis was performed using cresyl violet for infarct volume, and glial fibrillary activating protein (GFAP) and NeuN immunohistochemistry for astrocyte activation and mature neuron survival, respectively.ResultsOverall, we found that acute post-stroke IA GTN had little effect on vessel dilatation after 15 min. Functional analysis showed a significant difference between GTN (3.12 and 6.25 µg/µL) and control at post-stroke day 1. Histological measures showed a significant reduction in infarct volume and GFAP immunoreactivity and a significant increase in NeuN.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that acute IA GTN is neuroprotective in experimental ischemic stroke and warrants further study as a potentially new stroke therapy.


Author(s):  
Laura Pons-Pellicé ◽  
Elena Camio-Visauta ◽  
Ivette Chocron-Da Prat ◽  
José Fernando Rodríguez-Palomares ◽  
Ferran Rosés Noguer ◽  
...  

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