scholarly journals Mitral Valve Subacute Endocarditis Caused by Abiotrophia Defectiva: A Case Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-166
Author(s):  
Catarina Faria ◽  
Renato Guerreiro ◽  
Sofia Cruz ◽  
Marco Fernandes

Abiotrophia defectiva is a rare agent of endocarditis and subacute presentation may delay the diagnosis. We present the case of a 41-year-old male who was admitted to the hospital for further investigation regarding a consumptive syndrome with microcytic anaemia. Past medical history included new-onset mitral insufficiency followed by an ischaemic stroke due to small vessel disease. Thoraco-abdominal computed tomography revealed a splenic infarction. In the presence of two ischaemic events associated with mitral valve disease of unknown aetiology, we considered the possibility of subacute endocarditis. Blood cultures were positive for Abiotrophia defectiva, and transoesophageal echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis. As a subacute presentation of endocarditis, the paucity of symptoms caused a five-month delay in diagnosis. New-onset valvular disease and a stroke in an otherwise healthy young patient should always prompt proper investigation. This case highlights several complications caused by septic emboli of undiagnosed and untreated endocarditis.

Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011050
Author(s):  
Marco Pasi ◽  
Lansing Sugita ◽  
Li Xiong ◽  
Andreas Charidimou ◽  
Gregoire Boulouis ◽  
...  

Objective:We sought to determine whether MRI-based Cerebral Small Vessel Disease (CSVD) burden assessment, in addition to clinical and CT data, improved prediction of cognitive impairment after spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH).Methods:We analyzed data from ICH survivors enrolled in a single-center prospective study. We employed three validated CSVD burden scores: global, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)-specific, hypertensive arteriopathy (HTNA)-specific. We quantified cognitive performance by administering the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m) test. We utilized linear mixed models to model cognitive decline rates, and survival models for new-onset dementia. We calculated CSVD scores’ cut-offs to maximize predictive performance for dementia diagnosis.Results:We enrolled 612 ICH survivors, and followed them for a median of 46.3 months (Inter-Quartile Range: 35.5-58.7). A total of 214/612 (35%) participants developed dementia. Higher global CSVD scores at baseline were associated with faster cognitive decline (Coeff -0.25, Standard Error [SE] 0.02) and dementia risk (Sub-Hazard Ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.10-1.65). The global score outperformed the CAA and HTNA scores in predicting post-ICH dementia (all p<0.05). Compared to a model including readily available clinical and CT data, inclusion of the global CSVD score resulted in improved prediction of post-ICH dementia (Area Under the Curve [AUC] 0.89, SE 0.02 vs. AUC 0.81, SE 0.03, p = 0.008 for comparison). Global CSVD scores ≥ 2 had highest sensitivity (83%) and specificity (91%) for dementia diagnosis.Conclusions:A validated MRI-based CSVD score is associated with cognitive performance after ICH, and improved diagnostic accuracy for predicting new onset of dementia.


Author(s):  
Nidhi Tiwari ◽  
Jyoti Upadhyay ◽  
Mohd Nazam Ansari ◽  
Syed Shadab Raza ◽  
Wasim Ahmad ◽  
...  

: Vascular dementia (VaD) occurs due to cerebrovascular insufficiency, which leads to decreased blood circulation to the brain, thereby resulting in mental disabilities. The main causes of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) are severe hypoperfusion, stroke, hypertension, large vessel disease (cortical), small vessel disease (subcortical VaD), strategic infarct, hemorrhage (microbleed), cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA),which leads to decreased cerebrovascular perfusion. Many metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia, and hyperhomocysteinemia are also related to VaD. The rodent experimental models provide a better prospective for the investigation of the molecular mechanism of new drugs. A plethora of experimental models are available that mimic the pathological conditions and lead to VaD. This review article updates the current knowledge on the basis of VaD, risk factors, pathophysiology, mechanism, advantages, limitations, and the modification of various available rodent experimental models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-137
Author(s):  
Huimin Chen ◽  
Yuesong Pan ◽  
Lixia Zong ◽  
Jing Jing ◽  
Xia Meng ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe effect of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) on stroke outcomes remains unclear.MethodsData of 1045 patients with minor stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) were obtained from 45 sites of the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients with Acute Non-disabling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) trial. We assessed the associations of burdens of CSVD and ICAS with new strokes and bleeding events using multivariate Cox regression models and those with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores using ordinal logistic regression models.ResultsAmong the 1045 patients, CSVD was present in 830 cases (79.4%) and ICAS in 460 (44.0%). Patients with >1 ICAS segment showed the highest risk of new strokes (HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.15 to 3.56, p=0.01). No association between CSVD and the occurrence of new strokes was found. The presence of severe CSVD (common OR (cOR) 2.01, 95% CI 1.40 to 2.89, p<0.001) and >1 ICAS segment (cOR 2.15, 95% CI 1.57 to 2.93, p<0.001) was associated with higher mRS scores. Severe CSVD (HR 10.70, 95% CI 1.16 to 99.04, p=0.04), but not ICAS, was associated with a higher risk of bleeding events. Six-point modified CSVD score improved the predictive power for bleeding events and disability.InterpretationCSVD is associated with more disability and bleeding events, and ICAS is associated with an increased risk of stroke and disability in patients with minor stroke and TIA at 3 months. CSVD and ICAS may represent different vascular pathologies and play distinct roles in stroke outcomes.Trial registration numberNCT00979589


2021 ◽  
pp. 0271678X2199262
Author(s):  
Shuai Jiang ◽  
Tian Cao ◽  
Yuying Yan ◽  
Tang Yang ◽  
Ye Yuan ◽  
...  

Recent subcortical infarction (RSI) in the lenticulostriate artery (LSA) territory with a non-stenotic middle cerebral artery is a heterogeneous entity. We aimed to investigate the role of LSA combined with neuroimaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in differentiating the pathogenic subtypes of RSI by whole-brain vessel-wall magnetic resonance imaging (WB-VWI). Fifty-two RSI patients without relevant middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis on magnetic resonance angiography were prospectively enrolled. RSI was dichotomized as branch atheromatous disease (BAD; a culprit plaque located adjacent to the LSA origin) (n = 34) and CSVD-related lacunar infarction (CSVD-related LI; without plaque or plaque located distal to the LSA origin) (n = 18). Logistic regression analysis showed lacunes (odds ratio [OR] 9.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.71–54.72; P = 0.010) and smaller number of LSA branches (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.36–0.96; P = 0.034) were associated with of BAD, whereas severe deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.02–0.71; P = 0.021) was associated with CSVD-related LI. In conclusion, the LSA branches combined with lacunes and severe DWMH may delineate subtypes of SSI. The WB-VWI technique could be a credible tool for delineating the heterogeneous entity of SSI in the LSA territory.


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