Therapies
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
AHA: 12/1/12 Since its original description in 1998, the technique of catheter-based atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation has undergone several modifications.1 Currently, many operators use an anatomic approach consisting of circumferential lesions encircling individual or ipsilateral pulmonary veins (PVs) with additional empirical left atrial (LA) ablation (lines), whereas others perform a more PV-specific approach using entrance/exit block […]
Therapies
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
AHA: 12/1/12 Is the Elimination of Triggers Sufficient? Current Controversies in Catheter Ablation of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation A new era of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment began in 1997–1998 with the discovery that triggers within the pulmonary veins initiate AF and reports that elimination of these triggers is successful in treating AF in its paroxysmal form.1–3 However, […]
Therapies
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
AHJ: 11/21/12 Atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF, collectively) cause stroke. We evaluated whether treating specialty influences warfarin prescription in patients with newly diagnosed AF. Methods In the TREAT-AF study, we used Veterans Health Administration health record and claims data to identify patients with newly diagnosed AF between October 2004 and November 2008 and at least […]
Therapies
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
J NeuroIntervent Surg: 12/12/12 Background Intra-arterial therapy (IAT) is increasingly used to treat patients with acute stroke with large vessel occlusions. There are minimal data and guidelines for treatment indications and performance standards. We aimed to gain a better understanding of real-world practice patterns for IAT. Methods An internet-based survey was launched to address six specific areas of […]
Therapies
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
Nature Reviews Neurology: 12/11/12 A combination of aerobic and resistance training in patients who have experienced a stroke is associated with improvements in cognitive function, according to a recent study. In 41 patients with poststroke motor impairments who were assigned to a 6-month exercise programme, training was associated with significant improvement in cognition and reduction in […]
Therapies
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
Wiley: 12/11/12 Background Warfarin-associated intracerebral haemorrhage carries poor outcome due to rapid haemorrhage growth. Reversal of warfarin anticoagulation with prothrombin complex concentrate has been implemented as an acute treatment option for these subjects. Aim We investigated whether survival of subjects with warfarin-associated intracerebral haemorrhage had improved after implementation of reversal of warfarin anticoagulation with prothrombin complex […]
Therapies
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
Wiley: 12/11/12 Patients who were treated with and refused t-PA at our stroke center were identified retrospectively. Demographics, clinical presentation, and outcome measures were collected and compared. Clinical outcome was defined as excellent (mRS: 0–1), good (mRS: 0–2), and poor (mRS: 3–6). Results Over 7·5 years, 30 (4·2%) patients refused t-PA. There were no demographic differences […]
Therapies
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
POSTMEDIA NEWS: DECEMBER 8, 2012 Stroke victims can make astonishing gains in strength in weakened limbs by training the unaffected limbs on the other side of their body, according to new research by the University of Victoria. Neuroscientist Paul Zehr and PhD candidate Katie Dragert designed “ridiculously simple” devices made of wooden boards and cloth […]
Therapies
Friday, December 7th, 2012
AHA: 11/15/12 Background and Purpose—Recent clinical trial data suggest that protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) antagonists may increase the risk of intracranial hemorrhage. Our objective was to investigate the qualitative and quantitative risks of intracranial hemorrhage in patients receiving PAR-1 antagonist therapy. Methods—Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Clinicaltrials.gov from 1966 to May 2012, […]
Therapies
Friday, December 7th, 2012
AHA: 10/30/12 Background and Purpose—Decompressive craniectomy (DC) lowers intracranial pressure and improves outcome in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery stroke. Its usefulness in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze feasibility and safety of DC without clot evacuation in ICH. Methods—We compared consecutive patients (November 2010–January 2012) with […]
