scholarly journals A 56-Year-Old Woman with Recurrent Strokes: A Clear Case with a Therapeutic Dilemma

2021 ◽  
pp. 100-107
Author(s):  
Eric S. Miller ◽  
Haitham M. Hussein ◽  
Elie Gertner

A 56-year-old woman with a history of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) complicated by prior intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) was evaluated for an asymptomatic ischemic stroke discovered on screening brain MRI. On echocardiogram, she was found to have a mass on her mitral valve and strongly positive antiphospholipid antibodies. She was diagnosed with nonbacterial thrombotic (Libman-Sacks) endocarditis associated with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The treatment decision was complicated by the history of CAA with ICH within the last year with very high risk for bleeding complications if on anticoagulation. A multidisciplinary decision was made to initiate a trial of warfarin for 3 months. She fared well and warfarin was continued. She has not had any further bleeding or ischemic events over the subsequent 1.5 years and remains on warfarin for her APS.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Ferreira ◽  
◽  
Filipa Guimarães ◽  
Paulo Simões Coelho

We present a case of a 74-year-old woman with deep intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), probable cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), and probable antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Due to the high hemorrhagic risk, it was decided not to use anticoagulants. In a period of three months, she had two separate cerebral ischemic events and died of stroke-related complications. The use of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in this patient is neither supported nor contra-indicated by current literature, even though past medical history suggests a very high ICH recurrence rate, probably contra-indicating the use of OAC.


Angiology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Z. Potsis ◽  
Christos Katsouras ◽  
John A. Goudevenos

Antithrombotic therapy coupled with early use of cardiac catheterization and revascularization have decreased morbidity and mortality rates in patients who have acute ischemic heart disease but who carry a risk for bleeding. Bleeding complications in patients with acute coronary syndromes are associated with worse clinical outcomes, including recurrent ischemic events and death. Determining the appropriate balance between preventing ischemic events and causing bleeding in patients with acute coronary syndromes present a challenging problem for clinicians. Antithrombotics studied in recent clinical trials that have focused on bleeding reduction include bivalirudin and fondaparinux. In this review, the incidence, predictors, and clinical outcomes associated with bleeding are discussed. Furthermore, the association between antithrombotic agents and bleeding and propose strategies to prevent bleeding complications are also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 840-845
Author(s):  
O. Yu. Korennova ◽  
S. P. Podolnaya ◽  
E. P. Prihodko ◽  
E. A. Turusheva ◽  
S. N. Starinskaya ◽  
...  

Aim. To evaluate the antihypertensive efficacy and tolerability of a fixed combination of amlodipine and ramipril in hypertensive patients with very high cardiovascular risk. Material and methods. A retrospective cohort study of real clinical practice of prescribing antihypertensive drugs according to 255 medical records of outpatient hypertensive patients with a history of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and coronary artery stenting was performed in the first part. An open observational study was performed in the second part. 69 people older than 18 years with a history of ACS and coronary artery stenting, without reaching the target blood pressure (BP) level while using free combinations of antihypertensive drugs and with indications for a fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine were included into the study. Analysis of self-monitoring of BP, office BP, daily BP monitoring (ABPM) and patients’ adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green test) initially, after 4 and after 12 weeks of taking the fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine was performed to assess the clinical efficacy of the studied drug. Results. It was found that 42.0% of patients did not follow the recommendations for regular intake of antihypertensive drugs. So, hypertension of all patients regarded as false-refractory, which was the basis for the prescription of the fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine in accordance with clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. After 4 weeks of therapy, there was significant decrease in office BP with the achievement and preservation of the target level by the 12th week, normalization to the 12th week of day and night BP variability in 54.9% of patients. 78.0% of patients followed medical recommendations for regular administration of antihypertensive drugs, none of the patients had adverse events. Conclusion. The use of fixed combinations of drugs, in particular, amlodipine and ramipril as a part of multicomponent therapy in hypertensive patients with very high cardiovascular risk, led to the achievement of target BP by the 4th week of therapy and stable preservation of antihypertensive effect in 12 weeks of treatment as well as gradual normalization of day and night BP variability in more than half of patients. Fixed combination of ramipril and amlodipine allowed to improve adherence of patients to cardiovascular diseases.


BMC Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi Hyuk Oh ◽  
Jin San Lee

Abstract Background Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are small, rounded, dark-signal lesions on brain MRI that represent cerebral hemosiderin deposits resulting from prior microhemorrhages and are neuroimaging biomarkers of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Here, we report a case of innumerable CMBs in a patient with hepatic encephalopathy underlying decompensated liver cirrhosis. Case presentation An 83-year-old woman diagnosed with hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis 40 years before was referred to our neurology clinic for progressive disorientation of time and place, personality changes, and confusion with somnolence over 2 weeks. Based on the laboratory, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological findings, we diagnosed the patient with hepatic encephalopathy, and her symptoms recovered within 12 h after proper medical management. Brain MRI showed innumerable CMBs in the bilateral frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes. Since the distribution of CMBs in the patient was mainly corticosubcortical and predominantly in the posterior cortical regions, and the apolipoprotein E genotype was ε4/ε4, we speculated that CAA and hepatic encephalopathy coexisted in this patient. Conclusions We suggest that severe liver dysfunction associated with long-term decompensated liver cirrhosis may be related to an increased number of CMBs in the brain. Our findings indicate that decompensated liver cirrhosis may be a risk factor for the development of CMBs and corroborate a link between the liver and the brain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1510.2-1510
Author(s):  
L. Kondrateva ◽  
T. Popkova ◽  
E. Nasonov ◽  
A. Lila

Background:Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have higher than in general population prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM). Hyperinsulinemia is a predictor of developing type 2 DM, however routine measurement of insulin levels for DM risk assessment is uncomfortable in daily clinical practice. International Diabetes Federation recommends the use of patient questionnaires to quickly identify people who may be at a higher risk of DM development.Objectives:To determine the 10-years risk of developing type 2 DM in SLE patients using dedicated questionnaire - Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Form (FINDRISK) data.Methods:The study included 92 SLE patients without DM (83 women, 9 men, 39 [34; 47] years old). The median disease duration was 6 [2,14] years, SLEDAI-2K was 4[2;8]. SLE pts were treated with glucocorticoids (GC) (89%) and hydroxychloroquine (78%), immunosuppressive drugs (28%) and biological agents (10%). The control group consisted of 88 subjects without systemic rheumatic diseases, inflammatory arthritis or DM, matched by age and sex with SLE patients. Eight items of FINDRISK questionnaire (age, overweight, abdominal obesity, family history of diabetes, physical inactivity, eating habits, history of antihypertensive drugs treatment, history of hyperglycemia) were taken into account to calculate the total risk score (TS). The risk of developing DM within following 10 years is regarded as low (1%) or slightly elevated (4%) with TS ≤11 points, as moderate (17%), high (33%) or very high (50%) with TS ≥12 points.Results:The risk of developing DM was low or slightly elevated in 65 (71%) SLE pts and moderate, high or very high in 27 (29%) pts. The difference was significant compared with the control group, in which 76 (86%) subjects had a low or slightly elevated risk and 12 (14%) had a moderate, high or very high risk (p=0,01). The number of risk factors (4[2;5]) and the median TS of SLE pts (9[5;12] points) were higher than values in control subjects (3[2,4] factors and 6[3;9] points, respectively) (p<0,01 for both). DM risk factors profiles were similar in two groups, except for higher prevalence of abdominal obesity (66% vs 41%, p<0,01) and history of antihypertensive drugs treatment (57% vs 17%, p<0,01) in SLE. There were positive correlations between TS and CRP levels (r=0,25, p=0,02), SLICC (r=0,36, p<0,01), HAQ (r=0,29, p<0,01), and negative correlations between TS and SLEDAI-2K (r= -0,32, p<0,01), glomerular filtration rate by CKD-EPI (r=-0,23, p=0,03). Current GC use had no influence on TS values in SLE.Conclusion:Patients with SLE were more likely than individuals without systemic rheumatic diseases to have a moderate, high and very high risk of developing DM, and therefore, required interventions to prevent the metabolic disease. Increased risk of developing DM was associated with most common traditional factors, especially by abdominal obesity and regular use of antihypertensive drugs that can be considered a kind of equivalent to the presence of hypertension. Curtain contribution of inflammation, lupus activity and irreversible damage index can’t be ignored. Clarification of SLE-specific phenomena in DM pathogenesis requires further research.Disclosure of Interests: :None declared


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Kirby ◽  
Wolfgang Stephan

Abstract We surveyed sequence variation and divergence for the entire 5972-bp transcriptional unit of the white gene in 15 lines of Drosophila melanogaster and one line of D. simulans. We found a very high degree of haplotypic structuring for the polymorphisms in the 3′ half of the gene, as opposed to the polymorphisms in the 5′ half. To determine the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for this pattern, we sequenced a 1612-bp segment of the white gene from an additional 33 lines of D. melanogaster from a European and a North American population. This 1612-bp segment encompasses an 834bp region of the white gene in which the polymorphisms form high frequency haplotypes that cannot be explained by a neutral equilibrium model of molecular evolution. The small number of recombinants in the 834bp region suggests epistatic selection as the cause of the haplotypic structuring, while an investigation of nucleotide diversity supports a directional selection hypothesis. A multi-locus selection model that combines features from both-hypotheses and takes the recent history of D. melanogaster into account may be the best explanation for these data.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N Pogosova ◽  
NP Kachanova ◽  
YM Yufereva ◽  
OY Sokolova ◽  
IE Koltunov ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Coronary atherosclerosis has a long subclinical period. It’s early detection may offer a possibility of timely initiation of preventive interventions Purpose To develop a diagnostic rule for detection of patients (pts) with high probability of subclinical atherosclerosis among those with high or very high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Methods This cross-sectional study enrolled 52 pts (32 men [62%]), aged 40 to 65 years [mean age 54.6 ± 8.0]) with high or very high CV risk (5-9 and ≥10% by The Systematic Coronary Risk Estimation Scale [SCORE], respectively). All participants underwent cardiac computed tomography (CT) angiography and calcium scoring. Traditional risk factors (RFs) (family history of premature CVD, smoking, overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, lipids parameters (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides) and lipids-related markers (apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, ApoB/ApoA1 ratio), biomarkers of inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs CRP], fibrinogen), indicator carbohydrate metabolism (glucose),  ankle-brachial index,  stress-test, carotid plaques according to ultrasound were evaluated in all pts. Psychological RFs were evaluated using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and DS-14 for type D personality. Results All pts were divided into 2 groups according to the CT angiography results: pts in the main group (n = 21) had any non-obstructive lesions or calcium score &gt;0, pts in the control group (n = 31) had intact coronary arteries. The groups did not differ in age or gender. 26 multiple linear logistic models for any subclinical atherosclerosis were developed based on obtained diagnostic features. Taking into account R-square = 0.344 (p = 0.0008), the best fitting model was follows:  subclinical coronary atherosclerosis= -1.576 + 0.234 x SCORE ≥5%  + 0.541 x hs CRP &gt;2 g/l + 0.015 x heart rate  (bpm) + 0.311 family history of premature CVD.  The developed algorithm had sensitivity of 63% and  specificity of 80%. Conclusions The created diagnostic model diagnostic model suggests the presence of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in patients with high / very high CV risk with a high degree of probability. This easy-to-use method can be used in routine clinical practice to improve risk stratification and management choices in high-risk pts.


Open Medicine ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-520
Author(s):  
Parmenion Tsitsopoulos ◽  
Ioannis Anagnostopoulos ◽  
Vasileios Tsitouras ◽  
Ioannis Venizelos ◽  
Philippos Tsitsopoulos

AbstractOsteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable disorder characterized mainly by connective tissue manifestations. In dinstinct cases, several neurological features have also been described. A 46-year-old male with a known family history of OI type I presented with progressive gait disturbances and diminished muscle strength. Brain MRI scans revealed an infiltrative intracranial mass occupying both frontoparietal lobes. The patient underwent surgical intervention. The histological diagnosis was an atypical (Grade II) meningioma. The bony parts demonstrated a mixture of osseous defects due to OI and infiltration by the tumor. At one-year follow up the patient′s muscle power partially returned while repeat MRI scans were negative for tumor recurrence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. e237580
Author(s):  
Jacob Kilgore ◽  
Jonathon Pelletier ◽  
Bradford Becken ◽  
Stephen Kenny ◽  
Samrat Das ◽  
...  

We present a 16-year-old girl with a history of well-controlled psoriasis, on immunosuppression, who sought evaluation in the emergency department for 4 months of fever, cough and unintentional weight loss. The patient had seen multiple providers who had diagnosed her with community-acquired pneumonia, but she was unimproved after oral antibiotic therapy. On presentation, she was noted to be febrile, tachycardic and chronically ill-appearing. Her chest X-ray showed diffuse opacities and a right upper lobe cavitary lesion concerning for tuberculosis. A subsequent chest CT revealed miliary pulmonary nodules in addition to the cavitary lesion. The patient underwent subsequent brain MRI, which revealed multifocal ring-enhancing nodules consistent with parenchymal involvement. The patient was diagnosed with miliary tuberculosis and improved on quadruple therapy. Though rates of tuberculosis are increasing, rates remain low in children, though special consideration should be given to children who are immunosuppressed.


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yejin Mok ◽  
Lena Mathews ◽  
Ron C Hoogeveen ◽  
Michael J Blaha ◽  
Christie M Ballantyne ◽  
...  

Background: In the 2018 AHA/ACC Cholesterol guideline, risk stratification is an essential element. The use of a Pooled Cohort Equation (PCE) is recommended for individuals without atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and the new dichotomous classification of very high-risk vs. high-risk has been introduced for patients with ASCVD. These distinct risk stratification systems mainly rely on traditional risk factors, raising the possibility that a single model can predict major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in persons with and without ASCVD. Methods: We studied 11,335 ARIC participants with (n=885) and without (n=10,450) a history of ASCVD (myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and symptomatic peripheral artery disease) at baseline (1996-98). We modeled factors in the PCE and the new classification for ASCVD patients (Figure legend) in a single CVD prediction model. We examined their associations with MACEs (myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure) using Cox models and evaluated the discrimination and calibration for a single model including those factors. Results: During a median follow-up of 18.4 years, there were 3,658 MACEs (3,105 in participants without ASCVD). In general, the factors in the PCE and the risk classification system for ASCVD patients were associated similarly with MACEs regardless of baseline ASCVD status, although age and systolic blood pressure showed significant interactions. A single model with these predictors and the relevant interaction terms showed good calibration and discrimination for those with and without ASCVD (c-statistic=0.729 and 0.704, respectively) (Figure). Conclusion: A single CVD prediction model performed well in persons with and without ASCVD. This approach will provide a specific predicted risk to ASCVD patients (instead of dichotomy of very high vs. high risk) and eliminate a practice gap between primary vs. secondary prevention due to different risk prediction tools.


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