In addition to stent retrievers, direct aspiration has become a reasonable thrombectomy strategy.
We carried out the thrombectomy by guiding the aspiration catheter fully over the clot and performing immediate manual aspiration; we call this procedure “embed aspiration”.
In this prospective, non-randomised, single-centre study, we included all patients treated at a high volume-of-care stroke centre between 2017 and 2018 for the TRIANA (Thrombectomy in Andalusia using Aspiration) registry. Thrombectomy was carried out by embed aspiration. Patients were classified according to the success (eTICI 2b67-2c-3) or failure (eTICI 0-1-2a-2b50) of the procedure. Baseline clinical data and outcomes were compared, and multivariate analysis was performed.
The embed aspiration technique was used in 370 patients. Treatment was successful in 90.3% of patients. Mean puncture-to-recanalisation time was 25 minutes. The overall rate of good outcomes (mRS 0-2) at 3 months was 64%.
This study supports real-life evidence that standardised embed aspiration may be an alternative to stent retrievers for thrombectomy.
Recent studies have reported an increasing incidence of ischaemic stroke among young adults. However, the strength of the association between traditional vascular risk factors has not been fully established.
We compared 120 patients with a first ischaemic stroke before the age of 55 years admitted to the stroke unit of our centre with 600 healthy non-stroke controls from a population-based cohort study (HERMEX), matched for sex. Risk factors assessed included: hypertension, obesity, auricular fibrillation, current smoking, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and diabetes mellitus. We used logistic regression analysis and calculated population attributable risk. We performed an overall analysis, by sex and aetiological subgroup.
Using logistic regression analysis we found that overall the significant risk factors were: hypertension (OR: 1.58; 95%CI: 1.01-2.50), auricular fibrillation (OR: 4.77; 95%CI: 1.20-19.00), low eGFR (OR: 4.74; 95%CI: 1.3-21.94) and low HDL-C (OR: 5.20; 95%CI: 3.29-8.21), as well as smoking for males (OR: 1.86; 95%CI: 1.14-3.03). LDLc showed an inverse association with stroke. The population attributable risk for HDL-C was 37.8% and for hypertension 21.1%. In terms of aetiological subgroups, only low HDL-C was associated with stroke of undetermined aetiology.
Hypertension, auricular fibrillation, low eGFR and low HDL-C, plus tobacco use in men, are the main risk factors among patients under 55 years of age with a first ischaemic stroke. We believe that it would be of particular interest to further explore the management of low HDL-C levels as part of preventive strategies in young stroke patients.
Botulinum toxin type A is used to treat spasticity and dystonia. However, its relationship with muscle morphology has not been studied. The action mechanism of botulinum toxin is based on the inhibition of acetylcholine release. Therefore, larger doses of toxin would be needed to treat larger muscles. This study aims to establish whether there is a discrepancy between muscle morphology and the botulinum toxin doses administered.
We dissected, and subsequently measured and weighed, muscles from the upper and lower limbs and the head of a fresh cadaver. We consulted the summary of product characteristics for botulinum toxin type A to establish the recommended doses for each muscle and calculated the number of units infiltrated per gramme of muscle.
Different muscles present considerable morphological variability, and the doses of botulinum toxin administered to each muscle are very similar. We observed great variability in the amount of botulinum toxin administered per gramme of muscle, ranging from 0.3 U/g in the biceps femoris to 14.6 U/g in the scalene muscles. The mean dose was 2.55 U/g. The doses administered for nearly all lower limb muscles were below this value.
There are significant differences in morphology between the muscles of the lower limbs, upper limbs, and head, but similar doses of botulinum toxin are administered to each muscle. These differences result in great variability in the number of units of botulinum toxin administered per gramme of muscle.
Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a debilitating disease characterized by involuntary tonic and clonic contractions of muscles innervated by the facial nerve. Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) is the first-line option and the most effective medical treatment for HFS. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of BTX-A therapy on the physical and mental health of HFS patients.
Participants included 65 HFS patients and 65 matched healthy controls in the study. Cornell Medical Index (CMI) self-assessment questionnaire was used to detect the psychological health of all participants. Local injection of BTX-A was applied, and the Cohen hierarchical criteria were employed to stratify the degree of spasticity, further evaluating the efficacy of BTX-A before and two months after treatment in HFS patients. The HFS patients at two months post-treatment were re-evaluated by CMI self-assessment questionnaire, and the evaluated factors of these patients were compared with those of patients before treatment.
The scores of somatization, depression, anxiety, inadaptation, sensitivity, anger, tension, M-R, and total scores in the HFS group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). Two months post-treatment, among 65 HFS patients who received with BTX-A treatment, 42 (64.6%) were completely relieved, 16 (24.6%) were significantly relieved, 7 (10.8%) were partially relieved, and 0 (0%) cases were invalid, and the total effective rate was 89.2%. Two months after BTX-A treatment, the scores of somatization, tension, anxiety, depression, sensitivity, M-R and total scores of patients with HFS were lower than those before treatment (all P < 0.05).
Patients with HFS are often accompanied by somatization, anger, inadaptation, sensitivity, anxiety, depression, and tension. BTX-A can not only alleviate the symptoms of HFS, but also improve the somatization, tension, anxiety, depression, and sensitivity.