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Ischemic stroke is defined as neurological deficit caused by brain infarction. The intravenous tissue plasminogen activator, alteplase, is an effective treatment. However, efficacy of this method is time dependent. An important step in improving outcome and increasing the number of patients receiving alteplase is the shortening of waiting times at the hospital, the so-called door-to-needle time (DNT). The comprehensive Helsinki model was proposed in 2012, which enabled the shortening of the DNT to less than 20 min. Background and Objectives : The aim of this study was to analyze the transferability of the suggested model to the West Tallinn Central Hospital (WTCH). Materials and Methods : Since the first thrombolysis in 2005, all patients are registered in the WTCH thrombolysis registry. Several steps following the Helsinki model have been implemented over the years. Results : The results demonstrate that the number and also the percent of thrombolysed stroke patients increased during the years, from a few thrombolysis annually, to 260 in 2021. The mean DNT dropped significantly to 33 min after the implementation of several steps, from the emergency medical services (EMS) prenotification with a phone call to the neurologists, to the setting-up of a thrombolysis team based in the stroke unit. Also, the immediate start of treatment using a computed tomography table was introduced. Conclusions : In conclusion, several implemented steps enabled the shortening of the DNT from 30 to 25.2 min. Short DNTs were achieved and maintained only with EMS prenotification.

Background and Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the cognitive profile of patients with focal and generalized epilepsy syndrome in comparison with healthy control subjects and to investigate whether depression was related to neuropsychological functioning in these patients., Material and Methods: A total of 36 patients with focal epilepsy and 26 patients with generalized epilepsy were compared with the control group of healthy volunteers (n=53). A battery of neuropsychological tests assessing verbal and visual spatial memory and executive functioning was carried out in addition to the completion of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)., Results: The results indicated that patients with epilepsy performed significantly worse than controls on all verbal memory subscales and verbal fluency domains. The patients with focal epilepsy scored significantly worse than the patients with generalized epilepsy. The BDI scores were significantly correlated with several scores of the cognitive test in both patients' groups but not in the control group., Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients with epilepsy, especially with focal-onset epilepsy, show cognitive disturbances predominantly in the verbal memory domain. In addition, depression was found to have a negative effect on cognitive functioning in patients with epilepsy.