Search

Introduction Acute mechanical thrombectomy is the preferred treatment for large vessel occlusion related stroke. Histopathological research on the obtained occlusive embolic thrombus may provide information regarding the etiology and pathology of the lesion to predict prognosis and propose possible future acute ischemic stroke therapy. Methods A total of 75 consecutive patients who presented to the Amphia Hospital with acute large vessel occlusion related stroke and underwent mechanical thrombectomy were included in the study. The obtained thrombus materials were subjected to standard histopathological examination. Based on histological criteria they were considered fresh (1 day old). Patients were followed for two years for documentation of all-cause mortality. Results Thrombi were classified as fresh in 40 patients (53%) and as older in 35 patients (47%). Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that thrombus age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at hospital admission and patient age were associated with long-term mortality (p

Cerebral small vessel disease, including white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and lacunes of presumed vascular origin, is common in elderly people and is related to cognitive impairment and dementia. One possible mechanism could be the disruption of white matter tracts (both within WMH and normal-appearing white matter) that connect distributed brain regions involved in cognitive functions. Here, we investigated the relation between microstructural integrity of the white matter and cognitive functions in patients with small vessel disease. The Radboud University Nijmegen Diffusion tensor and Magnetic resonance Cohort study is a prospective cohort study among 444 independently living, non-demented elderly with cerebral small vessel disease, aged between 5500 and 85 years. All subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging scanning and an extensive neuropsychological assessment. We showed that loss of microstructural integrity of the white matter at specific locations was related to specific cognitive disturbances, which was mainly located in the normal-appearing white matter (p