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Background and Purpose: Anticoagulant drugs, including vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), can reduce stroke severity and are associated with good functional outcomes. Some patients are prescribed lower-than-recommended doses of DOACs; whether these have similar effects has not been clarified., Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 1,139 consecutive ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack patients with atrial fibrillation. Patients were divided into 5 groups according to their preceding anticoagulant drug therapies: no anticoagulant therapy (ACn), undercontrolling VKA doses (VKAuc), recommended, controlling VKA doses (VKArec), prescribed underdoses of DOAC (DOACud), and recommended doses of DOAC (DOACrec). We investigated the associations between these anticoagulant drug therapies and patients' initial stroke severity and 3-month outcomes., Results: Median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores at admission were as follows: ACn: 16, VKAuc: 15, VKArec: 9, DOACud: 5, and DOACrec: 7. When the ACn group was used as a reference, regression analysis showed that VKArec (odds ratio [OR] 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-2.21), DOACud (OR 2.84, 95% CI: 1.47-5.66), and DOACrec (OR 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23-2.74) were associated with milder stroke severity, while VKAuc was not. Median 3-month modified Rankin Scale scores were 2 in the DOACud and DOACrec groups and 4 in all other groups. After adjusting for confounding factors, DOACud (OR 3.14, 95% CI: 1.50-6.57) and DOACrec (OR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.05-2.64) were associated with good 3-month outcomes while VKAuc and VKArec were not., Conclusions: In patients with atrial fibrillation, recommended doses and underdoses of DOACs reduced stroke severity on admission and were associated with good 3-month outcomes., (© 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Uric acid (UA), an antioxidant with neuroprotective effects, favorably affects stroke outcome. However, the effect has not been examined in patients treated with edaravone, a frequently used free radical scavenger. We investigated whether the use of edaravone affected the relationship between UA levels and outcome in acute ischemic stroke., Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 1,114 consecutive ischemic stroke patients with premorbid modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores <2 admitted within 24 h of onset (mean, 74 years; median UA levels, 333 μmol/L). We divided the patients into 2 groups using the median UA value as a cutoff, a low UA group (≤333 μmol/L; n = 566) and a high UA group (>333 μmol/L; n = 548), and compared their clinical characteristics and favorable outcomes (mRS <2) at 90 days. We investigated the associations between UA levels and 90-day stroke outcome in patients with and without edaravone treatment., Results: The high UA group had a higher proportion of men, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and cardioembolic stroke than the low UA group. The high UA group also had a higher proportion of patients with mRS <2 at 90 days (61.5 vs. 54.1%, p = 0.013), but the significance was diminished in multivariate analysis (OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.94-1.71). In subgroup analysis, the high UA group without edaravone exhibited a higher proportion of patients with mRS <2 at 90 days than the low UA group (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.20-7.16). The high UA group with edaravone did not exhibit this difference., Conclusions: In acute ischemic stroke, the favorable association between high UA levels and outcome at 90 days was not evident in patients treated with edaravone., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: The impact of deep white matter lesions observed at the corona radiata on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI-W lesions) on the clinical recovery of patients after tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) therapy is unclear. Our goal was to elucidate whether DWI findings before tPA could predict clinical recovery., Methods: A total of 83 consecutive patients with hyperacute anterior circulation ischemic stroke were enrolled. All patients underwent MRI within 3 h and received intravenous tPA. The relationships among the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) on DWI (DWI-ASPECTS), DWI-W lesions, early dramatic improvement (> or =10-point reduction in the total National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS, score or a total NIHSS score of 0-2 after 24 h), early improvement (> or =4-point reduction in the total NIHSS score after 24 h) and worsening (> or =4-point increase in the total NIHSS score after 24 h) were assessed., Results: The median of the baseline DWI-ASPECTS value was 9 (range: 5-10), and DWI-W lesions were found in 36 patients (43%). Patients with early dramatic improvement had a shorter time from onset to tPA (116.1 +/- 34.9 vs. 133.2 +/- 33.1 min; p = 0.0281) and higher DWI-ASPECTS (medians: 9 vs. 9; p = 0.0568). DWI-W lesions were seen less frequently in patients with than without early dramatic improvement (26 vs. 54%; p = 0.0213). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that absence of DWI-W lesions (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.08-3.13; p = 0.0279), higher ASPECTS (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.06-2.46; p = 0.0346) and shorter time from onset to tPA (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97-0.99; p = 0.0429) were independent predictors of early dramatic improvement., Conclusions: DWI-ASPECTS and DWI-W lesions appear to be useful tools for predicting early dramatic improvement., (Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objectives: We investigated the incidence, clinical characteristics, outcome and factors associated with aphasia and early improvement in acute ischemic stroke., Methods: We consecutively studied 855 patients with acute ischemic stroke who were admitted to our hospital within 48 h after onset and who were not comatose on admission. Assessment of aphasia was performed on admission (day 0) and day 10. We examined the incidence, severity, and subtypes of aphasia, and compared the clinical background of patients with and without aphasia on admission, and also those with and without early improvement by day 10. In addition, we investigated the independent factors associated with the presence of aphasia on admission and with early improvement., Results: Of the 855 patients, 130 (15.2%) had aphasia on admission. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on admission (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.17-1.26) was a significant and independent factor associated with the presence of aphasia on admission. Early improvement was seen in 56 of 121 aphasic patients (46.3%) who were still alive on day 10. A history of hypercholesterolemia (OR 3.27; 95% CI 1.14-9.39) was a significant and independent factor associated with early improvement in aphasia during the acute phase and NIHSS on admission (OR 0.95; 95% CI 0.90-0.99) was marginally significant., Conclusion: It is difficult to predict the outcome of aphasia within the first few days after the onset of ischemic stroke., ((c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.)