Microsurgery has always been the main treatment for large vestibular schwannomas. With the progress of microsurgical technique and neuroimaging, the application of the intraoperative physiological monitoring technology, as well as the popularization of the concept of minimally invasive neurosurgery, the current development trend of surgery for vestibular schwannomas is to realize both the maximal tumoral resection and the maximal preservation of facial nerve function, which puts more emphasis on the improvement of quality of life. It is still a challenge for neurosurgeons to resect the tumor to the maximum extent and preserve the nerve function as well. In view of this background, the strategy of " near-total resection” and " subtotal resection” combined with stereotactic radiotherapy has been more and more accepted in the past years. However, as a neurosurgeon, the ultimate goal should be " gross-total resection of tumor” and preservation of the nerve function as well. For those tumors severely adherent to neurovascular structure, " near total resection” might be a rational choice. Meanwhile, long-term follow-up should be conducted to clarify the biological behavior of tumor residues, as well as the necessity and long-term effect of stereotactic radiotherapy.
Objective To collect evidence of treatment for the patients with ocular myasthenia gravis. Methods We searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2010), PubMed (1966 to April, 2010), CNKI (1979 to April, 2010) and VIP (1989 to April 2010) to identify systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials and prospective avaicohort studies about efficacy and safety of treatment for ocular myasthenia gravis. Results We identified 2 guidelines, 5 systematic reviews and 4 observational studies on inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, immunosuppressive agents, intravenous immunoglobulin, corticosteroids, and thymectomy for ocular myasthenia gravis. The first choice for ocular myasthenia gravis was inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. When the symptom could not be remitted, the corticosteroids should be considered. Immunosuppressive agents might be added if the effect of corticosteroids was not good. Plasma exchange was not recommended. Thymectomy should be performed if the patients suffered from thymoma. Conclusion The best clinical evidence can be available by the evidence-based method.
Stroke with hereditary cerebral small vessel diseases is a rare disease. Its clinical manifestations include early-onset ischemic lacunar or hemorrhagic stroke with high disability. Its typical imaging markers include lacunes, white matter hyperintensities, microbleeds, intracerebral hemorrhages located in deep or lobe of brain, crotical microinfarcts, and enlarged perivascular spaces. As the clinical and neuroimaging signs and symptoms of hereditary cerebral small vessel diseases often overlap with sporadic cerebral small vessel diseases, it is hard to diagnose. This article summarizes the clinical features, importance of obtaining valuable family history, genetic diagnosis, and management of stroke with hereditary cerebral small vessel disease to improve its accuracy diagnosis.
Endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke has become the main therapy for large vessel occlusion. In addition to stent thrombectomy, in recent years, the application of aspiration thrombectomy is becoming more and more common. The physical principles of aspiration and stent thrombectomy extraction are different. The thrombus is captured by the negative pressure generated by suction through the contact between the reperfusion catheter and the thrombus, thus achieving cerebrovascular recanalization. Currently, more and more researches support the application of aspiration thrombectomy. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the aspiration thrombectomy compared with the stent thrombectomy and how to apply the aspiration technology reasonably are the hot issues concerned by everyone. This paper reviews the application and research progress of aspirating thrombectomy in order to provide reference for clinical treatment decisions.
ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) in the patients with acute ischemic stroke, in order to provide effective guidance for clinical prevention and treatment.MethodsFrom November 2016 to November 2019, 330 patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology of West China Hospital of Sichuan University and the Department of Neurology of the Sixth People’s Hospital of Chengdu were selected as the research object. The clinical data of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. According to whether SAP occurred, they were divided into infected group and non-infected group. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the risk factors of SAP.ResultsA total of 71 cases of SAP occurred in patients with acute ischemic stroke, accounting for 21.52%. Logistic regression analysis showed that age≥70 years old [odds ratio (OR)=3.677, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.452, 9.311), P=0.006], chronic lung disease [OR=4.985, 95%CI (1.558, 15.952), P=0.007], disturbance of consciousness [OR=7.147, 95%CI (1.617, 31.587), P=0.009], bulbar palsy [OR=5.909, 95%CI (2.668, 13.089), P<0.001], the use of nasal feeding tube [OR=7.427, 95%CI (1.681, 32.812), P=0.008] were independent risk factors for SAP in patients with acute ischemic stroke.ConclusionsAge≥70 years old, chronic lung disease, disturbance of consciousness, bulbar paralysis and use of nasal feeding tube are independent risk factors for SAP. It is necessary to strengthen the management of these risk factors in order to identify high-risk patients with SAP early, and develop intervention strategies for risk factors, so as to improve the prognosis.
Objective To make an evidence-based remedy for a patient with cerebral veins and sinuses thrombosis (CVST), who had an unsatisfactory response to routine treatment. Methods We searched the Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2005), PubMed (1966 to 2005), CNKI (1979 to 2005) and VIP (1989 to 2005) to identify systematic reviews (SRs), randomized controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs) and prospective cohort studies about efficacy and safety of anticoagulants and thrombolysis therapy for CVST. Results We found 1 systematic review, 3 RCTs and 8 prospective cohort studies about anticoagulation therapy and 2 SRs and 1 CCT about thrombolysis therapy. Routine anticoagulation and thrombolysis for patients with CVST are not recommended due to insufficient evidence. Anticoagulation appeared to be safer and could prevent pulmonary embolism. According to the current evidence, the patient’s status and will, anticoagulants were given. His symptoms relieved and he had no subsequent hemorrhages or pulmonary embolism. Conclusion Patients with CVST should receive anticoagulation treatment with monitoring of de novo hemorrhages and the index of hemostasis and coagulation. Large-sample RCTs comparing the effect and safety of anticoagulant with placebo and RCTs comparing the effect and safety of anticoagulation therapy with that of endovascular thrombolysis therapy in high-risk patients are needed.
Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of edaravone for acute cerebral infarction. Methods We searched The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials （ Issue 2, 2005 ）, MEDLINE （ 1966 to Aug. 2005）, EMBASE （ till Aug. 2005 ）, the China Biological Medcine Database （ till Aug. 2005 ）, the Chinese Stroke Clinical Trials Database （ till August 2005 ） and the reference lists of related articles. Two reviewers independently selected studies, assessed quahty of studies and extracted data. The RevMan 4.2 software was used for statistical analysis. Results We identified 12 randomized controlled trials, of which 9 （ n = 948 ） were included. The level of methodology quality was B. Since the conventional therapy was different among some studies, the improvement of disability and long-term death rate and incidence of adverse reactions were not included by meta-analysis. Meta-analysis on the improvement of neurological deficit showed a better effectiveness of edaravone than control with statistical significance [ OR2.98, 95% CI （ 1.39,6.39 ） ]. Possible adverse reactions to edaravone included abnormal liver function and skin rash. Conclusions With relatively poor quality of most included trials and small sample size, insufficient evidence is obtained to support the conclusion that edaravone is safe or effective in the treatment of acute cerebral infarction. Further high quality and large sample randomized controlled trials should be carried out.
Objectives To study the relationship between matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in ischemic stroke patients and provide evidence for the further clinical studies, thrombolytic therapy selection, and application of MMP inhibitors to clinical practice to extend the windows for thrombolytic therapy. Methods The studies on relationship between MMP-9 and hemorrhagic transformation in ischemic stroke were identified, in which HT was followed-up based on plasma level of MMP-9 or comparison of plasma level of MMP-9 was conducted based on HT or not, regardless of language of publication and type of design. MEDLINE (1966-Jan. 2006), EMBASE (1966-Apr. 2006), CNKI (1977-Feb.2006), and Wanfang database (1989-2005) were searched and the references lists of eligible studies were manually searched. Two reviewers independently evaluated the quality of studies and extracted data. The data were analyzed using the RevMan 4.2. and SPSS11.0 softwares. Results Six trials fulfilled the inclusion criteria, including 558 patients, 130 of them developed hemorrhagic transformation. The heterogeneity between studies was statistically significant; (Plt;0.0001). We didn’t pool the data of studies of plasma MMP-9 level. Most of the studies showed that the plasma MMP-9 level in HT or in a certain type of HT was higher than that in non-HT patients. The result of subgroup analysis showed that the plasma MMP-9 level was independently associated with HT, summary OR=14.45, 95%CI (4.90, 43.65). Conclusions The values of plasma MMP-9 in HT or in a certain type of HT are higher than that in non-HT. MMP-9 may independently be a risk of hemorrhagic transformation. The sample size of the included studies is small. So the conclusions need to be confirmed with further studies.
Objective To learn if appropriate methods and clinically relevant outcomes were used by analyzing methods of outcome assessment in Chinese acute stroke trials. Method Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials on acute stroke published before March 2003 in 6 Chinese neurological journals were included. Types of outcome measures, blinding of outcome assessment, duration of follow up, statistical methods used for data analysis and the significance of the results were evaluated. Types of outcomes were classified as death and four levels: ① Pathology. ② Impairment. ③ Disability. ④ Handicap/quality of life. Results Two hundreds and ten trials were included in this analysis. 57% of the trials used outcomes in pathology level, 77% in impairment level, 12% in disability level and none in the quality of life level. No dichotomous data was analyzed for disability measures. Only 16% of the trials reported number of death but few of them designed death as an outcome measure. Duration of follow up ranged from 3h to 3 years (median 17 d, interquartile range 14-30 d). Most trials did not assess outcomes blindly. Results in 95% of the trials were favorable to the tested interventions. Conclusions In Chinese acute stroke trials, outcome measures used were mainly in pathology and impairment levels and very few trials used functional outcome or death. Blinding of outcome assessment was not commonly used. The average duration of follow up was short.
Cerebral small vessel disease refers to a group of pathological processes, neuroimaging features, and clinical symptoms, with various etiologies that affect the small arteries, arterioles, venules, and capillaries of the brain. The onset of cerebral small vessel disease can be insidious. It has various symptoms, some of which can attack acutely. Acute cerebral small vessel disease is characterized by lacunar stroke and brain parenchymal hemorrhage. The latter mainly includes hypertensive hemorrhage and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. This article summarizes the research advances of acute cerebral small vessel disease from the aspects of pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, neuroimaging features, and treatment methods, discussing characteristics and clinical challenges.