American Heart Association

Monthly Archives: November 2020

ESO-WSO 2020: “Novel Imaging in Stroke”

Ammad Mahmood, MBChB
@AMahmoodNeuro

European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 Virtual Conference
November 7-9, 2020

This session covered a number of novel techniques used in stroke imaging with a number of distinguished speakers. Cutting-edge advances in pre-hospital imaging in the ambulance, imaging used in making decisions about reperfusion therapies, and diagnostic imaging used in aetiological classification were all discussed.

Pre-hospital imaging – Jeffrey Saver
Advantages of triage in the field of patients into ischemic (LVO and non-LVO) and hemorrhagic stroke enables routing to the most appropriate facility, minimizing delays to treatment access and the need for inter-hospital transfers. Quasi-imaging approaches involving innovative approaches such as radio frequency, infrared, or EEG ‘stroke helmets’ may help identify patients with LVO in the future. Ultrasound assessment of vessel patency in the field yielded 91% accuracy in identifying LVO in one study. Mobile stroke units with CT capability are already in use and allow CT, CTA, and possibly CTP in the field. Automated image processing software can aid in interpretation of CT results quickly. Future technologies may include mobile stroke units in helicopters or small aircraft, mobile neuro-intervention suites, and mobile MRI imaging. Prof. Saver presented some cases from the Los Angeles mobile stroke unit experience highlighting the optimization of patient management achieved through early triage. Lastly, he highlighted the ongoing BEST-MSU trial, which will evaluate the benefit of MSUs in stroke management in several cities in the United States.

By |November 23rd, 2020|clinical, Conference|Comments Off on ESO-WSO 2020: “Novel Imaging in Stroke”
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ESO-WSO 2020: “COVID-19 Related Stroke”

Ericka Samantha Teleg, MD

European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 Virtual Conference
November 7-9, 2020

Navigating through this time of a pandemic is challenging enough as we attempt to seek and learn knowledge to compensate for how COVID-19 changes our lives. The special part of the scientific session “COVID-19 Related Stroke,” held during the ESOC-WSO 2020 conference on November 9, was structured brilliantly, led off by Dr. Bernard Yan’s opening.

The session by Karl Shurr and Annie McCluskey of Australia was titled “Rehabilitation for Serious COVID: Physiotherapist as Patient.” Karl’s experiences with COVID teaches us that one can be resilient at this time. He informed us how he used his time in the hospital to motivate himself and hopefully will motivate others, as well. Goal-setting as a motivation is the key in this session. We always ponder on what we cannot do, but his valuable insight as he recovered was “find what the person can do.” Empowerment and kindness are key.

By |November 23rd, 2020|clinical, Conference|Comments Off on ESO-WSO 2020: “COVID-19 Related Stroke”
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ESO-WSO 2020: “Large Clinical Trials and Welcome”

Ammad Mahmood, MBChB
@AMahmoodNeuro

European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 Virtual Conference
November 7-9, 2020

Welcome
Profs. Jesse Dawson and Michael Brainin welcomed all the delegates to the virtual conference and a chance to bring stroke care back into focus after a difficult year focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. They spoke about the hard work that has gone into the rearrangement of this year’s conference into a virtual experience, and we thank them and their teams for their efforts in bringing the conference to us in these difficult times.

Fluoxetine after stroke
The first two presentations focused on the use of fluoxetine after stroke to assess any benefit in stroke rehabilitation and functional outcome. These trials came from an international collaboration of 3 trials focusing on this topic. First, Erik Lundstrom from Sweden presented the results of the EFFECTS trial. 1500 patients, at 35 Swedish centers, with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke in the last 2-15 days but no history of depression were randomized 1:1 to receive either fluoxetine or placebo. The primary outcome of modified Rankin scale at 6 months demonstrated a neutral result with odds ratio 0.94 (0.78-1.13) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes demonstrated a small decrease in depression after stroke but a small increase in rates of fractures. Next, Graeme Hankey from Australia presented the 12-month results from the AFFINITY trial, which had also shown neutral results when the main trial results for 6 months outcome were previously published. The 12-month outcomes also showed a neutral effect of fluoxetine in functional outcome showing there is no delayed benefit. A small reduction in the rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the fluoxetine group was seen in the AFFINITY trial, but not in the two other larger trials; therefore, this was felt to be a random effect. Overall, the results of the EFFECTS, AFFINITY, and FOCUS trials demonstrated that there is no benefit of fluoxetine after stroke in improving rehabilitation and functional outcome.

By |November 23rd, 2020|clinical, Conference|Comments Off on ESO-WSO 2020: “Large Clinical Trials and Welcome”
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Dual Antiplatelet Therapy: Shotgun or Aiming at Precision Targets?

Thomas Raphael Meinel, MD
@TotoMynell

Amarenco P, Denison H, Evans SR, Himmelmann A, James S, Knutsson M, Ladenvall P, Molina CA, Wang Y, Johnston SC, on behalf of the THALES Steering Committee and Investigators. Ticagrelor Added to Aspirin in Acute Nonsevere Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack of Atherosclerotic Origin. Stroke. 2020.

Short-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) has emerged as a powerful treatment option in patients with non-severe ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA.1 However, the efficacy of antithrombotic therapy might vary according to etiology of the ischemic event.2 Amarenco et al. aimed to investigate whether the efficacy and safety of DAPT with Aspirin plus Ticagrelor as compared to Aspirin differed in the subgroup of patients with minor stroke or TIA due to atherosclerotic vascular disease.

For this purpose, the authors conducted a substudy of the THALES trial including patients aged 40 years or older with non-severe non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke (NIHSS ≤5) or high-risk TIA (ABCD2-Score ≥6 or vascular stenosis ≥50% in the suspected vascular territory). Main exclusion criteria were atrial fibrillation, suspicion of cardioembolic cause, high bleeding risk and — importantly — planned carotid revascularization that required halting study medication within 3 days of randomization. or the main prespecified analysis, atherosclerotic ipsilateral stenosis was defined as presence of narrowing of the lumen of ≥30% ipsilateral to the ischemic event as assessed by CT- or MR-angiography or neurovascular ultrasound. The primary efficacy endpoint was time from randomization to the first subsequent event of stroke or death. The primary safety endpoint was occurrence of a severe bleeding event according to the GUSTO definition. 11,016 patients underwent randomization (roughly 50% representing a European and 40% Asian population).

By |November 17th, 2020|clinical, Conference, treatment|Comments Off on Dual Antiplatelet Therapy: Shotgun or Aiming at Precision Targets?
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Upregulation of ACE2 Expression and its Relationship to Increased Shear Stress: A Protective Mechanism Lost in Cardiovascular Disease

Ying Gue, PhD
@DrYXGue

Kaneko N, Satta S, Komuro Y, Muthukrishnan SD, Kakarla V, Guo L, An J, Elahi F, Kornblum HI, Liebeskind DS, et al. Flow-Mediated Susceptibility and Molecular Response of Cerebral Endothelia to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Stroke. 2020.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially announced the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The outbreak originated in China, and. as of now, has over 3 million cases with over 200,000 deaths as a result. The disease is attributed to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

As the SARS-CoV-2 enters the host cell by binding the spike (S) protein to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), there has been an increased interest in studying the effect of ACE2 and the virus. Observational studies have shown that conditions which result in reduced ACE2 tissue expression will have a more severe disease course, notably males, advanced age, and patients with hypertension. Apart from the respiratory sequalae associated with COVID-19 infection, severe disease is further complicated by thromboembolic phenomenon including stroke. However, the mechanism underlying cerebral endothelial and response to COVID-19 infection remains unclear.

In this article by Kaneko et al., utilizing ex vivo models of human brain endothelial tissues, the authors were able to establish firstly, expression of ACE2 by human brain endothelial cells is low; secondly, ACE2 expression is increased in the presence of shear stress which facilitates binding of S protein of SARS-COV-2 to ACE2; and lastly, the binding triggers unique genes in human endothelial cells which are up-regulated to combat the infection.

By |November 13th, 2020|basic sciences|Comments Off on Upregulation of ACE2 Expression and its Relationship to Increased Shear Stress: A Protective Mechanism Lost in Cardiovascular Disease
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Following Calcium Waves in Microglial Cells

Aurora Semerano, MD
@semerano_aurora

Liu L, Kearns KN, Eli I, Sharifi KA, Soldozy S, Carlson EW, Scott KW, Sluzewski MF, Acton ST, Stauderman KA, et al. Microglial Calcium Waves During the Hyperacute Phase of Ischemic Stroke. Stroke. 2020.

Microglia are the main resident immune cell population of the central nervous system and play a key role in brain development, homeostasis, and repair. During ischemic stroke, microglia are rapidly activated and are characterized by morphological, proliferative, and functional alterations. The role of microglia activation in ischemic stroke remains highly controversial in the preclinical setting and depends on multiple factors, including the experimental conditions and the phase of the disease. More recently, an additional role for microglial cells has been proposed, since they have been found to be implied in the occurrence, the sensing, and the response to cortical spreading depolarization (CSD).1 CSD is defined as a slowly propagating (2–5 mm/min) wave of rapid, near-complete depolarization of neurons and astrocytes followed by a period of electrical suppression of a distinct population of cortical neurons. CSD is considered as the biological substrate of migraine aura, but it has been shown to occur in other neurological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and traumatic brain injury.2 In other words, CSD consists in a deep perturbation of the ionic environment in the brain, which has been associated with excitotoxicity damage and vaso-occlusive phenomenons after brain injury.

By |November 13th, 2020|basic sciences|Comments Off on Following Calcium Waves in Microglial Cells
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ESO-WSO 2020: Stroke Imaging: Improved Decision-Making Through Machine Learning?

Tolga D. Dittrich, MD

European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 Virtual Conference
November 7-9, 2020

Scientific Session: “Artificial Intelligence in Stroke Imaging,” Sunday, November 8, 2020
Speakers: Susanne Wegener, Roland Wiest, Paul Bentley, Kim Mouridsen, Sook-Lei Liew
Chairs: Kim Mouridsen, Susanne Wegener

Machine learning (ML) methods as a component of artificial intelligence are a growing field in stroke imaging research. We are already familiar with such automated evaluation systems, such as ASPECT scoring or mismatch volume calculation. Nevertheless, clinicians are often confronted with a complex mixture of different clinical, laboratory, and radiological parameters that must be weighed against each other to make an individual therapeutic decision.

“Machine learning is a precise mathematical way in which we can do this in a reliable, objective manner,” said Paul Bentley, of Imperial College London. Unlike conventional image interpretation, an algorithm can evaluate radiological source data to derive applicable rules. ML approaches are particularly promising for objectifying imaging results and detecting subtle changes in the context of intricate radiological findings in acute ischemic stroke. However, to provide additional information, ML methods need a relatively large set of initial data. This limitation especially becomes relevant in the context of imaging-based prediction of stroke recovery and rehabilitation response, where imaging does not constitute a common clinical component, as Sook-Lei Liew from the University of Southern California emphasized in her lecture.

The potential of ML in both acute stroke and stroke rehabilitation imaging is broad. In the future, ML-based techniques, for example, in ischemic core imaging in the extended time window, could help us to identify better patients who could benefit from endovascular treatment.

By |November 9th, 2020|clinical, Conference|Comments Off on ESO-WSO 2020: Stroke Imaging: Improved Decision-Making Through Machine Learning?
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ESO-WSO 2020: “Young Stroke Physicians and Researchers: Research Design Workshops”

Tamaya Van Criekinge, PT
@tamayavc

European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 Virtual Conference
November 7-9, 2020

Professor Karin Klijn from the Radboud University Medical Center started the session by providing young researchers with key steps when planning a career as a clinical scientist. With a little help from John F. Kennedy, she used a very relevant quote multiple times: “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” This advice continued throughout all the steps as she emphasized that it is important for you, as a young researcher, to take the initiative to further your own career. “Things do not happen, things are made to happen,” you, as a researcher, need to take the first step and take responsibility, while maintaining your own standards when finding a mentor, a supportive environment, and training.

The importance of a mentor was clarified by Prof. Peter Sandercock from the University of Edinburgh, who defined a mentor as an experienced, high-regarded empathic person who guides a young researcher throughout his or her career. When seeking a supervisor, you should look for someone who is already performing independent research but has a genuine interest in your academic career, who you can trust and have a good personal relationship with. Avoid bad mentors who exploit you, steal your ideas, or claim authorship for your work. Try and plan consecutive meetings with your mentor where you not only discuss work but how you tackle problems and how to overcome the pitfalls and downsides of an academic career. Yes, we have all received rejection letters! Yes, we have all had our own ups and downs! No, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

By |November 9th, 2020|clinical, Conference|Comments Off on ESO-WSO 2020: “Young Stroke Physicians and Researchers: Research Design Workshops”
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ESO-WSO 2020: Three Rounds of Controversies in Stroke Thrombectomy

Aurora Semerano, MD
@semerano_aurora

European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 Virtual Conference
November 7-9, 2020

The Controversy sessions in the ESO-WSO 2020 Conference are intriguing live Q&A sessions focused on grey zones in real-world stroke care, with stroke experts defending their points of view and facing each other in interesting rounds of discussion. On the first day of this ESO-WSO 2020 Conference, the session addressed the following hot topics about endovascular thrombectomy.

Do We Need Perfusion Imaging to Guide MT In Extended Time Window?

YES: Götz Thomalla (Germany) presented the pros of using advanced perfusion imaging for patient eligibility to mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in the extended time window (>6h from onset). He invited us to remember that, first of all, we should rely on current evidence. According to the evidence, whereas perfusion techniques are not required in the early time window, the DAWN and DEFUSE III clinical trials firmly base on advanced imaging for patient selection in the late time window. As a consequence, also AHA/ASA guidelines, ESO consensus, and ESMINT guidelines recommend advanced imaging for patient eligibility. He also pointed out that we cannot reliably trust the ASPECTS score for estimating viable tissue. In addition, against the opinion that perfusion techniques are time-consuming and difficult to interpret, Prof. Thomalla reassured that just a few minutes are needed to perform reliable perfusion imaging and that simple parameters are required for map interpretation: Tmax> 6 seconds identifies penumbra and CBF<30% works for infarct core. This little extra time is well invested to effectively guide reperfusion treatments.

By |November 9th, 2020|clinical, Conference|Comments Off on ESO-WSO 2020: Three Rounds of Controversies in Stroke Thrombectomy
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Multimodal Stroke CT in the COVID-19 Era: More With Less

Elena Zapata-Arriaza, MD
@ElenaZaps

Esenwa C, Lee J-A, Nisar T, Shmukler A, Goldman I, Zampolin R, Hsu K, Labovitz D, Altschul D, Haramati LB. Utility of Apical Lung Assessment on Computed Tomography Angiography as a COVID-19 Screen in Acute Stroke. Stroke. 2020.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) management has changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chart flows and assessment protocols have evolved with the aim of redirecting stroke and COVID-19 patients to places prepared for their management. The use of thorax CT has been implemented in patients with ischemic stroke, to identify patients infected with SARS-Cov-2, regardless of respiratory symptoms.

At the beginning of 2020, it was difficult for a vascular neurologist to imagine how essential it is to perform an accurate thoracic imaging test in those patients with ischemic stroke. Although these measures have improved patient management circuits, they have also led to an increase in the time to revascularization treatments with the impact that this entails. Taking advantage of the CT angiography protocols performed in stroke codes, evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of apical lung exam to identify patients with COVID-19, has been the authors’ aim.

By |November 6th, 2020|clinical, diagnosis and imaging|Comments Off on Multimodal Stroke CT in the COVID-19 Era: More With Less
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