The latest medical research on Interventional Cardiology

This study comprised a post hoc analysis of the Antiplatelet Therapy in Acute Mild to Moderate Ischemic Stroke (ATAMIS) trial aiming to determine whether the effect of dual antiplatelet therapy compared with that of monotherapy on preventing early neurological deterioration (END) differed according to the time from stroke onset to antiplatelet therapy (OTT).

In the ATAMIS trial, patients were divided into two subgroups: OTT from 0 to 24 hours (0-24 h group) and OTT from 24 to 48 hours (24-48 h group). We conducted multivariate regression analysis with continuous and categorical OTT to detect the effect of antiplatelet therapy. The primary outcome was END at 7 days, defined as an increase in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of more than two points compared with the baseline. The safety outcomes were bleeding events and intracranial hemorrhage within 90 days.

A total of 2,915 patients were included. With respect to END at 7 days, clopidogrel plus aspirin showed a lower proportion than aspirin alone across continuous OTT (4.8% vs. 6.7%; adjusted risk difference, -1.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -3.6% to -0.2%; P=0.03), and was lower in the 0-24 hours group (5.7% vs. 9.2%; adjusted risk difference, -3.7%; 95% CI, -5.5% to -2.0%; P<0.01), but similar in the 24-48 hours group (3.5% vs. 2.9%; adjusted risk difference, 0.6%; 95% CI, -0.8% to 2.0%; P=0.40). We identified a significant interaction between the treatment effect and time subgroup with respect to the primary outcome (P=0.03). The occurrence of bleeding events and intracranial hemorrhage was similar in the time subgroup.

For patients with acute mild-to-moderate ischemic stroke, clopidogrel plus aspirin was associated with a lower risk of END at 7 days than aspirin alone when it was started within 24 hours of symptom onset.

Cold beverage intake (carbonated drinks, fruit juice/drinks, and water) may be important population-level exposures relevant to stroke risk and prevention. We sought to explore the association between intake of these beverages and stroke.

INTERSTROKE is an international matched case-control study of first stroke. Participants reported beverage intake using food frequency questionnaires or were asked "How many cups do you drink each day of water?" Multivariable conditional logistic regression estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations with stroke.

We include 13,462 cases and 13,488 controls; mean age was 61.7±13.4 years and 59.6% (n=16,010) were male. After multivariable adjustment, carbonated beverages were linearly associated with ischemic stroke (OR 2.39 [95% CI 1.64-3.49]); only consumption once/day was associated with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) (OR 1.58 [95% CI 1.23-2.03]). There was no association between fruit juice/drinks and ischemic stroke, but increased odds of ICH for once/day (OR 1.37 [95% CI 1.08-1.75)] or twice/day (OR 3.18 [95% CI 1.69-5.97]). High water intake (>7 cups/day) was associated ischemic stroke (OR 0.82 [95% CI 0.68-0.99]) but not ICH. Associations differed by Eugeographical region-increased odds for carbonated beverages in some regions only; opposing directions of association of fruit juices/drinks with stroke in selected regions. Conclusion Carbonated beverages were associated with increased odds of ischemic stroke and ICH, fruit juice/drinks were associated with increased odds of ICH, and high water consumption was associated with reduced odds of ischemic stroke, with important regional differences. Our findings suggest optimizing water intake, minimizing fruit juice/drinks, and avoiding carbonated beverages.

Possible differences in the prevalence of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in East-Asian compared to Western populations have received little attention, and results so far have been ambiguous. Our aim is to compare the prevalence of CAA neuropathology and magnetic resonance imaging markers of CAA in East-Asian and Western cohorts reflecting the general population, cognitively normal elderly, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and patients with (lobar) intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

We performed a systematic literature search in PubMed and Embase for original research papers on the prevalence of CAA and imaging markers of CAA published up until February 17th 2022. Records were screened by two independent reviewers. Pooled estimates were determined using random-effects models. We compared studies from Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea (East-Asian cohorts) to studies from Europe or North America (Western cohorts) by meta-regression models.

We identified 12,257 unique records, and we included 143 studies on Western study populations and 53 studies on East-Asian study populations. Prevalence of CAA neuropathology did not differ between East-Asian and Western cohorts in any of the investigated patient domains. The prevalence of strictly lobar microbleeds was lower in East-Asian cohorts of population-based individuals (5.6% vs. 11.4%, P=0.020), cognitively normal elderly (2.6% vs. 11.4%, P=0.001), and patients with ICH (10.2% vs. 24.6%, P<0.0001). However, age was in general lower in the East-Asian cohorts.

The prevalence of CAA neuropathology in the general population, cognitively normal elderly, patients with AD, and patients with (lobar) ICH is similar in East-Asian and Western countries. In East-Asian cohorts reflecting the general population, cognitively normal elderly, and patients with ICH, strictly lobar microbleeds were less prevalent, likely due to their younger age. Consideration of potential presence of CAA is warranted in decisions regarding antithrombotic treatment and potential new anti-amyloid-β immunotherapy as treatment for AD in East-Asian and Western countries alike.