Opportunities to restore neurological function in stroke

Argye E Hillis

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0708 | Full Text | PDF (98K)

Does surgery have a role in the management of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis? Yes, but...

Vincent Thijs

The question of whether carotid endarterectomy should be performed on patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis is one of the big medical controversies of our time. Uncertainty over surgical benefits hasn't stopped people from operating, however, with surgery rates soaring in some countries. Vincent Thijs reminds clinicians of the open questions in the field and calls for a more selective and cautious approach to surgery.

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0681 | Full Text | PDF (127K)

Asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis—it's time to stop operating

Anne Abbott

Despite decades of debate, no consensus has been reached on the role of carotid endarterectomy in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Anne Abbott argues that the time for deliberation is over. In this Viewpoint, she makes a case for the suspension of surgery in favor of medical interventions.

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0682 | Full Text | PDF (126K)

Research supports establishment of specialized TIA clinics

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0666 | Full Text | PDF (72K)

Capsaicin facilitates pain-specific local anesthesia

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0668 | Full Text | PDF (72K)

QoL is lower in female survivors of stroke even after adjustment for prognostic factors

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0669 | Full Text | PDF (77K)

Blood plasma biomarkers could predict Alzheimer's disease

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0671 | Full Text | PDF (70K)

Early exposure to mercury-containing vaccines has no consistent effect on neuropsychology

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0672 | Full Text | PDF (76K)

Neurosonography—a useful bedside tool for strokologists

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0670 | Full Text | PDF (71K)

Altered epigenetic mechanisms related to GABA synthesis identified in schizophrenic brains

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0674 | Full Text | PDF (76K)

Delaying viral neuroinvasion reduces lethality of West Nile virus

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0673 | Full Text | PDF (69K)

Brain metabolic patterns correlate with symptom onset in preclinical HD

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0675 | Full Text | PDF (69K)

Antibiotic improves outcome following acute stroke

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0667 | Full Text | PDF (71K)

Spinal cord stimulation for pain relief in pediatric complex regional pain syndrome type I

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0676 | Full Text | PDF (71K)

Robot-assisted gait training shows promise in patients with MS

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0677 | Full Text | PDF (76K)

Glutamatergic synapses undergo remodeling during AD progression

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0678 | Full Text | PDF (68K)

Cardiovascular assessment of patients with ischemic stroke or TIA—which test to order?

Marco R Di Tullio

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0637 | Full Text | PDF (126K)

Triaging patients with transient ischemic attack—what can we learn from diffusion-weighted imaging?

Shyam Prabhakaran

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0656 | Full Text | PDF (126K)

Outcome in childhood cerebral venous thrombosis—new insights

Rebecca Ichord

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0685 | Full Text | PDF (127K)

Is statin discontinuation an option in patients who have had a stroke?

James K Liao

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0687 | Full Text | PDF (127K)

Anticoagulants for intracranial artery dissection without subarachnoid hemorrhage—safe but not sound?

Rima M Dafer and José Biller

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0684 | Full Text | PDF (128K)

Stroke and the female brain

Cheryl D Bushnell

It is becoming increasingly clear that the female population carries a larger stroke burden than the male population, partly because of increased life expectancy, and partly because most deaths from stroke occur in women. In this article, Cheryl Bushnell reviews our current knowledge regarding sex-related differences in stroke characteristics and risk factors, including the influence of endogenous and exogenous estrogens. She also describes a new initiative designed to advance the study of stroke in women.

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0686 | Full Text | PDF (394K)

Dissections of brain-supplying arteries

Louis R Caplan

Arterial dissections are one of the most common forms of vascular lesion to affect the cervical carotid and vertebral arteries, second only to atherosclerosis. Arterial dissections are often caused by sudden or unusual stretching of arteries in the neck or head, and can occur as a complication of chiropractic and other neck manipulations. In this article, Louis Caplan reviews the underlying causes and clinical features of dissections of brain-supplying arteries and outlines the current recommendations for treatment of these lesions.

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0683 | Full Text | PDF (1,425K)

Drug Insight: translating evidence on statin therapy into clinical benefits

Nerses Sanossian and Bruce Ovbiagele

The role of statins in primary stroke prevention is well established, but, until recently, their benefits with regard to secondary prevention of vascular events in patients who had already experienced a stroke or transient ischemic attack were less certain. In this article, Sanossian and Ovbiagele review the findings of the Stroke Prevention through Aggressive Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial, which showed that an intensive statin regimen can protect against secondary stroke and other major vascular events. They also outline current guidelines for the use of statins in patients with stroke.

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0705 | Full Text | PDF (293K)

Lower-body parkinsonism: reconsidering the threshold for external lumbar drainage

Alberto J Espay, Raj K Narayan, Andrew P Duker, Edwin T Barrett Jr and Gabrielle de Courten-Myers

This Case Study describes a 80-year-old patient with lower-body parkinsonism who was diagnosed with vascular parkinsonism on the basis of clinical and neuroimaging findings, but whose gait and, to a lesser extent, cognitive impairments improved following external lumbar drainage. Postmortem neuropathology confirmed a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus.

doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0688 | Full Text | PDF (357K)