To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: ESC: Researchers Make Advances in Aetiological Determination of Ischaemic Stroke in Young Patients URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/2158C6.htm Doctor's Guide June 3, 2002
By Bruce Sylvester Special to DG News GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -- June 3, 2002 -- Using diagnostic techniques and information such as age, preceding headache, transient neurological deficits and infarct topography, diagnosticians can now better determine the underlying causes of ischaemic stroke in the majority of young patients. Researchers from Hong Kong reported findings from a study looking at clinical and diagnostic data on ischaemic stroke here Saturday at the European Stroke Conference. "Most previous studies of young patients with ischaemic stroke were collected before the era of advanced diagnostic investigations, [and have not] reported clinico-etiological correlations which could guide the investigative process," the authors stated. "We report our experience of the impact of modern noninvasive techniques on the diagnostic evaluation of young patients with ischaemic stroke and the association of clinical features and stroke etiology." The investigators analyzed retrospectively clinical and diagnostic data for 41 ischaemic stroke patients aged 45 years or younger. They classified the causes of the stroke as "probable" or "possible" using a predetermined classification system corresponding to presenting clinical and radiological information. They were able to identify a probable cause of ischaemic stroke in 28 subjects (69 percent) and were unable to identify clear probable or possible causes in seven subjects (17 percent). For the 28 subjects with identifiable probable causes of ischaemic stroke, the etiological distribution was as follows: non-atherosclerotic arteriopathy (32 percent); hematological (21 percent); cardiac embolism (18 percent); lacunar disease (11 percent); atherosclerotic arteriopathy (seven percent); illicit drug related (four percent); and other (seven percent). The data also indicated that the subjects with atherosclerotic arteriopathy and lacunar stroke were significantly older than other patients (p<0.05). The investigators noted that they found a probable cause of non-atherosclerotic arteriopathy in 54 percent of patients with a preceding headache and in seven percent without a preceding headache (p<0.01). They also found a probable hematological cause for ischaemic stroke in 50 percent of the subjects who had shown preceding transient neurological deficit, and in nine percent without such a deficit (p<0.05). "The most important implication here is that by using more advanced diagnostic tools to discipline our thinking, we can often get at a likely cause of the stroke -- and thus provide more appropriate treatments," said lead investigator W.C. Fong, MD, research neurologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. "The problem with diagnosing ischaemic stroke in younger patients is that we have so many potential causes. We need to try to narrow down the possibilities quickly and get on with doing the best we can to help these young patients reach a maximum recovery," he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.