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Biomedical subjects

Jean-Martin Boulanger

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Martin Boulanger.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Cerebral microhemorrhages predict new disabling or fatal strokes in patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral microhemorrhages (MHs) are common among patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke and may predict both subsequent ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. METHODS: We prospectively studied patients with and without MHs presenting within 12 hours of their ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). A magnetic resonance (MR) scan was performed within 24 hours of symptom(s) onset. The primary outcome was disabling or fatal stroke at 18 months. RESULTS: An MR scan was done in 236 patients with acute ischemic stroke or TIA. Forty-five (19.1%) patients had an MH on a baseline MR scan. Patients with MHs were 2.8x (10.8% versus 4.0%; P=0.036) more likely to have a subsequent disabling or fatal stroke than patients without an MH. The risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage was not statistically significant among MH and non-MH patients (3.3% versus 0.8%; P=0.31). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of cerebral MH(s) in patients with acute ischemic stroke or TIA predicts recurrent disabling and fatal strokes. This risk is mainly assumed by recurrent ischemic strokes.

Age Factors↗

Triphasic waves versus nonconvulsive status epilepticus: EEG distinction.

BACKGROUND: Triphasic waves (TWs) and generalized nonconvulsive status epilepticus (GNCSE) share morphological features that may create diagnostic ambiguity. OBJECTIVE: To describe electroencephalographic differences between TWs and GNCSE. METHODS: We retrospectively compared the electroencephalograms (EEGs) of two groups of patients presenting with decreased level of consciousness; those with TWs associated with metabolic encephalopathy and those with GNCSE. We studied the following: demographics, etiology and EEG morphological features. All EEGs were classified blindly (TWs or GNCSE) by two expert EEGers. Agreement between experts and concordance with clinical diagnosis were measured. RESULTS: We analysed 87 EEGs (71 patients) with TWs and 27 EEGs (13 patients) with GNCSE. Agreement between experts and concordance with clinical diagnosis were excellent. When compared to TWs, epileptiform discharges associated with GNCSE had a higher frequency (mean=2.4Hz vs 1.8Hz) (p<0.001), a shorter duration of phase one (p=0.001), extra-spikes components (69% vs 0%) (p<0.001) and less generalized background slowing (15.1% vs 91.1%) (p<0.001). Amplitude predominance of phase two was common with TWs (40.8% vs 0%) (p=0.01). Lag of phase two was absent in all cases of GNCSE but present in 40.8% of patients with TWs. Noxious or auditory stimulation frequently increased the TWs (51%) while it had no effect on the epileptiform pattern (p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Certain EEG morphological criteria and the response to stimulation are very helpful in distinguishing TWs from GNCSE.

Acoustic Stimulation↗