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M L Sacchetti

Publications and source records attributed to M L Sacchetti.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Does hyperglycaemia play a role on the outcome of acute ischaemic stroke patients?

A consecutive series of 327 patients (188 males, 139 females; mean age 68.4, SEM 1.33) were hospitalized within 12 h of the onset of their first-ever hemispheric infarct. Three groups of patients were identified: diabetics (n = 70), non-diabetic hyperglycaemics (n = 93) and normoglycaemics (n = 164). Case-fatality ratios at 30 days after stroke were 38.6%, 22.6% and 9.2% (P less than 0.001) respectively, whereas the causes of death and functional outcome of survivors were not significantly different between the groups. Mean admission serum glucose levels (SGLs) of decreased, impaired/unchanged and improved patients within each one of the three groups, were also not significantly different as opposed to their mean Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS) scores at entry (P less than 0.01). Among patients with less severe initial neurological deficit (i.e., CNS score greater than or equal to 7.0), 82.6% of non-diabetic hyperglycaemic subjects fared well, in comparison with 56.5% of diabetic and 70.1% of normoglycaemic individuals. The size of the infarcted areas at the second CT correlated with mean CNS scores (P less than 0.01) but not with mean SGLs on admission. The site of the ischaemic areas did not correlate with mean SGLs at entry. Therefore the influence of initial SGLs on the clinical course of the present series of patients is questionable or, alternatively, varied probably according to the pattern of residual cerebral blood flow after arterial occlusion.

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PubMed1992

Sleep patterns in acute ischemic stroke.

We studied polysomnographic recordings using an Oxford Medilog 9000 System in 18 patients with ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory. All patients underwent neurologic examination and brain CT scan within 5 h after the onset of symptoms. Polysomnographic recordings were started immediately thereafter and went on for three nights. Clinical and polysomnographic follow-up were performed 3 weeks after admission. The number and duration of REM phases were significantly reduced in the acute phase. This reduction correlated with the severity of neurological deficit at outcome and with the anatomical site of the lesion on CT scan. Our data provide evidence that polysomnographic recording is useful to detect symptoms of patients with different clinical outcomes during the acute phase of ischemic stroke.

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PubMed1991

Transcranial Doppler in acute hemispheric brain infarction.

We studied cerebrovascular anatomy using intra-arterial digital angiography, and blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) using transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography in 42 patients with acute hemispheric ischemic brain infarction. We compared angiography with TCD and the clinical findings within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms. The location and extent of the chronic ischemic brain damage was assessed by CT performed 1 to 3 months after the ictus. Abnormal TCD, as manifested by either an unobtainable MCA flow signal or a significantly depressed MCA flow velocity, was highly associated with proximal MCA occlusions demonstrated by angiography. Abnormal TCD predicted both larger chronic CT lesions and more extensive ischemic change within the MCA territory. These data demonstrate that early TCD conveys useful information concerning cerebral tissue prognosis following hemispheric ischemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Circadian variation in the onset of acute cerebral ischemia: ethiopathogenetic correlates in 80 patients given angiography.

In a continuous series of 80 acute ischemic hemispheric strokes, the onset of symptoms was between 6:01 a.m. and noon in 45% of cases, between noon and 6:00 p.m. in 22.5%, between 6:01 p.m. and midnight in 31.25%, and between midnight and 6:00 a.m. in 1.25% (p less than 0.0001). By means of angiography and computerized tomography, and by detection of arterial and cardiac sources of emboli, four stroke subtypes were identified. Embolic and thrombotic strokes had their most frequent onset between 6:01 a.m. and noon (45% and 71%, respectively), whereas strokes of unknown origin and lacunar strokes were randomly distributed between 6:01 p.m. and midnight. The morning activation of the catecholaminergic system can account for this pattern of circadian onset of ischemic stroke.

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PubMed1991

Update on calcium antagonists in cerebrovascular diseases.

Clinical management of patients affected by subarachnoid hemorrhage has been modified by the use of nimodipine. Although no differences in overall neurologic outcome and rates of symptomatic spasm have been observed between nimodipine and control patients, severity of permanent neurologic deficits consequent to cerebral vasospasm is reduced in the former. On the other hand, clinical trials with nimodipine in ischemic stroke did not substantiate the expected neurologic benefits. A meta-analysis of the two phase IV studies published thus far shows that of 350 patients examined, mortality rate was 11.5% and 19% in subjects given nimodipine and placebo, respectively (n.s.). Cerebral death accounted for 30% of cases in both groups, whereas a lower percentage of cardiac and pulmonary fatal events were observed among nimodipine-treated subjects. Moreover, neurologic outcome of survivors was not significantly different. These results may be associated with the notion that the voltage-operated channel blockade exerted by calcium antagonists is only a part of the complex events leading to the enhancement of calcium ion intracellular concentration as a "common final pathway." However, difficulties encountered in planning clinical trials in acute ischemic stroke also might explain the lack of conclusive results. The feasibility of randomization of an adequate sample of patients and of very early therapeutic intervention after stroke onset are discussed.

Brain Ischemia↗
PubMed1990

Circadian variation in the frequency of ischemic stroke.

The frequency of myocardial infarction and sudden death is increased between 6 AM and noon. To determine whether the same is true for the onset of ischemic stroke, we studied 426 consecutive patients within 12 hours after the onset of their first hemispheric stroke. The frequency of onset of hemispheric stroke was significantly (p = 0.0001) higher from 6:01 AM to noon (56.1%) than from 12:01 PM to 6 PM (20.2%), from 6:01 PM to midnight (8.2%), and from 12:01 AM to 6 AM (15.5%). The identification of periods of high risk for vascular events may have important therapeutic implications, such as matching drug effects with vulnerability.

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PubMed1989

Clinical and instrumental evaluation of patients with ischemic stroke within the first six hours.

The development of fibrinolytic agents such as streptokinase and recombinant tissue type plasminogen activator (r-TPA) and other modalities of treatment in acute ischemic stroke, has raised the need for a more precise knowledge of the pathophysiology of the acute phases of ischemic stroke as it pertains to prediction of clinical outcome. In a prospective analysis, 80 patients were studied within less than 6 h from the onset of symptoms by means of a detailed protocol including clinical evaluation, cerebral computed tomography, digital angiography and ultrasound transcranial Doppler sonography. Early angiography revealed a complete arterial occlusion in 76% of cases, the majority of which were intracranial (66%). Seventy percent of the occlusions that were retested were removed within 1 week. Potential embolic sources were found in more than 80% of cases. Patients with documented intracranial occlusion and scarce or absent collateral filling at early angiography, had the worst clinical outcome (P less than 0.05), based on mortality data and the Canadian Neurological Scale. The 30-day mortality rate was 25%. Survival was significantly better (P less than 0.01) in patients with a Canadian Neurological Score on entry of greater than or equal to 6.5 than in patients with a less than 6.5 value. Our data indicate that early pathophysiological studies augment the clinical information and should be taken into account in the design and analysis of therapeutic trials of acute ischemic stroke.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

GM1 ganglioside therapy in acute ischemic stroke. Italian Acute Stroke Study--Hemodilution + Drug.

Eleven of 31 clinical centers participating in the Italian Acute Stroke Study--Hemodilution carried out a preliminary study on the effectiveness of ganglioside GM1 in acute stroke; 502 patients were randomized to GM1 (GM1, n = 121), GM1 plus hemodilution (GM1 + H, n = 128), placebo (P, n = 130), or placebo plus hemodilution (P + H, n = 123) groups less than or equal to 12 hours after onset of a hemispheric cerebral infarct. The patients were treated for 15 days and were evaluated on Days 21 and 120 after the onset of stroke. Intention-to-treat analysis failed to show any differences in neurologic deficit, mortality, or neurologic disability among the groups. Efficacy analysis showed a significantly higher degree of neurologic improvement in GM1 group patients compared with patients in the P group during the first 15 days. GM1-treated patients (GM1 and GM1 + H groups) showed a significantly higher degree of neurologic improvement during the first 10 days compared with the placebo-treated patients (P and P + H groups). These differences were no longer statistically significant at Day 120. Our results provide a rationale for the planning of a larger, multicenter trial of GM1 ganglioside in acute stroke.

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