Cerebrovascular Disorders

MSU-ICH is a prospective, multicenter, Week-wise-randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint (PROBE) clinical trial comparing ultra-early prehospital blood pressure lowering delivered by a Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) with standard Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether a multicomponent nurse-led intervention (BEST CARE ICTUS\_HC) can reduce stroke-related complications and improve recovery in adults (18 years and older) hospitalized with an acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke in hospitals without specialized Stroke Units. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does the implementation of the program increase the early and correct detection of swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) to prevent pneumonia? 2. Does the program reduce the severity of attention problems (hemineglect) and improve the patients' quality of life up to 6 months after discharge? Researchers will compare patients receiving the BEST CARE ICTUS\_HC program to patients receiving usual hospital care to see if this new approach improves patient safety and long-term functional recovery. Participants will: * Receive either the usual hospital care for stroke or the BEST CARE ICTUS\_HC nursing program, depending on the study phase of the hospital. * Be screened for swallowing problems using a standardized test before receiving any food or drink. * Be cared for in an adapted environment (FLECHA Project) that uses visual signs and room organization to help with orientation and safety. * Have their temperature, blood sugar, and blood pressure monitored under a strict specialized protocol. * Be contacted by phone 30 days and 6 months after leaving the hospital to answer questions about their health and quality of life.

Multicentre, prospective, Multi-arm Multi-stage (MAMS) seamless phase 2b/3 interventional randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded parallel-assignment (2 arms with 1:1 randomization) efficacy and safety trial to test intra-arterial tenecteplase at the completion of thrombectomy versus best practice in participants with anterior circulation LVO receiving mechanical thrombectomy within 24 hours of symptoms onset.

This study aims to investigate whether a live stream video between the on-call neurologist and the emergency medical technicians can increase feasibility and performance of symptom-based prehospital stroke scales.

This pilot experimental study aims to describe the feasibility of a cognitive strategy training protocol : PRPP-I, in activities of daily life across home-based setting for adults with chronic stroke for improvement of independence and quality of life. Aditionnally to examine preliminary effectiveness of PRPP-I protocol within a home-based setting on functional cognitive strategies, independence, quality of life and career burden.

The purpose of this study is to understand more about why women who have had hypertensive pregnancies may be at increased risk of high blood pressure and why these women are often at increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease later in life.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and feasibility of using inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) in patients undergoing intra-arterial mechanical thrombectomy (blood clot extraction or IAMT) for treatment of acute ischemic (non-bleeding) stroke (AIS).

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) or severe stenosis poses a significant clinical challenge. Recent large randomized controlled trials, DISTAL and ESCAPE-MeVO, demonstrated no significant benefit of endovascular therapy in patients with MeVO. Although intra-arterial thrombolysis has shown promise in clinical experience, robust evidence supporting its efficacy in MeVO or severe stenosis-related AIS is still absent. To fill this gap, the RESCUE MeVO trial has been designed as a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point (PROBE) study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intra-arterial thrombolysis in patients with AIS caused by MeVO or severe stenosis.

Two groups of subjects will be constitute: (i) patients with circumscribed brain injury (including stroke, vascular malformations, tumor or circumscribed infectious lesions) or degenerative/developmental disorders and selective cognitive disorders; (ii) healthy control subjects. The objective of this project is to evaluate specific neuropsychological deficits and apply current brain imaging techniques (anatomical, diffusion, functional, magnetic stimulation) to patients suffering from these cognitive deficits due to brain damage, in order to elucidate the brain mechanisms underlying these deficits.

The specific study aims will be: 1. To design and develop the hardware and software of the VR+MT and MR+MT systems. 2. To test the feasibility of the VR+MT and MR+MT systems from the patients and to collect the feedback of users with respect to their experiences. 3. To examine the treatment effects of VR+MT and MR+MT compared to the traditional MT (i.e., control group) in patients with stroke by conducting a randomized controlled trial. 4. To identify who will be the possible good responders to VR+MT and MR+MT based on their baseline motor functions and mental imagery abilities.

This is a prospective open enrollment biorepository to collect and evaluate blood and tissue collected during cerebrovascular procedures, which will then be used for the purposes of identifying biological markers, inflammatory cell infiltrates, and biological states in stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases in the human condition. The study population will include up to 1000 subjects with cerebrovascular disease or suspected cerebrovascular disease. Male and female participants 18 years of age and older will be enrolled. This protocol covers the procurement of biological samples from patients undergoing any cerebrovascular surgery and/or neurointerventional clinical procedure at University of Kentucky. Control participants will include patients undergoing non-emergent, elective diagnostic cerebral angiography as well as patients undergoing emergent angiogram cases. This study represents the first time that tissue, clot and blood will be evaluated for the markers, proteins, and cytokines in human subjects undergoing cerebrovascular procedures. By starting with the human condition, the investigators aim to minimize this loss in translation. Overall, this study will have a great impact on our knowledge of stroke pathology. In essence, this could fundamentally change not only how the investigators develop treatment strategies for the stroke patient population but allow us to individualize the treatment dependent on time after stroke, age, sex, and co-morbidities. Molecular techniques that are impractical when delivered systemically could be delivered locally to impede the early inflammation. This research aims to advance understanding of cerebrovascular disease and to support the development of improved therapies.

Supernova and Neutron are endovascular mechanical revascularization devices indicated to restore blood flow by removing thrombus from a large intracranial vessel in patients experiencing an acute ischemic stroke within 24 hours of symptom onset or from last known well time.

This trial aims to examine the effects of enhanced mirror priming, overcoming the limitations of traditional mirror therapy, to achieve optimization and personalized intervention.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, affecting up to 10% of the elderly. Ischemic stroke is the main complication of AF and cardioembolism is one of the leading causes of ischemic stroke, accounting for approximately one third of cases. Oral anticoagulant therapy (OAC) is a cornerstone in stroke prevention in patients with AF. According to randomized controlled trials of direct oral anticoagulants, a residual risk of ischemic stroke of 1-2% per year for so-called "breakthrough stroke" remains, despite adequate intake of OAC. The majority (\>70%) of these breakthrough strokes are cardioembolic in nature and only a minority are related to medication issues (e.g. non-compliance) or other, non-AF related etiologies. Stroke recurrence risk after such a breakthrough stroke markedly increases to 8-9% per year indicating a particularly high-risk situation. Why OAC fails in certain patients, but not in others remains as poorly understood, as does the reason why the subsequent risk of stroke is so high. Current risk stratification tools, such as the widely used CHA2DS2-VA(Sc)-score, fail to predict stroke risk in such a high-risk cohort, as they were intended to guide the initiation of OAC in low to moderate risk patients. In light of new therapeutic strategies currently being investigated, such as percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with breakthrough strokes (ELAPSE - NCT05976685) or in AF-patients deemed high-risk (LAAOS IV - NCT05963698), improved risk stratification and characterization of high-risk AF patients is highly warranted. Several clinical factors, such as those reflected in the CHA2DS2-VA(Sc)-score, and especially a high AF-burden are associated with increased risk of cardioembolic stroke. Several cardiac serum biomarkers are thought to be surrogates not only of cardiac function, but also of cardioembolic risk. Reflecting ventricular and atrial wall tension, myocardial injury, oxidative stress and thrombogenicity, elevated NT-proBNP, MR-proANP, high-sensitive Troponin T and D-Dimers have all been associated with cardioembolic stroke in different AF and non-AF populations. As the main location of thrombus formation, the left atrium (LA) and more specifically its appendage (LAA) are of particular interest in the pathogenesis of cardioembolism. Pronounced LA-enlargement, compared to a normal-sized LA, correlates with an increased risk of cardioembolism in AF-patients. As over 80% of thrombi form within the LAA, several LAA-characteristics, such as slower LAA-flow velocity and larger LAA-orifice area have also been demonstrated to be associated with higher stroke risk. Although there is data on each one of these factors, they have only been investigated in low to moderate risk populations, such as AF-patients without prior stroke, OAC-naïve patients, or even within the general population as a whole. Their role in high-risk AF-patients and in breakthrough stroke is unknown. Hypothesis The investigators hypothesize that specific clinical factors, serum cardiac biomarkers and markers of LA- and LAA-morphology and function are associated with breakthrough stroke / OAC-failure and may improve risk stratification. Methods CARE-AF is a single-center, prospective cohort study conducted at the Stroke Center of the Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, Switzerland. Patients with an index ischemic stroke and AF (breakthrough and non-breakthrough cases) will be enrolled. The investigators will collect clinical data, serum cardiac biomarkers and echocardiographic indices of the LA and LAA. All patients will receive standardized annual follow-ups until the end of the study, defined as 12 months after the inclusion of the last participant. The primary endpoint is ischemic stroke or systemic embolism during follow-up. First, in a cross-sectional design, the study will assess the association between serum cardiac biomarkers and echocardiographic indices among patients with breakthrough vs. non-breakthrough stroke as index event, applying multivariate regression models. Second, the investigators will perform a longitudinal analysis assessing the association between the variables mentioned above and breakthrough stroke as index event with the primary endpoint, using multivariate Cox regression models. The study aims to enroll a minimum of 500 patients, which provides sufficient power to detect a clinically meaningful adjusted hazard ratio for recurrent stroke of 1.5 with 80% power at an alpha level of 5%. Conclusion The results of this project will enhance understanding of the role of specific clinical factors, cardiac serum biomarkers and echocardiographic indices in the residual risk of stroke in patients with AF on anticoagulation therapy. They may improve current risk stratification and have the potential to help guide therapeutic decisions in high-risk situations considering evolving therapeutic possibilities.

This study examines cardiovascular responses to a brief psychological challenge under laboratory conditions among adult volunteers. The study volunteers are asked to complete two study sessions. In one session, the volunteers are asked to provide demographic and health-related information via questionnaires and an interview. In that session, volunteers would then be asked to undergo evaluations of their body composition, blood pressure, heart rate, and other signs of cardiovascular function and health. Lastly, volunteers would be asked to take part in a brief and challenging psychological task after a period of rest while cardiovascular activity is measured. In the other session, volunteers are asked to undergo magnetic resonance imaging and to complete neuropsychological tests of memory, attention, and processing speed. In addition to these two sessions, volunteers are asked to complete online questionnaires. The study is designed to examine associations between transient changes in cardiovascular activity induced by the psychological task, measures of overall cardiovascular health, and measures of cerebrovascular health measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Study results are expected to provide new information about the relationships between cardiovascular activity changes to psychological challenges and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health in adults.

A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Dimephosphon® in acute ischemic stroke

This study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) following surgical clipping. Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a life-threatening condition that occurs when a cerebral aneurysm ruptures, causing bleeding into the subarachnoid space. Surgical clipping of the aneurysm is a standard procedure used to stop the bleeding and prevent re-rupture, thereby stabilizing the patient's condition. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a non-invasive treatment that involves using a blood pressure cuff to induce brief, temporary cycles of ischemia and reperfusion in a limb. Research suggests that this process may confer systemic protective effects, potentially improving recovery from brain injury or surgery. Although RIC has shown potential to improve outcomes in patients with other neurological conditions, its effect on patients with aSAH who undergo surgical clipping remains unclear. This study will evaluate whether RIC can reduce complications, improve neurological function, and enhance overall recovery in these patients. The findings will help determine whether RIC should be incorporated into the standard treatment regimen for aSAH.

The purpose of the study is to test the hypothesis of slowing the progression of White Matter Lesions (WML) by lowering blood pressure (BP) in patients with cognitive complaints and a moderate to high grade of WML on brain MRI.

The investigators recently identified Brain-derived tau (BD-tau) as a sensitive blood-based biomarker for brain injury in acute ischemic stroke: in patients with acute ischemic stroke, plasma BD-tau was associated with imaging-based metrics of brain injury upon admission, increased within the first 24 hours in correlation with infarct progression, and at 24 hours was superior to final infarct volume in predicting 90-day functional outcome. While informing on the relation of BD-tau with imaging-based metrics of brain injury, this cross-sectional study was restricted to BD-tau assessments upon admission and at day 2 and could not inform on key characteristics of the evolution of plasma BD-tau, including when exactly it starts to rise, how long it continues to rise, and how it is determined by infarct characteristics as well as comorbidities. Here, the investigators aim to assess plasma BD-tau every hour from admission to 48 hours after onset to evaluate the hypothesis that BD-tau rises immediately after onset and plateaus between three and 48 hours after onset.

Environmental pollutants have emerged as a major global health concern, with growing evidence linking exposure to both traditional contaminants such as heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic) and novel pollutants-including micro- and nanoplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), antibiotics, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals-to adverse neurological outcomes. These pollutants can cross or disrupt the blood-brain barrier, accumulate in neural tissue, and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, epigenetic modifications, and metabolic reprogramming. Brain tumours and cerebrovascular diseases represent two major categories of neurosurgical disorders with high morbidity and mortality. However, their interaction with environmental pollutant exposure remains poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that pollutant-induced molecular alterations, such as aberrant DNA methylation, lipid metabolism disruption, and neurovascular endothelial dysfunction, may contribute to tumour initiation, malignant progression, aneurysm formation, and stroke occurrence. Given the increasing human exposure to these pollutants and the lack of large-scale clinical data, it is urgent to establish a systematic investigation in neurosurgical patients. This study aims to profile pollutant exposure (heavy metals, PFAS, microplastics, and other novel contaminants) using multi-biospecimen analysis (blood, urine, hair, tumour and peri-tumour tissues), and to explore their mechanistic links to the pathogenesis of brain tumours and cerebrovascular diseases. The findings are expected to provide new evidence for understanding environment-brain interactions and to identify potential biomarkers for disease risk stratification and prevention.

The purpose of this clinical trial is to understand and evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Daphnetin Capsule in patients with vascular cognitive impairment. Changes in the Vascular Dementia Assessment Scale-cog(VADAS-cog) at 6 months were evaluated. Although Daphnetin has a dual neurovascular protective effect, however, there is still a lack of relevant high-quality studies on its role in patients with vascular cognitive impairment, especially in patients with vascular cognitive impairment in non-dementia (VCI-ND), whether it has a role in improving cognitive status needs to be urgently explored in high-quality clinical studies. Researchers are comparing Daphnetin to placebo (a drug-free analog) to see if Daphnetin is effective in treating vascular cognitive impairment. Participants will take either Daphnetin or placebo daily for six months, with follow-up visits every three months and completion of a case report form.

CAIS-MT is a single-center, prospective cohort study, to evaluate the correlation between outcomes of endovascular treatment(EVT) and intracranial artery calcification(IAC) in patients with acute ischemic stroke due to large or medium vessel occlusion.

The STOP ICH trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point (PROBE) study designed to assess the efficacy and safety of atorvastatin in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) presenting within 3 to 24 hours of symptom onset.

Several recent large-scale clinical trials aimed at improving subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH) outcomes have concluded with negative results, failing to enhance the prognosis for these patients. Consequently, there is an urgent demand for novel treatment strategies and approaches to address the challenges posed by SAH. Remote ischemic conditioning(RIC) has gained considerable attention in the treatment of stroke, particularly ischemic stroke, with numerous studies demonstrating its potential to enhance neurological outcomes compared to conventional treatments alone.RIC for the treatment of SAH is an investigative strategy in its initial stages. The neuroprotective effects of RIC, particularly its potential to preserve cranial nerve function and ameliorate neurological deficits, confer significant value in the treatment of SAH patients. The precise manner in which SAH patients may benefit from RIC treatment, and the mechanisms by which it improves neurological function, remain to be fully understood. Consequently, randomized controlled trials are necessary to validate the efficacy of RIC in this patient population and to delineate the optimal therapeutic protocols for its application. Based on the above discussion, this study aims to explore the efficacy and safety of RIC in the treatment of SAH.

This prospective observational cohort study aims to investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of head and neck arterial stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing or scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Using Doppler ultrasound as the primary screening tool, the study will assess the degree of stenosis and evaluate the impact of different combined treatment strategies on patient outcomes. The research will provide real-world evidence to optimize integrated care approaches for patients with comorbid cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.