Vertebral artery hypoplasia (VAH) is a frequent anatomical variation of vertebral arteries, with emerging evidence suggesting that it contributes to posterior circulation ischemia. However, the relationship between VAH and ischemic stroke remains unknown. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of VAH in patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke who were followed up in a neurology clinic and to determine if it can potentially be a risk factor for atherosclerotic stenosis in vertebrobasilar circulation. This retrospective study included 609 patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke between January 1, 2019 and January 1, 2020. Demographic of patients, risk factors, radiological and clinical characteristics were evaluated. Posterior circulation was very common in patients with VAH, and the most common locations of atherosclerotic stenosis were V1 and V4 segments of the vertebral artery and the middle segment of basilar artery. Analysis of the risk factors for atherosclerotic stenosis in patients with posterior circulation acute ischemic stroke suggested that VAH was an independent risk factor. Findings of the study suggest that VAH pre-disposes atherosclerotic stenosis in vertebrobasilar circulation, although its mechanism remains unknown. Hemodynamic parameters associated with atherosclerosis could not be measured in vivo. Thus, to better understand the underlying mechanism, conducting studies that examine blood flow parameters with high-resolution magnetic resonance angiography in patients diagnosed with acute cerebral ischemia patients with VAH is warranted.

Background and Purpose: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is one of the rare causes of cerebrovascular disease and has an extremely heterogeneous prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between early neurological deterioration, poor clinical outcome in CVST and the venous collateral score. Materials and Methods: A total of 121 patients diagnosed with CVST between 2010 and 2020 were retrospectively included. The demographic, clinical, and radiological findings related to venous sinus thrombosis and early neurological deterioration were investigated in relation to the clinical outcome. Results: The factors associated with early neurological deterioration were superior sagittal sinus thrombosis (P < 0.001), sinus rectus thrombosis (P = 0.031), parenchymal lesions (P < 0.001), and venous collateral score (P < 0.001). The factors associated with poor clinical outcome were superior sagittal sinus thrombosis (P < 0.001), cortical vein thrombosis (P < 0.001), venous collateral score (P < 0.001), and initial clinical symptoms. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed poor clinical outcome as a significant variable, with a venous collateral scale of 0 or 1 as a risk factor for a poor outcome (significance of the model P < 0.001). Conclusion: Early neurologic deterioration and poor clinical outcome may occur due to poor collateralization in CVST. Identifying the subgroup of CVST patients at risk of clinical deterioration is therefore important. This study highlights the clinical importance of venous collaterals; however, larger prospective multicenter studies are required to confirm the relationship with venous collaterals in patients with CVST.

Background Seizures after stroke can negatively affect the prognosis of ischemic stroke and cause a decrease in quality of life. The efficacy of intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment in acute ischemic stroke has been demonstrated in many studies, and IV rt-PA treatment has been increasingly used around the world. The SeLECT score is a useful score for the prediction of late seizures after stroke and includes the severity of stroke (Se), large artery atherosclerosis (L), early seizure (E), cortical involvement (C), and the territory of the middle cerebral artery (T). However, the specificity and sensitivity of the SeLECT score have not been studied in acute ischemic stroke patients that received IV rt-PA treatment.Objective In the present study, we aimed to validate and develop the SeLECT score in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving IV rt-PA treatment.Methods The present study included 157 patients who received IV thrombolytic treatment in our third-stage hospital. The 1-year seizure rates of the patients were detected. SeLECT scores were calculated.Results In our study, we found that the SeLECT score had low sensitivity but high specificity for predicting the likelihood of late seizure after stroke in patients administered IV rt-PA therapy. In addition to the SeLECT score, we found that the specificity and sensitivity were higher when we evaluated diabetes mellitus (DM) and leukoaraiosis.Conclusion We found that DM was an independent risk factor for late seizures after stroke in a patient group receiving thrombolytic therapy, and late seizures after stroke were less frequent in patients with leukoaraiosis.