This prospective contemporary series demonstrates a high rate of complete AVM obliteration and excellent functional outcomes in patients with both ruptured and unruptured AVMs treated with transvenous embolization. This approach is promising and warrants further investigation as a treatment for select AVMs.

The benefit of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel intracranial occlusions is directly related to the technical success of the procedures in achieving fast and complete reperfusion. While a precise definition of refractoriness is lacking in the literature, it may be considered when there is reperfusion failure, long procedural times, or high number of passes with the MT devices. Detailed knowledge about the causes for refractory MT in AIS is limited; however, it is most likely a multifaceted problem including factors related to the vascular anatomy and the underlying nature of the occlusive lesion amongst other factors. We aim to review the impact of several key unfavorable anatomical factors that may be encountered during endovascular AIS treatment and discuss potential bail-out strategies to these challenging situations.

BackgroundThe treatment of low grade Spetzler-Martin (SM) brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) has been debated in unruptured cases. Nevertheless, in clinical practice there are cases where treatment is preferred; in these cases a very low complication rate is mandatory. In ruptured cases, early and complete obliteration of the nidus is the preferred strategy.ObjectiveTo achieve curative embolization, ideally in a single session, by dual microcatheterization techniques with arterial and/or venous access, according to the angioarchitecture.Materials and methodsThis is a prospective, single-center study carried out between January 2008 and January 2016. Patients with ruptured and unruptured brain AVMs, with SM grades I and II, treated by endovascular means, were included. Demographics, clinical presentation, angioarchitecture, and procedure-related complications were analyzed. Angiographic and clinical results were reported.ResultsSeventy-three patients, aged 40.5±17.8 years, were included. More than 60% of the patients presented with ruptured AVMs. Initial SM grades were I for 22% and II for 78% of the patients. Preprocedural modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score was 0–2 for 53 (72.6%), 3 for 12 (16.4%), 4 for 5 (6.8%) and 5 for 3 (4.1%) patients. Procedure-related morbidity was 2.7% and procedure-related mortality was 0%. Ninety percent (90.5%) of the patients were independent in their everyday lives (mRS score 0–2) at 6 months. In all but one case (95%) the embolization was curative.ConclusionStand-alone endovascular treatment for SM grade I and II brain AVMs seems safe and effective, allowing for complete obliteration of the nidus, with low complication rates. A study of larger cohorts is needed.

Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA) is the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) within the first four and a half hours of symptom onset 1 , and five recent clinical trials demonstrated better clinical outcomes when mechanical thrombectomy with stentrievers were performed as an adjunctive treatment to IVT for patients presenting large vessel occlusions within the first six hours of symptom onset 2,3,4,5 . However, those trials lacked sufficient power to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients presenting carotid tandem occlusions. Carotid tandem occlusions are defined as both extra-cranial occlusion or stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and downstream intracranial vessel occlusion, which comprises a subgroup of patients that usually present poor recanalization rates under IVT and poor clinical outcomes 6 . Despite of the lack of clinical data from randomized trials on the best management course of acute carotid tandem occlusions, a combined recanalization strategy by means of carotid artery stenting and mechanical thrombectomy has recently shown promising results 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25 . We aimed to assess the clinical and radiological data of patients who underwent carotid artery stenting (CAS) and ABSTRACTMechanical thrombectomy as an adjunctive to intravenous thrombolysis is now the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel occlusions. However, the best management of acute carotid tandem occlusions (CTO) remains controversial. Method: Twenty patients underwent endovascular treatment of acute CTO. The primary endpoint was the composite rate of complete or partial recanalization without a symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). Secondary endpoints were recanalization times, procedure times, and clinical outcomes at three months. Results: The primary endpoint was reached in 17 (85%) patients. Recanalization rate was reached in 90% of patients (19/20) and sICH rate was 5% (1/20). At the 3-month follow-up we obtained a mRS ≤ 2 rate of 35% (7/20) and a mortality rate of 20% (4/20). Conclusion: Carotid angioplasty stenting and endovascular treatment of AIS due to CTO appears effective with an acceptable rate of sICH.Keywords: acute ischemic stroke, symptomatic carotid artery stenosis, carotid angioplasty stenting. ReSumoTrombectomia mecânica com stentrievers associada a trombólise endovenosa com rTPA é o tratamento padrão-ouro do acidente vascular cerebral isquêmico agudo (AVCi) devido à oclusões de grandes vasos. No entanto, a melhor estratégia terapêutica para oclusões carotídeas combinadas ainda permanece controversa. Método: Vinte paciente receberam tratamento endovascular. O desfecho primário foi a taxa de recanalização completa sem sangramento intracraniano sintomático. Os desfechos secundários foram os tempos de recanalização, duração dos procedimentos e desfechos clínicos em 3 meses. Resultados: O desfecho primário foi alcançado em 17 (85%) pacientes. A taxa de recanaliz...

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OBJECTIVE: To describe a series of endoleak cases and their respective classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors developed a retrospective study of endoleaks diagnosed at their institution in the period between 2005 and 2009. Twenty cases were included to illustrate the different types of endoleaks. RESULTS: Seventy percent of the patients were men, and the ages ranged from 43 to 91 years (mean, 76.3 years). Thirteen cases were observed in the infrarenal abdominal aorta, four in the thoracic aorta, two in the iliac artery, and one in the carotid territory. Ultrasonography was the method utilized for diagnosis in three cases, and computed tomography in the other 17 cases. 5. Professor Doctor, Division of Radiology, Coordinator of the or heart wall, that is larger than 50% of the presumed normal diameter (1) . Among aortic aneurysms, 90 % to 95% are located in the abdominal aorta below the renal arteries bifurcation (2) .The prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysms increases with age, affecting approximately 6% of individuals after 65 years of age (3) . The mean age at diagnosis is between 65 and 75 years, with male predominance (4) . Currently, its incidence is increasing as a consequence of the global population aging (5) .Chagas Neto FA, Barreto ARF, Reis HF, Bernardes JPG, Leitão JPC, Lucena AF, Muglia VF, Elias Junior J. The value of diagnostic imaging in the classification of endoleaks as a complication of endoluminal grafting of aortic aneurysms. Radiol Bras. 2010;43(5):289-294.

Introdução: Abscessos cerebrais são caracterizados por uma coleção de exsudato no parênquima encefálico capazes de acometer indivíduos de qualquer idade, raça e sexo. Atenção especial deve ser dada a esses casos, pois sua apresentação clínica pode simular outros agravos, tornando importante ampliar o raciocínio para diversos diagnósticos diferenciais. O presente estudo visa o relato de caso de uma paciente admitida na Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Sobral com quadro sugestivo de cefaléia secundária. Material e Métodos: MEMA, 22 anos, universitária, evoluiu em 11 dias com cefaléia unilateral em região frontal esquerda e pulsátil. Essa cefaléia tinha caráter habitual, apresentava intensidade progressiva, associava-se a náuseas, melhorava com repouso e analgésicos, não havendo relato de fator desencadeante. Resultados: O exame neurológico evidenciou alteração no estado mental, com déficit de memória imediata e recente, compreensão e nomeação; além de desorientação temporo-espacial. Observou-se na Tomografia Computadorizada de Crânio (TCC) uma imagem hipodensa temporal esquerda, com halo hiperdenso de reforço após administração de contraste. Conclusão: A mortalidade nos pacientes com abscesso cerebral pode variar entre 10-40%, sendo bastante influenciada pelo estado clínico dos pacientes na admissão. Os sinais de alerta da cefaléia, também conhecidos como red flags, são de alto valor preditivo para agravos secundários cerebrais e devem ser considerados pelos profissionais de saúde que atuam em serviço de pronto atendimento. A TCC é uma importante ferramenta de diagnóstico e de avaliação dos abscessos cerebrais, sendo sua precocidade de realização fator prognóstico decisivo para o paciente

Limbic encephalitis is a syndrome characterised by irritability, depression, sleeping disturbance, convulsion, hallucination and short-period memory loss that is commonly associated with a malignancy even if there is no evidence of it by the time of presentation. Most reported cases of limbic encephalitis as a paraneoplastic syndrome are associated with small-cell lung cancer and lymphoma. This article is a case report of a patient with limbic encephalitis associated with an oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The patient is a middle-aged man who presented apathy and unstable mood. After months, developed diplopia, reduced visual acuity and involuntary movements. Later, gait disability, disorientation, memory loss and aggressive behaviour were detected, associated with seizures. After investigation, limbic encephalitis was diagnosed and, as the patient developed dysphagia, oesophageal adenocarcinoma was detected. Oesophageal carcinoma usually does not have neurological symptoms associated.