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Background: Anticoagulation therapy following cerebral vein thrombosis (CVT) can improve mortality and morbidity. Vitamin K antagonists are currently the routine oral anticoagulant used for CVT; while by introduction of rivaroxaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor, the attentions have been deviated toward novel agents, but the evidence is not strong. The current study is aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban versus warfarin for anticoagulation therapy of CVT. Methods: The current randomized clinical trial has been conducted on 50 patients with CVT among which, 25 ones were randomly allocated to rivaroxaban treatment (20 mg per day for three months) and remained 25 ones to warfarin treatment [adjusted based on international normalized ratio (INR) of 2-3]. The Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and clinical investigations, including the incidence of seizure, papilledema, intra/extra-cranial bleeding, blurred vision, headache, nausea and vomiting, and death were evaluated at discharge time and within 3 and 6 months following CVT incidence; eventually, two groups were compared. Results: Comparison of mRS scores between the groups revealed significant differences in none of the interval assessments, at the time of admission (P = 0.510), within three months (P = 0.630), and within six months (P = 0.990), while both of the approaches led to significant decrease in mRS scores following both of the treatments (P < 0.001). The comparison of drug-related adverse effects showed insignificant difference between warfarin versus rivaroxaban (P > 0.050). Conclusion: Based on this study, rivaroxaban is an efficacious agent for the treatment of CVT without remarkable adverse effects.

Background: Few studies have reported the association of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection. In this study, we reported GBS in six patients infected with COVID-19 and reviewed all existing literature about GBS in association with COVID-19. Methods: This study was performed in three referral centers of COVID-19 in Iran, and six patients with the diagnosis of GBS were enrolled. Patients enrolled in the study with acute progressive weakness according to the demyelinating or axonal variant of GBS, according to Uncini's criteria. Results: Four of our patients had axonal polyneuropathy, two patients had demyelinating polyneuropathy, and one patient required mechanical ventilation. All our patients had a favorable response to treatment. In one patient, the GBS symptoms recurred four months after the first episode. Conclusion: Limited case reports suggest a possible association between GBS and COVID-19. Such associations may be an incidental concurrence or a real cause-and-effect linkage; however, more patients with epidemiological studies are necessary to support a causal relationship.

Background:Patients who experienced transient ischemic attack (TIA) are at high-risk for cardiovascular events. This study aims to evaluate diagnostic value of carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and ABCD2 score for predicting cardiovascular events in long-term follow-up after TIA. We prospectively included sixty patients with TIA who admitted to hospital from March 2016 to August 2016.Methods:Duplex ultrasonography of internal carotid arteries was performed. ABCD2 scores were evaluated for each patient. At a median follow-up of 20 months, patients were asked about new cardiovascular events. We used IBM SPSS software version 22.0 with Chi-squared, t-test, ANOVA, receiver operating characteristic, and area under the curve (AUC) analysis for our work.Results:Sensitivity and negative predictive value of the combined score (ABCD2+CIMT) was the highest (96.3% and 90.9%, respectively), and the specificity and positive predictive value of the CIMT were the highest (57.5% and 63.1%, respectively) to predict cardiovascular events in long-term.Conclusion:Compared to ABCD2 score, CIMT proved to be more accurate to predict cardiovascular events in long-term follow-ups (AUC = 0.736 vs. AUC = 0.640). However, adding CIMT value to ABCD2 score was even better (AUC = 0.750). Therefore, CIMT measurement in the ABCD2 score after TIA enables prediction of long-term cardiovascular events.