Background: Most people with stroke in India have no access to organised

This is the largest series on decompressive craniectomy for CVT in literature to date. Decompressive craniotomy should be considered as a treatment option in large venous infarcts. Very good outcomes can be expected especially if done early and in those below 40 years.

Rationale After a cerebral vein thrombosis, there is an increased risk of further venous thromboembolic events. The optimal duration of anticoagulation after cerebral vein thrombosis is unknown. Aim To compare efficacy and safety of a policy of short- (3-6 months) versus long-term (12 months) anticoagulation (any type venous thromboembolic events) after cerebral vein thrombosis for the prevention of venous thromboembolic events. Sample size estimates A sample of 1428 patients (749 per arm) allows detecting a reduction from 10 to 5% in the risk of venous thromboembolic event recurrence with 80% power at 5% significance, with 3% dropout rate. Methods and design An international multicenter, prospective cluster-randomized trial with equal allocation between both interventions (ISRCTN25644448). Each cluster is a participating center, which accepted to be randomly allocated to one of the anticoagulation policies. Eligible patients are adults with radiologically confirmed cerebral vein thrombosis within 30 days, and stable to initiate post-acute anticoagulation. Patients judged by the investigator to be an absolute indication for permanent anticoagulation are excluded. Follow-up is at 6, 12 and 24 months. Study outcomes Primary efficacy outcome is any symptomatic and confirmed fatal/nonfatal venous thromboembolic event (recurrent-cerebral vein thrombosis or non-cerebral venous thromboembolic event). Primary safety outcomes include bleeding events during treatment periods and death from any cause. Discussion This study responds to a knowledge gap in the post-acute management of cerebral vein thrombosis patients by comparing short- versus long-term anticoagulation for the prevention of venous thromboembolic event recurrence.

Aims and objectives: To study the clinical and laboratory features of patients admitted with vitamin B 12 deficiency-related (B 12 def) neurological syndromes. Settings and Design: A hospital-based retrospective and prospective study conducted at a referral teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients admitted with vitamin B 12 deficiency-related neurological disorders during a three-year period from June 2000 to May 2003 were included. Data regarding clinical and laboratory features were obtained. Follow-up was done at least six months following treatment with parenteral vitamin B 12. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 63 patients (52 males) with a mean age of 46.2 years were studied. The mean duration of symptoms at presentation was 10.3 months. Myeloneuropathy (54%) was the commonest neurological manifestation, followed by myeloneuropathy with cognitive dysfunction (34%), and peripheral neuropathy (9%). Neuropsychiatric manifestations and dementia were observed in 38% and 19% of patients respectively. All the patients had megaloblastic changes in the bone marrow smear. Eleven (17.5%) patients had both hemoglobin and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) within the normal range. Follow-up after at least six months of therapy with parenteral B12 showed improvement in 54% patients. Conclusions: A high index of suspicion of B 12 def is required in patients presenting with myelopathy, cognitive decline, or neuropathy. A normal hemoglobin or MCV does not exclude B 12 def; therefore, other tests such as bone marrow smear and serum vitamin B 12 assay are essential, as the condition is often reversible with treatment.

Even though intravenous thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) is the standard of care in acute ischemic stroke, its use in pregnancy is not clearly defined. Mechanical thrombectomy devices can be an option; however, literature on the use of such mechanical devices in stroke in pregnancy is lacking. Here we describe two cases that developed acute embolic stroke during pregnancy who were successfully treated by mechanical clot retrieval using the Penumbra system 28 (Penumbra Inc., Alameda, California, USA). To the best of our knowledge, these are the only case reports on the use of the Penumbra device in pregnant patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Artery of Percheron infarcts should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with sudden alterations in consciousness. MRI should be the investigation of choice. An embolic etiology should be actively looked for.

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