Recent Trends in Neuro-endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke, Cerebral Aneurysms, Carotid Stenosis, and Brain Arteriovenous Malformations

The efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy with stent retrievers for emergent large vessel occlusion has been proved by randomized trials. Mechanical thrombectomy is increasingly being adopted in Japan since stent retrievers were first approved in 2014. An urgent clinical task is to offer structured systems of care to provide this treatment in a timely fashion to all patients with emergent large vessel occlusion. Treatment with flow-diverting stents is currently a preferred treatment option worldwide for large and giant unruptured aneurysms. Initial studies reported high rates of complete aneurysm occlusion, even in large and giant aneurysms, without delayed aneurysmal recanalization and/or growth. The Pipeline Embolic Device is a flow diverter recently approved in Japan for the treatment of large and giant wide-neck unruptured aneurysms in the internal carotid artery, from the petrous to superior hypophyseal segments. Carotid artery stenting is the preferred treatment approach for carotid stenosis in Japan, whereas it remains an alternative for carotid endarterectomy in Europe and the United States. Carotid artery stenting with embolic protection and plaque imaging is effective in achieving favorable outcomes. The design and conclusions of a randomized trial of unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (ARUBA) trial, which compared medical management alone and medical management with interventional therapy in patients with an unruptured arteriovenous brain malformation, are controversial. However, the annual bleeding rate (2.2%) of the medical management group obtained from this study is worthy of consideration when deciding treatment strategy.