BACKGROUND The association of mortality and poor outcome with reduced levels of hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) in patients admitted for ischemic stroke was recently demonstrated. The mechanisms behind this have remained unclear. AIMS Here, we aimed to investigate a putative association between low Hb and Hct levels and infarct growth. METHODS All consecutive patients who received intr...

Method Male Wistar rats (300 ± 50g) were anesthetized and, after left thoracotomy, MI was induced by ligation of left anterior descending (LAD) coronary. Sham rats were submitted only to thoracotomy. One week thereafter, MI rats were randomly submitted to left (LS) or bilateral (BS) sympathectomy by chemical ablation of stellate ganglion. Eight weeks after LAD ligation, the ventricular function...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Rapid occlusion of the middle cerebral artery above the rhinal fissure produces a large ischemic infarct in hypertensive rats, but this occlusion results in a minimal lesion in young normotensive rats. Our purpose was to attenuate rising blood pressure in young stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats with hydralazine before the occlusion to determine if the gross inf...

Objective(s) Dracocephalum moldavica (D. moldavica) have been traditionally used as a cardiotonic agent in the folk medicine of some regions of Iran. In the present study, effects of total extract of D. moldavica on ischemia/reperfusion induced arrhythmias and infarct size investigated in isolated rat heart. Materials and Methods The isolated hearts were mounted on a Langendorff apparatus th...

BACKGROUND Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a common neurological event that causes varying degrees of disability. AIS outcome varies considerably, from complete recovery to complete loss of tissue and function. This diversity is partly explained by the compensatory ability of the collateral circulation and the ensuing cerebral flow grade. The collateral flow to the anterior circulation largely s...

We sought to determine whether expression of the inducible, calcium-independent isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) contributes to the tissue damage produced by focal cerebral ischemia. The middle cerebral artery was occluded in halothane-anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive rats. Twenty-four hours later rats received intraperitoneal injections of the iNOS inhibitor aminoguanidine (100 m...

Background: The death of neurons and cerebral edema are the main consequences of stroke. However, inflammatory processes play a key role in aggravating cerebral damage following stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Viola odorant extract (VOE) on infarct volume (IV), neurologic deficits (ND), and expression of NF-κB and VCAM-1 in the MCAO model. Method: The animals we...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Multiparametric imaging is meant to identify nonreversible lesions and predict on admission the minimum final infarct volume, a strong predictor of outcome. We aimed to confirm this hypothesis and define the maximal admission lesion volume compatible with favorable outcome (MALCOM). METHODS We studied patients with internal carotid artery/middle cerebral artery occlusio...