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Cortical Thickness Estimation In Individuals With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Focal Atrophy, And Chronic Stroke Lesions, Miracle Ozzoude, Joel Ramirez, Pradeep Reddy Raamana, Melissa F. Holmes, Kirstin Walker, Christopher J.M. Scott, Fuqiang Gao, Maged Goubran, Donna Kwan, Maria C. Tartaglia, Derek Beaton, Gustavo Saposnik, Ayman Hassan, Jane Lawrence-Dewar, Dariush Dowlatshahi, Stephen C. Strother, Sean Symons, Robert Bartha, Richard H. Swartz, Sandra E. Black

Medical Biophysics Publications

Background: Regional changes to cortical thickness in individuals with neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) can be estimated using specialized neuroimaging software. However, the presence of cerebral small vessel disease, focal atrophy, and cortico-subcortical stroke lesions, pose significant challenges that increase the likelihood of misclassification errors and segmentation failures. Purpose: The main goal of this study was to examine a correction procedure developed for enhancing FreeSurfer’s (FS’s) cortical thickness estimation tool, particularly when applied to the most challenging MRI obtained from participants with chronic stroke and CVD, with varying degrees of neurovascular lesions and brain atrophy. Methods: In 155 CVD participants …

Call To Action: Sars-Cov-2 And Cerebrovascular Disorders (Cascade), Shahram Abootalebi, Benjamin M. Aertker, Mohammad Sobhan Andalibi, Negar Asdaghi, Ozlem Aykac, M. Reza Azarpazhooh, M. Cecilia Bahit, Kristian Barlinn, Hamidon Basri, Reza Bavarsad Shahripour, Anna Bersano, Jose Biller, Afshin Borhani-Haghighi, Robert D. Brown, Bruce Cv Campbell, Salvador Cruz-Flores, Deidre Anne De Silva, Mario Di Napoli, Afshin A. Divani, Randall C. Edgell, Johanna T. Fifi, Abdoreza Ghoreishi, Teruyuki Hirano, Keun Sik Hong, Chung Y. Hsu, Josephine F. Huang, Manabu Inoue, Amanda L. Jagolino, Moira Kapral, Hoo Fan Kee, Zafer Keser, Rakesh Khatri

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Background and purpose: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), now named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may change the risk of stroke through an enhanced systemic inflammatory response, hypercoagulable state, and endothelial damage in the cerebrovascular system. Moreover, due to the current pandemic, some countries have prioritized health resources towards COVID-19 management, making it more challenging to appropriately care for other potentially disabling and fatal diseases such as stroke. The aim of this study is to identify and describe changes in stroke epidemiological trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is an international, multicenter, hospital-based …

Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative (Ondri): Structural Mri Methods And Outcome Measures, Joel Ramirez, Melissa F. Holmes, Christopher J.M. Scott, Miracle Ozzoude, Miracle Ozzoude, Sabrina Adamo, Gregory M. Szilagyi, Maged Goubran, Fuqiang Gao, Stephen R. Arnott, Jane M. Lawrence-Dewar, Jane M. Lawrence-Dewar, Derek Beaton, Stephen C. Strother, Douglas P. Munoz, Mario Masellis, Richard H. Swartz, Robert Bartha, Sean P. Symons, Sandra E. Black, Michael Strong, Peter Kleinstiver, Natalie Rashkovan, Susan Bronskill, Sandra E. Black, Michael Borrie, Elizabeth Finger, Corinne Fischer, Andrew Frank, Morris Freedman, Sanjeev Kumar, Stephen Pasternak

Medical Biophysics Publications

The Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative (ONDRI) is a 3 years multi-site prospective cohort study that has acquired comprehensive multiple assessment platform data, including 3T structural MRI, from neurodegenerative patients with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and cerebrovascular disease. This heterogeneous cross-section of patients with complex neurodegenerative and neurovascular pathologies pose significant challenges for standard neuroimaging tools. To effectively quantify regional measures of normal and pathological brain tissue volumes, the ONDRI neuroimaging platform implemented a semi-automated MRI processing pipeline that was able to address many of the challenges resulting from this heterogeneity. The purpose …

In-Hospital Outcomes Following Left Atrial Appendage Closure, Shubrandu S. Sanjoy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) is a non-pharmacologic approach for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. The impact of comorbidity burden on adverse outcomes following LAAC is very important for clinical decision making. Cohort-based observational study was conducted to evaluate the association of comorbidity burden with in-hospital complications. Of 3294 participants (mean age was 75.7±8.2 years), 60% were male and 86% whites. The majority of participants undergoing LAAC presented with a significant number of comorbid conditions. The occurrence of in-hospital major adverse events (MAE) was 4.6%. Women and patients exhibiting higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.14, …

Sex Differences In The Effects Of Exercise On Cognition Post-Stroke: Secondary Analysis Of A Randomized Controlled Trial, Shereen Khattab, Janice J. Eng, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Julie Richardson, Joy Macdermid, Ada Tang

Bone and Joint Institute

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there are differences in exercise-associated changes in cognitive func-tion between males and females living with stroke. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from a prospective assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty participants (50-80 years, > 1 year post-stroke, able to walk ≥ 5 m). METHODS: Participants were allocated into a 6-month aerobic exercise programme (14 males, 11 females) or balance and flexibility programme (15 males, 10 females). Working memory (Verbal Digit Span Backwards Test), selective attention and conflict resolution (Stroop Colour-Word Test), and set shifting/cognitive flexibility (Trail-Making Test B) were assessed before and after the programmes. RESULTS: There …

Striatal Acetylcholine Helps To Preserve Functional Outcomes In A Mouse Model Of Stroke, Daniela F. Goncalves, Monica S. Guzman, Robert Gros, André R. Massensini, Robert Bartha, Vania F. Prado, Marco A.M. Prado

Medical Biophysics Publications

Acetylcholine (ACh) has been suggested to facilitate plasticity and improve functional recovery after different types of brain lesions. Interestingly, numerous studies have shown that striatal cholinergic interneurons are relatively resistant to acute ischemic insults, but whether ACh released by these neurons enhances functional recovery after stroke is unknown. We investigated the role of endogenous striatal ACh in stroke lesion volume and functional outcomes following middle cerebral artery occlusion to induce focal ischemia in striatum-selective vesicular acetylcholine transporter-deficient mice (stVAChT-KO). As transporter expression is almost completely eliminated in the striatum of stVAChT-KO mice, ACh release is nearly abolished in this area. …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Aquatic Therapy On Mobility, Balance, And Level Of Functional Independence In Stroke Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Alice Mary Iliescu, Amanda Mcintyre, Joshua C. Wiener, Jerome Iruthayarajah, Andrea Lee, Sarah Caughlin, Robert Teasell

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

OBJECTIVE: To meta-analyze and systematically review the effectiveness of aquatic therapy in improving mobility, balance, and functional independence after stroke.

DATA SOURCES: Articles published in Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus up to 20 August 2019.

STUDY SELECTION: Studies met the following inclusion criteria: (1) English, (2) adult stroke population, (3) randomized or non-randomized prospectively controlled trial (RCT or PCT, respectively) study design, (4) the experimental group received >1 session of aquatic therapy, and (5) included a clinical outcome measure of mobility, balance, or functional independence.

DATA EXTRACTION: Participant characteristics, treatment protocols, between-group outcomes, point measures, and measures of variability …