Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Causes Of Post Stroke Falls Along The Care Continuum: Implications For Improving Patient Safety, Mona Madady

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In Western countries stroke is responsible for 10-12% of all deaths. In 2000, strokes cost $3.6 billion for the Canadian healthcare system and lost productivity due to premature death and long-term disability. Falls are a frequent occurrence at all stages of post-stroke recovery and can have significant negative impacts. While information about the incidence and risk factors of falling among stroke survivors is available, considerably less is known about the specific factors contributing to falls and the circumstances surrounding these adverse events. The purpose of this project was to identify similarities between systemic factors of falls in stroke survivors across …

The Effect Of Selective Hypothermia On Stroke Volume, Thomas K. Mattingly

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hypothermia is a well-established neuroprotectant. Selective hypothermia to the ischemic area may eliminate side effects while improving induction time. We studied the effect of selective hypothermia on stroke volumes in adult domestic swine. Under general anesthesia, one MCA was occluded transcranially for 3 hours followed by 3 hours of reperfusion. In half the animals, hypothermia was induced during reperfusion via a dual-lumen balloon occlusion catheter placed in the carotid ipsilateral to the ischemic region. Following reperfusion, the animals were sacrificed. Brain MRI and histology were evaluated blinded to the intervention. In a series of animals, the mean temperature achieved was …

Improving Acute Stroke Management With Ct Perfusion Imaging: Approaches To Treatment Guidance And Brain Tissue Salvage, Christopher D. D'Esterre

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

CT Perfusion (CTP) provides measurement of perfusion at the capillary level which can be used to characterize tissue viability, and blood-brain-barrier (BBB) compromise. Using CTP, the goals of this research are to: 1) select patients that will benefit from acute stroke treatment, and 2) determine if pre-stroke neuroprotection reduces stroke severity.

Chapter two investigates the cerebral blood volume (CBV) parameter in a small acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patient set. Overestimation of the acute CBV defect is caused by incomplete wash-out of the CT contrast due to a shortened CTP acquisition time (“truncation artifact”).

In chapter three we examine the prognostic …