小澤 忠嗣

BACKGROUND: Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are involved in acute ischemic stroke in mice models. This study aimed to clarify the dynamics and role of circulating MAIT cells in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: Patients with acute ischemic stroke were classified according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale into severe (score ≥ 10) and mild (score < 10) groups; outpatients with matched sex and age were selected as controls. Circulating MAIT cells, activation (CD69+), and cytokine production (IFN-γ [interferon-gamma] + and IL-17 [interleukin-17]+) on days 3, 10, and 17 after stroke, along with invariant natural killer T cells, gamma delta T cells, CD4+, and CD8+ T-cell populations, were analyzed by flow cytometry. The relationship between MAIT cell dynamics and clinical outcomes was examined. RESULTS: One hundred participants (30 severe, 40 mild, 30 controls) were included. On day 3, patients with severe stroke had a significantly lower proportion of MAIT cells than the mild group and controls (severe, mild, control [median]: 0.09%, 0.33%, 0.38%, respectively; P < 0.001), which gradually recovered on day 17. Severe stroke MAIT cells showed higher frequencies of CD69 expression and IL-17 production. Multivariate analysis showed patients in the lowest MAIT cell population quartile on day 3 had a significantly higher probability of poor outcomes at 3 months than those in the highest quartile (odds ratio, 21.64 [95% CI, 1.41-331.58]; P = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: An early decrease in MAIT cells with higher activity and proinflammatory cytokine production correlated with stroke severity and poor outcomes, suggesting a significant role of MAIT cells in acute cerebral infarction and unfavorable outcomes.

Hypertension (HT) is the most attributable and modifiable risk factor for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH). However, epidemiological data on blood pressure (BP) control before SICH and its relationship to patient lifestyles are lacking. This study prospectively enrolled patients with acute SICH from six stroke centers in Tochigi, Japan. BP control and patient lifestyles were investigated using a questionnaire conducted on patients and their families. A total of 365 patients were analyzed, 270 (74.0%) of whom had HT and 198 (54.2%) untreated HT. The prevalence of untreated HT was much higher in younger patients and decreased with age (79.0%, 71.8%, 62.2%, 44.8%, and 31.0% in those aged <50, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and ≥80 years, respectively). Patients with untreated HT were significantly less likely have a family doctor and attended fewer annual health checkups than did those with treated or no HT. Untreated HT with awareness was much higher in younger and middle-age men than in women, whereas untreated HT without awareness was much higher in younger women than in men. Among patients who received antihypertensives, the prevalence of well-controlled HT was also very low, especially in younger patients (20.0% and 23.5% in those aged <50, and 50-59 years, respectively). In-hospital mortality was much higher in younger patients (age <70 years) with untreated than with treated or no HT. Untreated and uncontrolled HT were highly detected and seemed to be important targets for the primary prevention of Japanese SICH. Different strategies to improve BP control are warranted for each generation and sex.

AIM: Studies investigating the relationship between pulse pressure (PP) and prognosis in acute ischemic stroke remain limited. Thus, in this study, we aim to determine whether changes in PP in the early phase of ischemic stroke are associated with neurological deterioration or stroke recurrence. METHODS: Patients who participated in the Acute Aspirin Plus Cilostazol Dual Therapy for Non-cardiogenic Stroke Patients Within 48 Hours of Symptom Onset (ADS) trial were included in this study. We then divided the patients into four groups (low-low, low-high, high-low, high-high) according to low or high PP both on admission and 24 h after admission. The threshold PP calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of PP on admission for neurological deterioration within 14 days and recurrent ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) within 3 months was 69 mmHg. RESULTS: Neurological deterioration within 14 days was observed in 118 patients (10.6%), whereas recurrent ischemic stroke/TIA within 3 months was noted in 34 patients (3.2%). Among these four groups, both neurological deterioration within 14 days (odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12-3.91; p=0.0209) and recurrent ischemic stroke/TIA within 3 months (OR 4.80; 95% CI 1.62-14.86; p=0.0064) were significantly more frequent in the high-high group than in the low-low group as per the results of our multivariate analysis. In addition, neurological deterioration within 14 days was significantly higher in the high-low group than that in the low-low group (OR 2.70; 95% CI 1.44-5.05; p=0.0019). CONCLUSIONS: High PP during the acute phase of ischemic stroke appears to be associated with ischemic stroke recurrence and neurological deterioration, particularly if PP is elevated both on admission and 24 h later after admission.

Data presented in this article are related to our article entitled "Unilateral posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: A case report" [1]. Cases of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) involving unilateral lesions are very rare. We searched the PubMed database using keywords such as PRES, unilateral, and asymmetric and found a small number of cases to include in our review. We summarized the characteristics of these reported cases of unilateral PRES, including our case.

Static encephalopathy of childhood with neurodegeneration in adulthood (SENDA) is an X-linked dominant neurodegenerative disorder, and is classified as a subtype of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. Recently, de novo heterozygous mutations in WDR45 at Xp11.23 have been reported in patients with SENDA. We report the clinical and neuroradiological findings of a patient with SENDA with a novel c.322del mutation in WDR45. In this patient, characteristic MRI findings were useful for diagnosis.