Cerebral microbleeds and stroke risk after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack: a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies

Publication date: Available online 23 May 2019Source: The Lancet NeurologyAuthor(s): Duncan Wilson, Gareth Ambler, Keon-Joo Lee, Jae-Sung Lim, Masayuki Shiozawa, Masatoshi Koga, Linxin Li, Caroline Lovelock, Hugues Chabriat, Michael Hennerici, Yuen Kwun Wong, Henry Ka Fung Mak, Luis Prats-Sánchez, Alejandro Martínez-Domeño, Shigeru Inamura, Kazuhisa Yoshifuji, Ethem Murat Arsava, Solveig Horstmann, Jan Purrucker, Bonnie Yin Ka LamSummaryBackgroundCerebral microbleeds are a neuroimaging biomarker of stroke risk. A crucial clinical question is whether cerebral microbleeds indicate patients with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack in whom the rate of future intracranial haemorrhage is likely to exceed that of recurrent ischaemic stroke when treated with antithrombotic drugs. We therefore aimed to establish whether a large burden of cerebral microbleeds or particular anatomical patterns of cerebral microbleeds can identify ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack patients at higher absolute risk of intracranial haemorrhage than ischaemic stroke.MethodsWe did a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies in adults with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Cohorts were eligible for inclusion if they prospectively recruited adult participants with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack; included at least 50 participants; collected data on stroke events over at least 3 months follow-up; used an appropriate MRI se...

Source: The Lancet Neurology - May 23, 2019 Category: Neurology Source Type: research