Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) carries an increased risk of ischaemic stroke, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. As right-to-left shunting can occur through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) during periods of apnoea, we investigated nocturnal changes in fibrinolytic activity and platelet function in subjects who had OSA with or without PFO and in controls. We determined plasminogen activator...

The primate prefrontal cortex contributes to stimulus-guided behavior, but the functional specializations among its areas remain uncertain. To better understand such specializations, we contrasted neuronal activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFdl) and the orbital prefrontal cortex (PFo). The task required rhesus monkeys to use a visual cue to choose a saccade target. Some cues instr...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of transcatheter patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure on migraine frequency in patients with paradoxical cerebral embolism. BACKGROUND The prevalence of migraine headache is higher in cryptogenic stroke patients with PFO than in the general population. Previous studies have suggested that closure of the PFO may reduce migrainous ...

Acute Pulmonary Embolism and Right Ventricular Enlargement Who Are at Risk for Adverse Clinical Events To the Editor: The recent report by Quiroz et al1 that detection of right ventricular (RV) enlargement on chest computed tomography helped identify patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) for adverse clinical events has important prognostic and therapeutic implications, but the authors did...

PURPOSE We aimed to examine the incidence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal aneurysms (ASA) in the Turkish population using coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA); assess the feasibility of coronary CTA for PFO diagnosis by conducting a comparison with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE); and determine the diagnostic role and characteristics of the interatrial tunnel, fre...

An exposure assessment and risk characterization was conducted to better understand the potential human health significance of trace levels of perfluorooctanoate (PFO) detected in certain consumer articles. PFO is the anion of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Concentrations of PFO in the consumer articles were determined from extraction tests and product formulation information. Potential exposur...

UNLABELLED Right-to-left shunt (RLS) can be identified by contrast-enhanced transcranial Doppler (cTCD) in patent foramen ovale (PFO) patients. AIM To evaluate cTCD for PFO screening comparing it to cTEE. METHOD 45 previous cTCD performed for PFO diagnosis and correlated its findings with cTEE. Patients were submitted to a cTCD standardized technique and were divided in two groups according...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of medical treatment with percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO). BACKGROUND Patients with cryptogenic stroke and PFO are at risk for recurrent cerebrovascular events. METHODS We compared the risk of recurrence in 308 patients with cryptogenic stroke and PFO, who were treated either medically (158 patients) or unde...

While there is an increased prevalence of stroke at altitude in individuals who are considered to be low risk for thrombotic events, it is uncertain how venous thrombi reach the brain. The patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a recruitable intracardiac shunt between the right and left atrium. We aimed to determine whether body position and oxygen tension affect blood flow through the PFO in healthy ad...

BACKGROUND Percutaneous transcatheter closure (PTC) of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is implicated in cryptogenic stroke, transitional ischemic attack (TIA) and treatment of a migraine. AIM Our goal was to present our experience in the interventional treatment of PFO, as well as to evaluate the short and mid-term results in patients with closed PFO. MATERIAL AND METHODS Transcatheter closure o...