A report by an ad hoc Committee established by the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014. Reprint requests should be addressed to: Stroke Program, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of the initial arterial study as a predictor of 90-day mortality in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS A total of 1220 unselected patients assessed during the first 24 hours after stroke onset were prospectively studied. Initial stroke severity was evaluated by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale a...

background: the national institutes of health stroke scale (nihss) can objectively quantify the severity of stroke. however no information is available about psychometric properties and it’s applicability in the iranian population. objectives: the present study purposed by utilization of this instrument for neurological deficits measurement due to stroke, to determine the internal consistency r...

OBJECTIVE Large vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke is associated with low recanalization rates under intravenous thrombolysis. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the Solitaire AB stent in treating acute ischemic stroke. METHODS Patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke were prospectively evaluated. The neurological outcomes were assessed using the National Institutes of Healt...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We tested the hypothesis that excessive chronic ethanol consumption is associated with more severe ischemic strokes. METHODS We recruited patients with supratentorial cerebral ischemia within 48 hours of symptom onset. We defined heavy drinkers by a weekly consumption of ethanol of ≥300 g and severe strokes by a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score≥6. RESU...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Increased aortic stiffness (measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity) and central augmentation index have been shown to independently predict cardiovascular events, including stroke. We studied whether pulse wave velocity and central augmentation index predict functional outcome after ischemic stroke. METHODS In a prospective study, we enrolled 99 patients with a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an important risk factor for ischemic stroke in developing countries. Observational data on its characteristics and influence on outcome or recurrence of ischemic stroke are scarce. We aimed to investigate proportions, characteristics, functional outcome, and recurrence of acute ischemic stroke patients with RHD in a hospitalized Chinese p...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale certification is required for participation in modern stroke clinical trials and as part of good clinical care in stroke centers. A new training and demonstration DVD was produced to replace existing training and certification videotapes. Previously, this DVD, with 18 patients representing all possible scores on 15 scale items, w...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Acute ischemic stroke with mild or rapidly improving symptoms is expected to result in good functional outcome, whether treated or not. Therefore, thrombolysis with its potential risks does not seem to be justified in such patients. However, recent studies indicate that the outcome is not invariably benign. METHODS We analyzed clinical and radiological data of patients ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We hypothesized that transcranial laser therapy (TLT) can use near-infrared laser technology to treat acute ischemic stroke. The NeuroThera Effectiveness and Safety Trial-2 (NEST-2) tested the safety and efficacy of TLT in acute ischemic stroke. METHODS This double-blind, randomized study compared TLT treatment to sham control. Patients receiving tissue plasminogen acti...