A rare case of partially thrombosed giant serpentine right middle cerebral artery aneurysm presented. A 26 year old man initially presented with headache and 3 months later developed neurological deficit. Various stages of clot with patent residual lumen seen on neuroimaging, led to the diagnosis. Catheter angiography is the investigation of choice for evaluating the location, flow dynamics and extent of the serpentine aneurysm. The patient had embolisation done for the giant serpentine aneurysm.
Better methods are required to identify patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS) at risk of future stroke. Two potential markers of high risk are echolucent plaque morphology on carotid ultrasound and embolic signals (ES) in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery on transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD). We explored the predictive value of a score based on these 2 measures in the prospective, observational, international multicenter Asymptomatic Carotid Emboli Study.
Poly (lactide‑co‑glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) are biodegradable carriers that participate in the transport of neuroprotective drugs across the blood brain barrier (BBB). Targeted brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) delivery across the BBB could provide neuroprotection in brain injury. We tested the neuroprotective effect of PLGA nanoparticle‑bound BDNF in a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) model of ischemia in rats. Sprague‑Dawley rats were subjected to pMCAO. Four hours after pMCAO, two groups were intravenously treated with BDNF and NP‑BDNF, respectively. Functional outcome was assessed at 2 and 24 h after pMCAO, using the modified neurologic severity score (mNSS) and rotarod performance tests. Following functional assessments, rats were euthanized blood was taken to assess levels of the neurobiomarkers neuron‑specific enolase and S100 calcium‑binding protein β (S100β), and the brain was evaluated to measure the infarct volume. The NP‑BDNF‑treated group showed significant improvement in mNSS compared with pMCAO and BDNF‑treated groups and showed improved rotarod performance. The infarct volume in rats treated with NP‑BDNFs was also significantly smaller. These results were further corroborated by correlating differences in estimated NSE and S100β. NP‑BDNFs exhibit a significant neuroprotective effect in the pMCAO model of ischemia in rats.