Impact of varying levels of hyperglycemia on clinicoradiographic outcomes after endovascular reperfusion treatment

Association of Admission Glucose and Outcomes After Endovascular Treatment for Acute Stroke: Data From the ANGEL-ACT Registry

BACKGROUND

The association between admission glucose levels and clinical outcomes after stroke has not been effectively elucidated. This study assessed the association among admission glucose levels, admission hyperglycemia, diabetes mellitus, and 90-day neurological outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular therapy.

METHODS

The ANGEL-ACT registry enrolled adults with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular therapy between 2017 and 2019 in China and patients with available admission glucose data were included. Restricted cubic spline regression was used to determine the knots of blood glucose levels. Binary or ordinal logistic regression models were used to examine the impact of different admission glucose levels on neurological outcomes and 90-day mortality.

RESULTS

In total, 1684 participants with available admission glucose concentrations were evaluated. The admission glucose level was divided into 4 levels according to the restricted cubic spline curves: level 1 (<5.3 mmol/L), level 2 (5.3 to 7.0 mmol/L), level 3 (7.0 to 11.6 mmol/L), and level 4 (≥11.6 mmol/L). Level 4 admission glucose was associated with a decreased incidence of a modified Rankin scale score of 0 to 2 (hazard ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.87) and an increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.06-2.85). Levels 3 and 4, hyperglycemia, and diabetes mellitus independently predicted symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). Admission glucose levels showed J-shaped relationships with sICH.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher admission glucose levels (≥11.6 mmol/L) were associated with a decreased likelihood of a modified Rankin scale score of 0 to 2 and an increased risk of mortality and sICH.

Effects of co-administration of metformin and evogliptin on cerebral infarct volume in the diabetic rat

Patients with diabetes suffer more severe ischemic stroke. A combination of metformin and dipeptidyl peptide-4 inhibitors is commonly prescribed to treat diabetes. Therefore, we aimed to determine if pretreatment with a combination of metformin and evogliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, could reduce cerebral infarct volume in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. After confirming diabetes induction, the rats were treated with vehicle, evogliptin, metformin, or evogliptin/metformin combination for 30 days. Then, stroke was induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Infarct volume, oxidative stress, levels of methylglyoxal-modified protein, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), AMPK, and Akt/PI3K pathway-related proteins, and post-stroke pancreatic islet cell volume were evaluated. Compared to vehicle, only the co-administration group had significantly reduced infarct volume from the effects of tMCAO; the regimen also improved glycemic control, whereas the individual treatments did not. Co-administration also significantly reduced methylglyoxal-modified protein level in the core of the brain cortex, and the expression of 4-HNE and 8-OHdG was reduced. Co-administration increased p-Akt levels in the ischemic core and mitigated the suppression of Bcl-2 expression. Plasma GLP-1 and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 levels and brain GLP-1R expression remained unaltered. In the pancreas, islet cell damage was reduced by co-administration. These results reveal that metformin and evogliptin co-administration ameliorates cerebral infarction associated with prolonged glycemic control and pancreatic beta cell sparing. Other potential protective mechanisms may be upregulation of insulin receptor signaling or reduction of methylglyoxal-induced neurotoxicity. The combination of metformin and evogliptin should be tested further for its potential against focal cerebral ischemia in diabetes patients.

Factors Contributing to an Efficacious Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in Asian Population

Although randomized control trials about endovascular treatment (EVT) of emergent large vessel occlusion (LVO) have demonstrated the success of mechanical thrombectomy as the choice of treatment, a wide range of caveats remain unaddressed. Asian patients were rarely included in the trials, thereby raising the question of whether the treatment could be generalized. In addition, there remains a concern on the feasibility of the method with respect to its application against intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS)-related LVO, frequently observed in the Asian population. It is important to include evidence on ICAS LVO from Asian countries in the future for a comprehensive understanding of LVO etiology. Besides the issues with EVT, prognostic concerns in diabetes patients, acute kidney injury following EVT, neuroprotective management against reperfusion injury, and other peri-EVT issues should be considered in clinical practice. In the current article, we present an in-depth review of the literature that revises information pertaining to such concerns.

Incidence and Prognostic Impact of Intracranial Hemorrhage after Endovascular Treatment for Acute Large Vessel Occlusion

INTRODUCTION

Endovascular treatment (EVT) is effective against acute cerebral large vessel occlusion (LVO). However, it has been associated with a high incidence of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Because the incidence of ICH and prognostic impact of ICH were not scrutinized in general patients, we investigated the impact of ICH after EVT on functional outcome at 90 days in patients with acute LVO.

METHODS

RESCUE-Japan Registry 2 was a multicenter registry that enrolled 2,420 consecutive patients with acute LVO within 24 h of onset. We analyzed 1,281 patients who received EVT and compared the functional outcomes between those with and without ICH (ICH and no-ICH groups, respectively) within 24 h after EVT. We explored the factors associated with ICH and prognostic impact of symptomatic ICH (SICH) among patients with ICH. We estimated the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for good functional outcome as modified Rankin Scale scores 0-2 and mortality. We also explored the prognostic impact of symptomatic ICH (SICH) among patients with ICH.

RESULTS

ICH occurred in 333 patients (26.0%). Several factors such as perioperative edaravone, stent retriever, and baseline glucose were associated with development of ICH within 24 h. A good outcome was observed in 80 (24.0%) and 454 (47.9%) patients in the ICH and no-ICH groups, respectively, and the adjusted OR was 0.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.2-0.5, p < 0.0001). Incidence of mortality within 90 days was not significantly different between the groups (adjusted OR 1.2; 95% CI: 0.7-1.9, p = 0.5). SICH was observed in 36 (10.8%) of 333 patients with ICH, and the good outcomes were 8.3 and 25.9% in patients with SICH and asymptomatic ICH (AICH), respectively (p = 0.02). Mortality at 90 days was 30.6 and 7.1% in patients with SICH and AICH, respectively (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The functional outcomes at 90 days were significantly worse in patients who developed ICH after receiving EVT for acute LVO, but the mortality was generally similar.