Association between Ankle Brachial Index, Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity, and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Acute Lacunar Infarction

Advanced vascular aging and outcomes after acute ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is as a reliable marker of arterial stiffness and vascular aging, surpassing traditional risk factors in predicting detrimental cardiovascular events. The present meta-analysis aims to investigate PWV thresholds and assess its prognostic value in outcomes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). A search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies published up to January 2024, focusing on patients admitted with AIS, wherein arterial stiffness was assessed through PWV measurements during hospitalization. Identified studies reported PWV values in individuals with both favorable and unfavorable outcomes at the end of follow-up. Initially, 35 eligible studies provided data for weighted mean baPWV (11,953 AIS patients) and cfPWV (2,197 AIS patients) calculations. The average age was 67 years, with approximately 60% male, 67% hypertensive, 30% diabetic and 30% smoker participants. The weighted mean systolic blood pressure was approximately 150 mmHg. In AIS patients, the mean PWV was 10 m/s for standard cfPWV and 20 m/s for baPWV. Nine cohort studies (6,006 AIS patients) were included in the quantitative analysis of clinical outcomes. Higher PWV levels were associated with poorer functional outcomes (2.3 m/s higher, 95%CI:1.2-3.4, p < 0.001; I2 = 87.4%). AIS patients with arterial stiffness/vascular aging (higher PWV) had approximately 46.2% increased risk of poor functional outcome, 12.7% higher risk of mortality, 13.9% greater risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, and 13.9% greater risk of stroke recurrence over the long term compared to those without arterial stiffness. Advanced vascular aging, as indicated by PWV, significantly predicts adverse outcomes in AIS patients. Integrating the assessment of vascular aging into clinical practice can improve risk perception in these patients.

Low ankle-brachial index and cognitive function after stroke—the PROSpective with Incident Stroke Berlin (PROSCIS-B)

Introduction

Low ankle-brachial index (ABI) ≤0. 9 is a marker for generalized atherosclerosis and a risk factor for cognitive decline in the general population.

Objective

To evaluate the impact of ABI ≤0.9 on cognitive function up to 3 years after first-ever ischemic stroke.

Methods

Data was used from the “PROspective Cohort with Incident Stroke-Berlin” (PROSCIS-B; NCT01363856). ABI was measured at baseline and categorized into normal (1.4–0.9) vs. low (≤0.9). Cognitive function was assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE) at baseline and with the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-modified (TICS-m) at 1–3 years of follow-up. We performed confounder adjusted generalized linear models (GLM) to calculate relative risks (RR) for cognitive impairment at baseline (MMSE≤26; MoCA≤25) and linear mixed models (LMM) to estimate the impact of low ABI on TICS-m over time.

Results

We included 325 patients [mean age: 66 (SD = 13); 38% female, median NIHSS = 2 (IQR = 1–4), ABI≤0.9: 59 (18%)]. Patients with low ABI were at increased risk of cognitive impairment at baseline (adjusted RR for MoCA≤25 = 1.98; 95%-CI:1.24 to 3.16). TICS-m scores were consistently lower over time in patients with low ABI (adjusted ß = −1.96; 95%-CI:−3.55 to −0.37). Independent of ABI, cognitive function did not decline over time (adjusted ß:0.29; 95%-CI:−0.06 to 0.64).

Conclusion

In patients with mild to moderate first-ever ischemic stroke, low ABI is associated with reduced cognitive function over a 3-year follow-up.

Study Registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01363856.

Uric Acid and Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-Analysis

Serum uric acid (UA) has been suggested to be correlated with outcomes after stroke. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between serum UA and post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Relevant observational studies were identified by search of electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. A randomized-effect model incorporating the possible between-study heterogeneity was used to pool the results. Overall, eleven studies with 4246 patients of AIS were included, 2073 (48.8%) of them had PSCI. Pooled results showed that patients with PSCI had significantly higher level of serum UA as compared to those without PSCI (mean difference: 35.70 μmol/l, 95% confidence interval (CI): 8.36 to 63.01, p=0.01; I2=95%). Subgroup analysis showed significant higher level of serum UA in patients with PSCI evaluated during follow-up of 3 months to 3 years, but not for those evaluated during hospitalization (p for subgroup difference=0.01). In addition, results of meta-analysis also showed that compared to patients with lower serum UA, AIS patients with higher serum UA had increased risk of PSCI (odds ratio: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.73, p=0.04; I2=72%). Higher level of serum UA after disease onset may be a marker of increased risk of PSCI in patients with AIS. Although these findings need to be validated in large-scale prospective studies, the possible mechanisms underlying the association between UA and PSCI should be also investigated.