We found trends toward increasing stroke incidence at younger ages. This is of great public health significance because strokes in younger patients carry the potential for greater lifetime burden of disability and because some potential contributors identified for this trend are modifiable.

Background and Purpose— Although higher blood pressure variability (BPV) is associated with worse functional outcome after stroke, this association is not as well established in large vessel occlusion strokes treated with endovascular treatment (EVT). Methods— In this post hoc analysis of BEST (Blood Pressure after Endovascular Therapy for Ischemic Stroke), a prospective, multicenter cohort study of anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing EVT, we determined the association of BPV with poor outcome or death (90-day modified Rankin Scale, 3–6). We calculated BPV during the first 24 hours after EVT for systolic and diastolic BP using 5 methodologies, then divided BPV into tertiles and compared the highest to lowest tertile using logistic regression. Results— Of the 443 patients included in our analysis, 259 (58.5%) had a poor outcome, and 79 (17.8%) died. All measures of BPV were significantly higher in patients with poor outcome or death, but the difference was more pronounced for systolic than diastolic BPV. In the logistic regression, the highest tertile of systolic BPV consistently predicted poor outcome (odds ratio, 1.8–3.5, all P <0.05). The rate of death within 90 days was 10.1% in the tertile with the lowest systolic BPV versus 25.2% in the tertile with the highest BPV ( P <0.001). Conclusions— In EVT-treated stroke patients, higher BPV in the first 24 hours is associated with worse 90-day outcome. This association was more robust for systolic BPV. The mechanism by which BPV may exert a negative influence on neurological outcome remains unknown, but the consistency of this association warrants further investigation and potentially intervention.

Background and Purpose— Sex differences in stroke incidence over time were previously reported from the GCNKSS (Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Study). We aimed to determine whether these differences continued through 2015 and whether they were driven by particular age groups. Methods— Within the GCNKSS population of 1.3 million, incident (first ever) strokes among residents ≥20 years of age were ascertained at all local hospitals during 5 periods: July 1993 to June 1994 and calendar years 1999, 2005, 2010, and 2015. Out-of-hospital cases were sampled. Sex-specific incidence rates per 100 000 were adjusted for age and race and standardized to the 2010 US Census. Trends over time by sex were compared (overall and age stratified). Sex-specific case fatality rates were also reported. Bonferroni corrections were applied for multiple comparisons. Results— Over the 5 study periods, there were 9733 incident strokes (56.3% women). For women, there were 229 (95% CI, 215–242) per 100 000 incident strokes in 1993/1994 and 174 (95% CI, 163–185) in 2015 ( P <0.05), compared with 282 (95% CI, 263–301) in 1993/1994 to 211 (95% CI, 198–225) in 2015 ( P <0.05) in men. Incidence rates decreased between the first and last study periods in both sexes for IS but not for intracerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage. Significant decreases in stroke incidence occurred between the first and last study periods for both sexes in the 65- to 84-year age group and men only in the ≥85-year age group; stroke incidence increased for men only in the 20- to 44-year age group. Conclusions— Overall stroke incidence decreased from the early 1990s to 2015 for both sexes. Future studies should continue close surveillance of sex differences in the 20- to 44-year and ≥85-year age groups, and future stroke prevention strategies should target strokes in the young- and middle-age groups, as well as intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background and Purpose The publication of the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS III) expanded the treatment time to thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke from 3 to 4.5 hours from symptom onset. The impact of the expanded time window on treatment rates has not been comprehensively evaluated in a population based study. Methods All patients suffering from an ischemic stroke presenting to an emergency department (ED) during calendar year 2005 in the 17 hospitals that compromise the large 1.3 million Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky population were included in the analysis. Criteria for exclusion from thrombolytic therapy are analyzed retrospectively for both the standard and expanded time frames with varying door to needle times. Results During the study period 1838 ischemic strokes presenting to an ED were identified. A small proportion of them arrived in the expanded time window (3.4%) compared to the standard time window (22%). Only 0.5% of those who arrived in this time frame met eligibility criteria for thrombolysis, compared to 5.9% using standard eligibility criteria in the standard timeframe. These results did not vary significantly by repeated analysis varying the door to needle time or the expanded time window’s exclusion criteria. Conclusions In reality, the expanded time window for thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke benefits few patients. If we are to improve rT-PA administration rates our focus should be on improving stroke awareness, transport to facilities with ability to administer thrombolysis, and familiarity of physicians with acute stroke treatment guidelines.

Background Genome-wide association studies have identified novel genetic factors that contribute to intracranial aneurysm (IA) susceptibility. We sought to confirm previously reported loci, to identify novel risk factors, and to evaluate the contribution of these factors to familial and sporadic IA. Method We utilized 2 complementary samples, one recruited on the basis of a dense family history of IA (discovery sample 1: 388 IA cases and 397 controls) and the other without regard to family history (discovery sample 2: 1095 IA cases and 1286 controls). Imputation was used to generate a common set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) across samples, and a logistic regression model was used to test for association in each sample. Results from each sample were then combined in a meta-analysis. Results There was only modest overlap in the association results obtained in the 2 samples. In neither sample did results reach genome-wide significance. However, the meta-analysis yielded genome-wide significance for SNP on chromosome 9p (CDKN2BAS; rs6475606; P=3.6×10−8) and provided further evidence to support the previously reported association of IA with SNP in SOX17 on chromosome 8q (rs1072737; P=8.7×10−5). Analyses suggest that the effect of smoking acts multiplicatively with the SNP genotype, and smoking has a greater effect on risk than SNP genotype. Conclusion In addition to replicating several previously reported loci, we provide further evidence that the association on chromosome 9p is attributable to variants in CDKN2BAS (also known as ANRIL, an antisense noncoding RNA).