The incidence rate for ischemic stroke was higher than previously reported from most countries in Western Europe. The higher incidence was not explained by a higher prevalence of premature atherosclerotic vasculopathy. Without the additional diagnostic information derived from advanced cardiac imaging, the proportion of indeterminate cases would have constituted 37% of the patients.

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Cerebellar damage impairs central aspects of attention and visuospatial skills. In contrast, intelligence and episodic memory remain unchanged. When the lesion involves large portions of the cerebellar hemispheres, changes concerning broad areas of intelligence may occur. The prognosis is favorable for neurologic dysfunction, but cognitive deficits may prevent return to work.

Eighteen male patients who had untreated chronic ACL rupture were studied in order to evaluate thigh muscle size, morphology, and isokinetic performance of the quadriceps muscle. Computed tomography disclosed a 5.1% mean atrophy of the quadriceps (P less than 0.05), 2.1% slight hypertrophy of the hamstrings (P less than 0.05), and also nonsignificant changes of all other muscle areas of the injured thigh. Muscle morphology (m. vastus lateralis) was normal in 11 biopsy specimens, whereas minor abnormalities (irregular shape or hypotrophy) could be seen in the rest. Isokinetic mechanical output of the knee extensors was 71% to 87% of that of the noninjured limb (P less than 0.01), and the mechanical output corrected for differences in quadriceps cross-sectional area was significantly lower in the injured than the uninjured limb. As there were no significant correlations between isokinetic performance and muscle size or qualitative morphology or morphometric data, the strength decrease cannot be explained by muscle atrophy or structural changes per se. We conclude that nonoptimal activation of the muscles during voluntary contractions is probably the most important causative mechanism of the strength decrease found in patients who have chronic symptomatic ACL tear.

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