Background and Objectives:There is a worldwide increase in the incidence of stroke in young adults, with major regional and ethnic differences. Advancing knowledge of ethnic and regional variation in causes and outcomes will be beneficial in implementation of regional healthcare services. To study the global distribution of risk factors, causes and 3-month mortality of young ischemic stroke patients, by performing a patient data meta-analysis form different cohorts worldwide.Methods:We did a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies which included consecutive ischemic stroke patients aged 18-50 years. We studied differences in prevalence of risk factors and causes between different ethnic and racial groups, geographic regions and countries with different income levels. We investigated differences in 3-month mortality by mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression.Results:We included 17,663 patients from 32 cohorts in 29 countries. Hypertension and diabetes were most prevalent in Blacks (hypertension, 52.1%; diabetes, 20.7%) and Asians (hypertension 46.1%, diabetes, 20.9%). Large vessel atherosclerosis and small vessel disease were more often cause of stroke in high-income countries (HICs; both p<0.001), whereas ‘’other determined stroke’’ and ‘’undetermined stroke’’ were higher in low and middle-income countries (LMICs; both p<0.001). Patients in LMICs were younger, had less vascular risk factors, and despite this, more often died within 3 months than those from HICs (OR 2.49; 95% CI 1.42-4.36).Discussion:The ethnoracial and regional differences in risk factors and causes of stroke at young age provide an understanding of ethnic and racial, and regional differences in incidence of ischemic stroke. Our results also visualize the dissimilarities in outcome after stroke in young adults that exist between LMICs and HICs, which should serve as call to action to improve healthcare facilities in LMICs.

IntroductionWorldwide, 2 million patients aged 18–50 years suffer a stroke each year, and this number is increasing. Knowledge about global distribution of risk factors and aetiologies, and information about prognosis and optimal secondary prevention in young stroke patients are limited. This limits evidence-based treatment and hampers the provision of appropriate information regarding the causes of stroke, risk factors and prognosis of young stroke patients.Methods and analysisThe Global Outcome Assessment Life-long after stroke in young adults (GOAL) initiative aims to perform a global individual patient data meta-analysis with existing data from young stroke cohorts worldwide. All patients aged 18–50 years with ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage will be included. Outcomes will be the distribution of stroke aetiology and (vascular) risk factors, functional outcome after stroke, risk of recurrent vascular events and death and finally the use of secondary prevention. Subgroup analyses will be made based on age, gender, aetiology, ethnicity and climate of residence.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval for the GOAL study has already been obtained from the Medical Review Ethics Committee region Arnhem-Nijmegen. Additionally and when necessary, approval will also be obtained from national or local institutional review boards in the participating centres. When needed, a standardised data transfer agreement will be provided for participating centres. We plan dissemination of our results in peer-reviewed international scientific journals and through conference presentations. We expect that the results of this unique study will lead to better understanding of worldwide differences in risk factors, causes and outcome of young stroke patients.

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Objectives Satoyoshi syndrome (SS) is a rare multisystem disease of presumed autoimmunea aetiology. We carried out a systematic review to evaluate the available evidence to support that autoimmune hypothesis. Methods We searched for SS cases in PubMed, the Web of Knowledge and Scopus up to January 2022, using keywords “Satoyoshi syndrome” or “Komuragaeri disease”. Data on symptoms, associated autoimmune diseases, presence of autoantibodies and response to treatment were collected. Results 77 patients from 57 articles published between 1967 and 2021 were included. 59 patients were women. The mean age at diagnosis was 21.2 years. All cases had painful muscular spasms and alopecia. Frequent manifestations included: diarrhoea, malabsorption, growth retardation, amenorrhea and bone deformity. SS was associated with other autoimmune diseases: myasthenia gravis, autoimmune thyroiditis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, atopic dermatitis, bronchial and lupus erythematosus. Autoantibody determinations were performed in 39 patients, of which 27 had positive results. The most frequently detected autoantibodies were antinuclear antibodies. Other less frequently found auto-antibodies were: anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies, anti-DNA antibodies, antithyroid antibodies, anti-GAD and anti-gliadin antibodies. Pharmacological treatment was reported in 50 patients. Most of them improved with corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and immunoglobulins, or a combination of these medications. Conclusion SS is associated with other autoimmune diseases and a variety of autoantibodies. Improvement after corticosteroid or other immunosuppressant treatment was observed in 90% of cases. These data support an autoimmune aetiology for SS. More studies including systematic determination of autoantibodies in all patients with SS will help us advance in our understanding of this disease.

Background: Chagas disease is related to ischemic stroke (IS), although few epidemiological studies have evaluated the associated mortality and recurrence. Our objective is to determine factors associated with mortality and recurrence of IS in patients with IS and Chagas disease. Methods: We retrospectively studied data obtained from electronic medical records of patients admitted at SARAH Hospitals across Brazil between 2009 and 2013. Using Cox regression analysis for mortality and logistic regression for recurrence, we assessed primary population characteristics and statistical associations between risk factors and outcomes. Results: We analyzed 279 patients who were followed up until 2016. The mean age at stroke onset was 61 with a 10% frequency of death. Multivariate analysis assessing mortality demonstrated that the associated factors were age at stroke (hazard ratio [HR] 1.04), initial modified Rankin Scale (mRS; HR 20.91), bladder dysfunction (HR 2.51), diabetes mellitus (DM; HR 3.64), and alcoholism (HR 3.37). Multivariate analysis assessing recurrence demonstrated that the associated factors were age at ictus (OR 0.96), cognitive deficit (OR 0.44), initial mRS (OR 1.84), cardioembolic etiology (OR 2.47), and female sex (OR 2.73). Conclusions: Cardiac conditions did not correlate with mortality or recurrence. Age was a protective factor against recurrence, probably due to cumulative risk of IS over time, while initial mRS was associated with both outcomes. Treating diseases such as DM and bladder dysfunction, and early treatment to reduce the initial mRS could potentially prevent both outcomes; also, establishing a correct etiological diagnosis is important.