Background and Purpose-Chagasic cardiomyopathy is independently associated with ischemic stroke in Chagas disease.American trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease (CD), is a major public health problem in South America. We sought to evaluate prevalence of vascular risk factors for stroke in patients with stroke caused by CD. Methods-Ninety-four consecutive CD stroke patients and 150 consecutive nonchagasic stroke patients were studied. CD was confirmed when both immunofluorescence and hemagglutination serology were positive. Data collected included age, sex, vascular risk factors, diagnostic stroke subtype (TOAST classification), and echocardiography findings. Fasting plasma levels of protein C, protein S, antithrombin III, homocysteine, activated protein C resistance, IgG anticardiolipin antibodies, lupus anticoagulant, and genetic tests for the factor V Leiden and the C677T methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene mutation were determined. Results-CD patients had a mean age of 56.31 years compared with 61.59 years for non-CD stroke patients (Pϭ0.0002).Cardioembolism occurred in 56.38% of CD stroke patients compared with 9.33% in controls (Pϭ0.000), whereas atherothrombotic strokes occurred in 8.51% of CD strokes versus 20% in controls (Pϭ0.016), and small-vessel stroke in 9.57% of CD stroke patients versus 34.67% in controls (Pϭ0.000

The e-Gov field (also called Electronic Government, Digital Government, Electronic Governance, and similar names) emerged in the late 1990´s. Since then it spurred several scientific conferences and journals. Because the field grew considerably in size, both its contents and position with respect to other research fields and disciplines need to be explained and discussed. What is e-Gov? What is e-Gov research? What does it mean for the field of Information Systems? This paper briefly sketches the short e-Gov history and current status, and discusses the content of the field as it appears in current research. We conclude with a discussion of e-Gov as a research field of interest both as a new application area for IS theories and methods and as a source of new insight.

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The objective of the study was to assess the utility of the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI) to measure instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and functional recovery in stroke patients compared to other measures such as Barthel Index (BI) and Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS). A cross-sectional descriptive analysis design was done. Ninety stroke survivors (41 women, 49 men; mean age 68 years) discharged from the Stroke Unit at San Carlos Hospital, Madrid, were assessed by BI at discharge and by BI and FAI 1-year after stroke. At discharge, 40% had total or severe disability (BI < or =60) and at 1-year 11.1%. FAI (mean value 36 +/ 11) correlated with Barthel index, capacity for walking, strength in upper limb and total SSS 1-year after stroke (p < 0.0001). Fifty-two per cent of stroke patients became independent in their ADL during the first year. BI was the strongest predictor of independence in FAI Social activities-category.