No abstract

No abstract

Migraine with aura has been shown to be an independent risk factor for stroke. Although the precise mechanism of migraine-related stroke is not known, risk factors for hypercoagulability have been found in migraineurs. Prothrombin factor 1.2 (F1.2) is a cleavage product of prothrombin. Elevated plasma F1.2 has been shown to be a sensitive and a specific marker of ongoing thrombin generation, and thus may serve as an indicator of hypercoagulability. In this study we determined plasma F1.2 levels in 35 patients with migraine (22 with aura and 13 without aura) and in 24 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers. Elevated F1.2 levels were found in 11 of 22 (50%) patients with migraine with aura (1.25-3.5 nmol/l). None of the patients with migraine without aura nor any of the healthy volunteers had elevated plasma F1.2 levels (normal < 1.1 nmol/l). We conclude that prothrombin F1.2 levels are elevated in a significant number of patients with migraine with aura but not in patients with migraine without aura. This finding suggests that there is activation of the clotting system in certain patients with migraine with aura.

No abstract

We performed a double-blind study in 101 preterm infants who weighed less than or equal to 1500 g at birth, who had respiratory distress, and who survived for at least four weeks, to evaluate the efficacy of oral vitamin E in preventing the development of retrolental fibroplasia. Weekly indirect ophthalmologic examinations begun when the infants were three weeks old revealed a significant decrease in the incidence of retrolental fibroplasia greater than or equal to Grade III (P less than 0.03) and greater than or equal to Grade II (P less than 0.05) (McCormick classification) in the 50 infants given 100 mg of vitamin E per kilogram of body weight per day as compared with 51 given 5 mg per kilogram per day (controls). When multivariate analysis was applied to the controls, five risk factors were identified: gestational age, level and duration of administration oxygen, intraventricular hemorrhage, sepsis, and birth weight. When multivariate analysis was applied to both control and treatment groups, the severity of retrolental fibroplasia was found to be significantly reduced in infants given 100 mg of vitamin E (P = 0.012).