title: Nonrelevant cerebral atherosclerosis is a strong prognostic factor in acute cerebral infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated whether the presence of nonrelevant cerebral atherosclerosis (NRCA) had prognostic value in patients with acute stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared prognosis in 780 consecutive patients with first-ever acute cerebral infarction who underwent cerebral angiography and diffusion-weighted MRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NRCA was present in 267 patients (34.2%). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the presence of NRCA was independently associated with less improvement in National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score during the first 7 days (P=0.004), and a poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale score >2) after 3 months (odds ratio, 2.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.55-4.07). An increase in burden count of NRCA was also associated with poor outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence and burden count of NRCA were associated with poor neurological outcomes in patients with acute cerebral infarction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jinkwon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tae-Jin
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Dongbeom
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Hye Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chung Mo
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Hyo Suk
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Young Dae
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji Hoe
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Heo
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: acute stroke; angiography; atherosclerosis; prognosis