title: Impact of Baseline Ischemia on Outcome in Older Patients Undergoing Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The outcome for older stroke patients who undergo endovascular revascularization remains unsatisfactory. We aimed to determine the effect of the extent of baseline ischemia on outcome according to age, testing the hypothesis that the restorative capacity for recovery is only marginal in older patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and thirteen patients who underwent endovascular revascularization due to occlusion in the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery (with or without internal carotid artery occlusions) were selected for analysis. Patients were categorized into three age groups: group A (<66 years), group B (66-75 years), and group C (>75 years). Using pretreatment diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and lesion volume were independently measured and analyzed in relation to a favorable outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A favorable outcome was achieved in 111 of 213 patients overall: in 60 of the 94 (63.8%) patients in group A, in 36 of the 70 (51.4%) patients in group B, and in 15 of the 49 (30.6%) patients in group C (p=0.001). In older stroke patients (group C), a DWI ASPECTS ≥9 and lesion volume ≤5 mL were found to predict a favorable outcome, which was more restrictive than the cutoffs for their younger counterparts (groups A and B; DWI ASPECTS ≥8 and lesion volume ≤20 mL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The age-adjusted pretreatment DWI lesion volume and ASPECTS may represent useful surrogate markers for functional outcome according to age. The use of more-restrictive inclusion criteria for older stroke patients could be warranted, although larger studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
authors.affiliation: Cerebrovascular Center, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Neurology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea. yangha.hwang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yang Ha
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Cerebrovascular Center, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Neurology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Radiology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Won
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Cerebrovascular Center, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Radiology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Neurosurgery, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Cerebrovascular Center, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Neurosurgery, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine and Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: UCLA Stroke Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Liebeskind
keywords: aging; diffusion; reperfusion; stroke