Recent Advances in Stroke Screening

A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 4064

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Director of Neurology at S.L. Mandic Hospital, Merate, ASST Lecco, Lecco, Italy
Interests: multiple sclerosis; neurological paraneoplastic syndromes; brain tumours; motor neuron disorder; fatigue; brain function localization; cinema and art in neuroscience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Stroke is the third-highest cause of death after heart disease and cancer. It is the second-highest cause of dementia and leading cause of permanent disability. With the increase in life expectancy throughout the world, based on the improvement of socio-economic conditions, this disease is expected to have important social and economic repercussions. The introduction of therapeutic approaches such as intravenous thrombolysis and thrombectomy has improved the prognosis of this disease. These interventions require adequate structures and must be performed quickly to allow for the rapid recovery of the neurological deficit because stroke is a time-dependent pathology.

The economic and human resource costs of dealing with this pathology are high; therefore, it is important to act on the prevention. This Special Issue aims to collect works dedicated to the recent advance in vascular pathology screening, especially for stroke disease. There are various approaches that try to identify the warning or screening signs of stroke: administration of questionnaires to identify the risk factors, as well as diagnostic ones using artificial intelligence (AI); biological markers and instrumental diagnostics such as new AI tools; epidemiological and socio-economic studies linked to modifiable factors such as dietary regimes or physical activities; possible prevention actions in subpopulations and genders predisposed to stroke; suggestion for guidelines for the management of the early diagnosis of stroke in adults and at a pediatric age considering the cardiovascular risk factors such as the increase in obesity in children. Stroke is associated with different risk factors of internal medicine cause, and the contributions for this Special Issue are of a multidisciplinary nature because the sharing of medical–scientific and clinical knowledge will enable the best possibilities to manage this disabling disease.

Dr. Lorenzo Lorusso
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicina is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • stroke
  • screening
  • prevention
  • recent advances
  • neurology
  • internal medicine

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 1502 KiB  
Article
Understanding of Stroke Risk Among Smokers in Saudi Arabia
by Jaber S. Alqahtani, Abdulelah M. Aldhahir, Abdullah A. Alqarni, Saeed M. Alghamdi, Tope Oyelade, Fahad Nawar Alzaidi, Muath Abdulrahman Alamri, Ali Mohammad Kheder, Hussain Ibrahim Alsamdani, Ayadh Yahya AlAyadi, Rayan A. Siraj, Yousef S. Aldabayan and Ahmed M. Al Rajeh
Medicina 2025, 61(6), 1006; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61061006 - 28 May 2025
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Stroke is a common and fatal condition impacting millions worldwide. Understanding the risk factors, symptoms, and consequences at an earlier stage, specifically in highly at-risk populations such as smokers, is crucial for mitigating the stroke burden. Materials and Methods [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Stroke is a common and fatal condition impacting millions worldwide. Understanding the risk factors, symptoms, and consequences at an earlier stage, specifically in highly at-risk populations such as smokers, is crucial for mitigating the stroke burden. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia on more than 1000 smokers. The survey was randomly shared across the kingdom. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to assess the association and find the variables associated with poor stroke awareness. Results: The study included 1029 smokers, with 88% (904) being male. The majority (61%; 630) are between the ages of 18 and 30 years, with a university degree (84%, 862). Cigarettes (33.9%; 349), shisha (25.9%; 267), and e-cigarettes (40.1%; 413) were the most common smoking types. About 30% of smokers have never heard of stroke, and 44% were unaware that stopping smoking can prevent stroke. Smokers (55%) perceive smoking as the top risk factor, followed by heart disease (41%), and high blood pressure (40.8%), while 26% of the smokers did not identify any risk factors. Around 58% of the smokers did not identify any stroke symptoms. Only 20% of smokers were capable of identifying 50% of both stroke risk factors and symptoms. Around 8% reported all stroke-related consequences, whereas 44% were unable to identify any. Current smokers were more likely than ex-smokers to identify ≥1 stroke risk factor (OR = 1.95, p = 0.001), with no significant associations found for other variables. Males, university degrees, and current smokers were the only significant predictors for the identification of ≥1 stroke symptom. University education, current smokers, employment, and smoking types were significant predictors in identifying ≥1 stroke consequence. Compared to E-cigarette users, cigarette smokers exhibited twice the awareness of stroke consequences (OR = 2.01, p = 0.001), whereas shisha smokers demonstrated lower awareness (OR = 0.63, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Smokers’ awareness of stroke in Saudi Arabia is suboptimal. Targeted educational and smoking cessation initiatives are essential to address this gap and mitigate the impact of smoking-related strokes in Saudi Arabia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Stroke Screening)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 320 KiB  
Article
Is Serum VEGF-A Level an Indicator of Early-Onset Poststroke Depression?
by Emine Yildirim Uslu and Sevler Yildiz
Medicina 2024, 60(11), 1828; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina60111828 - 7 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1095
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Poststroke depression (PSD) is a psychiatric complication occurring after a stroke, and is known to negatively impact quality of life. In the present study, the possible relationship between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) levels and early-onset PSD, as [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Poststroke depression (PSD) is a psychiatric complication occurring after a stroke, and is known to negatively impact quality of life. In the present study, the possible relationship between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) levels and early-onset PSD, as well as the predictive value of serum VEGF-A levels for early-onset PSD, were investigated. Materials and Methods: The study included 88 individuals diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and serum VEGF-A levels were recorded, and radiological images were examined to determine the lesion locations. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD-17) were administered to the patients. Furthermore, serum VEGF-A levels were measured in all participants. Results: Although the body mass index (BMI) and VEGF-A levels were similar between the groups, MoCA scores were lower [(19.2 ± 4.4) vs. (22.3 ± 3), p = 0.001] and NIHSS scores were higher [18 (8–28) vs. 14 (3–24), p = 0.006] in individuals with PSD than in those without it. When the patients with PSD were categorized into three groups, patients with severe PSD had higher NIHSS scores [26 (23–27) vs. 15 (8–23), p = 0.006] and lower MoCA scores [(14.3 ± 1) vs. (20.9 ± 3.8), p = 0.005] than those with mild PSD. Moreover, VEGF-A levels and lesion localization were similar between mild, moderate, and severe PSD groups (p = 0.130). The MoCA score was negatively (r = −0.498, p < 0.001) correlated and the NIHSS score was positively correlated (r = 0.497, p < 0.001) with the HAMD-17 score. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that longitudinal studies in large cohorts including healthy control groups are needed to examine the possibility of using serum VEGF-A level as a marker for predicting early-onset PSD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Stroke Screening)

Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 1242 KiB  
Review
The Hidden Heart: Exploring Cardiac Damage Post-Stroke: A Narrative Review
by Marian Mitrică, Lorenzo Lorusso, Alexandru-Andrei Badea, Carmen-Adella Sîrbu, Andreea Pleșa, Ana-Maria Alexandra Stănescu, Florentina Cristina Pleșa, Octavian Mihai Sîrbu and Alice Elena Munteanu
Medicina 2024, 60(10), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina60101699 - 16 Oct 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2365
Abstract
Stroke–heart syndrome (SHS), a critical yet underrecognized condition, encompasses a range of cardiac complications that arise following an ischemic stroke. This narrative review explores the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and implications of SHS, focusing on the complex interplay between the brain and the heart. [...] Read more.
Stroke–heart syndrome (SHS), a critical yet underrecognized condition, encompasses a range of cardiac complications that arise following an ischemic stroke. This narrative review explores the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and implications of SHS, focusing on the complex interplay between the brain and the heart. Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) triggers autonomic dysfunction, leading to a surge in catecholamines and subsequent myocardial injury. Our review highlights the five cardinal manifestations of SHS: elevated cardiac troponin (cTn) levels, acute myocardial infarction, left ventricular dysfunction, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Despite the significant impact of these complications on patient outcomes, there is a notable absence of specific guidelines for their management. Through a comprehensive literature search, we synthesized findings from recent studies to elucidate the mechanisms underlying SHS and identified gaps in the current understanding. Our findings underscore the importance of early detection and multidisciplinary management of cardiac complications post-stroke. Future research should focus on establishing evidence-based protocols to improve clinical outcomes for stroke patients with SHS. Addressing this unmet need will enhance the care of stroke survivors and reduce mortality rates associated with cardiac complications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Stroke Screening)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop