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57-year-old woman with sequelae of cerebral infarction was admitted to our hospital because her left-sided hemiparesis was worsened. The right internal carotid artery (ICA) was not visualized by carotid duplex sonography and brain MRA. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion MR images showed reduced signals in the bilateral ICA territories at post labeling delay 1,525 ms. Her neurological symptoms improved on the day after hospitalization. On day 3, the bilateral ICAs were well visualized on MRA, while cerebral perfusion in the ICA territories appeared to be normalized on ASL. We diagnosed cervical ICA vasospasm, based on the findings of cervical MRA and cerebral angiography. Three months later, the recurrence of ICA vasospasm occurred. ASL was useful for the serial non-invasive evaluation of cerebral hemodynamics from the onset to improvement in a patient with ICA vasospasm.

Febrile neutropenia(FN)occurs in 3-25% of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer(CRPC)receiving docetaxel( DTX). Therefore, the need for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor with DTX as prophylaxis has not been established. Herein, we report the efficacy of primary prophylaxis with pegfilgrastim after DTX in patients with CRPC. The subjects were 30 CRPC patients who received DTX at our hospital between January 2013 and October 2017. Twelve patients underwent primary prophylaxis with pegfilgrastim(Peg-G group), whereas the other 18 did not(control group). FN developed in 1(8.3%) and 8(44.4%)patients in the Peg-G and control groups, respectively(p=0.049). No significant differences were observed in RDI between the 2 groups. The average medical cost per course of DTX was lower in the Peg-G group than in the control group. These results demonstrate that primary prophylaxis with pegfilgrastim is useful because DTX induces FN at a high frequency in patients with CRPC, and pegfilgrastim significantly reduces its incidence without increasing the medical cost.

Fenestration of a vertebral artery(VA)is a rare anomaly that has occasionally been associated with the formation of saccular aneurysms, whereas dissection of a limb of the fenestrated artery is an extremely rare occurrence. We report the case of a ruptured dissecting aneurysm of a fenestrated VA. A 56-year-old man presented with acute-onset headache followed by respiratory failure. Computed tomography(CT)revealed diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage, and CT angiography(CTA)demonstrated fenestration of the left VA and a fusiform aneurysm of the dorsolateral limb of the fenestrated VA. CT after injection of contrast medium revealed dissection of a limb of the fenestrated VA. A comparison of the 3-dimensional digital subtraction angiogram obtained 2 days later with the initial CTA showed that the dissecting aneurysm had shrunk. Coil embolization of the dissecting limb of the fenestrated VA was achieved, and the patient was discharged without neurologic deficit. Further advancements in neuroimaging modalities will provide more opportunities to treat dissecting aneurysms of fenestrated VAs. The relevant clinical characteristics of VA fenestration and the treatment options for a dissecting aneurysm of a limb of the fenestrated VA are also discussed in this report.

We report a case of repeated cerebral hemorrhage associated with administration of rivaroxaban and apixaban. A 74-year-old man had undergone catheter ablation for non-valvular paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in 2 years prior. Warfarin treatment was continued after successful catheter ablation, and was then changed to rivaroxaban in 1 year prior. Three months later, he developed subcortical cerebral hemorrhage in the right occipital lobe and pharmacotherapy was changed to apixaban. At the current presentation, he complained of headache and left visual field defect, and was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography of the head revealed recurrent hematoma at the same site as the previous hemorrhagic lesion. Administration of apixaban was subsequently stopped. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head revealed no vascular anomalies around the hemorrhagic lesion, except for two microbleeds in the left cerebral cortex, suggesting amyloid angiopathy. We report the current case from the perspective of whether anticoagulation should be continued after successful catheter ablation, and whether anticoagulation is appropriate in patients with microbleed signals in the cerebral cortex.

The stroke center with endovascular intervention has been developed with advances in acute stroke therapy. Vascular neurologists who intend to perform endovascular intervention should receive advanced clinical training in a neurosurgical department, as well as experience in cardiovascular medicine for a prescribed period. A stroke team combined with vascular neurologists, neurosurgeons, and endovascular interventionists would be essential for a regional core comprehensive stroke center in the future.