Stroke Academy meeting set for June
The Australasian Stroke Academy is inviting stroke physicians and neurologists to its 2021 Annual Meeting on 4-6 June in at the Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW.
The organisation that focuses on education and training in the diagnosis, management and prevention of stroke says that as in 2020, its meeting will a hybrid virtual/physical format.
“The focus topics for 2021 will include clot retrieval patient selection, heart-brain interactions with cardiac electrophysiologists and structural interventionists, and indigenous stroke,” said Associate Professor Andrew Wong.
“The range of management options for emergency stroke management and secondary prevention has increased over the years, and navigating these in isolation and combination can create complex clinical scenarios which we will discuss,” he added.
The meeting will also include a Crash Course program to bring physician trainees and neurologists with broader interests beyond stroke “up to speed” with modern stroke management. It will cover hyperacute management and reperfusion decision management, and secondary prevention.
Rare bleeding complication from MABs in MS
Two cases of acquired haemophilia A have been reported as complications of alemtuzumab treatment for multiple sclerosis.
The female patients presented with spontaneous bruising, as well as menorrhagia in one patient, about 21 months after their second doses of the monoclonal antibody.
APTTs were prolonged and prothrombin times normal, factor VIIIc levels were reduced and factor VIII inhibitors were detected.
Both women also had features consistent with secondary autoimmune thyroid disease.
One patient required treatment with tranexamic acid to control bleeding. Both patients responded to treatment with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide to eliminate the inhibitor.
“Although it is a rare complication of alemtuzumab, early recognition of acquired haemophilia A may potentially avoid a catastrophic bleeding manifestation,” the study said.
ICH risk with anticoagulation in patients with brain mets
A risk of intracerebral haemorrhage should be considered for patients with cancer and brain metastases when making decisions to use anticoagulation for VTE prophylaxis, US researchers say.
In a case control study of 291 patients with brain metastases (100 receiving therapeutic anticoagulation vs 191 controls) they found that anticoagulation was associated with clinically significant ICH, especially in patients with melanoma or prior ICH.