Citations

Background and Purpose— The risk of intracranial aneurysm (IA) rupture in asymptomatic members of families who have multiple affected individuals is not known. Methods— First-degree unaffected relatives of those with a familial history of IA who had a history of smoking or hypertension but no known IA were offered cerebral MR angiography (MRA) and followed yearly as part of a National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke-funded study of familial IA (Familial Intracranial Aneurysm [FIA] Study). Results— A total of 2874 subjects from 542 FIA Study families were enrolled. After study enrollment, MRAs were performed in 548 FIA Study family members with no known history of IA. Of these 548 subjects, 113 subjects (20.6%) had 148 IAs by MRA of whom 5 subjects had IA ≥7 mm. Two subjects with an unruptured IA by MRA/CT angiography (3-mm and 4-mm anterior communicating artery) subsequently had rupture of their IA. This represents an annual rate of 1.2 ruptures per 100 subjects (1.2% per year; 95% CI, 0.14% to 4.3% per year). None of the 435 subjects with a negative MRA have had a ruptured IA. Survival curves between the MRA-positive and -negative cohorts were significantly different ( P =0.004). This rupture rate of unruptured IA in the FIA Study cohort of 1.2% per year is approximately 17 times higher than the rupture rate for subjects with an unruptured IA in the International Study of Unruptured Aneurysm Study with a matched distribution of IA size and location 0.069% per year. Conclusions— Small unruptured IAs in patients from FIA Study families may have a higher risk of rupture than sporadic unruptured IAs of similar size, which should be considered in the management of these patients.

Background and Purpose— Risk for both intracranial aneurysms (IAs) and aortic aneurysms (AAs) is thought to be heritable with mounting evidence for genetic predisposition. The concept of shared risk for these conditions is challenged by differences in age of diagnosis and demographic characteristics. We performed a genomewide linkage analysis in multiplex families with both IA and AA from the Familial Intracranial Aneurysm study. Methods— Available medical records of subjects who reported IA or abdominal/thoracic AA were reviewed with adjudication as definite/probable, possible, or not a case. To identify genes contributing to the susceptibility for IA and AA, genomewide linkage analysis was performed in the 26 multiplex IA families who had members who also had thoracic or abdominal AA. Individuals (n=91) were defined as affected if they had an IA (definite/probable) or an aortic or thoracic AA (definite/probable). Results— Maximum logarithm of odds (LOD) scores were found on chromosomes 11 (144 cM; LOD=3.0) and 6 (33 cM; LOD=2.3). In both chromosomal regions, analyses of these same 26 families considering only IA as the disease phenotype produced LOD scores of 1.8 and 1.6, respectively. Conclusions— Our linkage analysis in these 26 families using the broadest disease phenotype, including IA, abdominal AA, and thoracic AA, supports the concept of shared genetic risk. The chromosome 11 locus appears to confirm earlier independent associations in IA and AA. The chromosome 6 finding is novel. Both warrant further investigation.

Object Approximately 20% of patients with an intracranial saccular aneurysm report a family history of intracranial aneurysm (IA) or subarachnoid hemorrhage. A better understanding of predictors of aneurysm detection in familial IA may allow more targeted aneurysm screening strategies. Methods The Familial Intracranial Aneurysm (FIA) study is a multicenter study, in which the primary objective is to define the susceptibility genes related to the formation of IA. First-degree relatives (FDRs) of those affected with IA are offered screening with magnetic resonance (MR) angiography if they were previously unaffected, are ≥ 30 years of age, and have a history of smoking and/or hypertension. Independent predictors of aneurysm detection on MR angiography were determined using the generalized estimating equation version of logistic regression. Results Among the first 303 patients screened with MR angiography, 58 (19.1%) had at least 1 IA, including 24% of women and 11.7% of men. Ten (17.2%) of 58 affected patients had multiple aneurysms. Independent predictors of aneurysm detection included female sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.46, p = 0.001), pack-years of cigarette smoking (OR 3.24 for 20 pack-years of cigarette smoking compared with never having smoked, p < 0.001), and duration of hypertension (OR 1.26 comparing those with 10 years of hypertension to those with no hypertension, p = 0.006). Conclusions In the FIA study, among the affected patients' FDRs who are > 30 years of age, those who are women or who have a history of smoking or hypertension are at increased risk of suffering an IA and should be strongly considered for screening.

The recent “Advanced Neuroimaging for Acute Stroke Treatment” meeting on September 7 and 8, 2007 in Washington DC, brought together stroke neurologists, neuroradiologists, emergency physicians, neuroimaging research scientists, members of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), industry representatives, and members of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the role of advanced neuroimaging in acute stroke treatment. The goals of the meeting were to assess state-of-the-art practice in terms of acute stroke imaging research and to propose specific recommendations regarding: (1) the standardization of perfusion and penumbral imaging techniques, (2) the validation of the accuracy and clinical utility of imaging markers of the ischemic penumbra, (3) the validation of imaging biomarkers relevant to clinical outcomes, and (4) the creation of a central repository to achieve these goals. The present article summarizes these recommendations and examines practical steps to achieve them.

Background and Purpose— Evidence supports a substantial genetic contribution to the risk of intracranial aneurysm (IA). The purpose of this study was to identify chromosomal regions likely to harbor genes that contribute to the risk of IA. Methods— Multiplex families having at least 2 individuals with “definite” or “probable” IA were ascertained through an international consortium. First-degree relatives of individuals with IA who were at increased risk of an IA because of a history of hypertension or present smoking were offered cerebral magnetic resonance angiography. A genome screen was completed using the Illumina 6K SNP system, and the resulting data from 192 families, containing 1155 genotyped individuals, were analyzed. Narrow and broad disease definitions were used when testing for linkage using multipoint model-independent methods. Ordered subset analysis was performed to test for a gene×smoking (pack-years) interaction. Results— The greatest evidence of linkage was found on chromosomes 4 (LOD=2.5; 156 cM), 7 (LOD=1.7; 183 cM), 8 (LOD=1.9; 70 cM), and 12 (LOD=1.6; 102 cM) using the broad disease definition. Using the average pack-years for the affected individuals in each family, the genes on chromosomes 4 (LOD=3.5; P =0.03), 7 (LOD=4.1; P =0.01) and 12 (LOD=3.6; P =0.02) all appear to be modulated by the degree of smoking in the affected members of the family. On chromosome 8, inclusion of smoking as a covariate did not significantly strengthen the linkage evidence, suggesting no interaction between the loci in this region and smoking. Conclusions— We have detected possible evidence of linkage to 4 chromosomal regions. There is potential evidence for a gene×smoking interaction with 3 of the loci.