Common infections in children pose a high risk of ischemic stroke , according to research presented at the American StrokeAssociation's International Stroke Conference 2012. In a review of 2.5 million children, the researchers identified 126childhood ischemic stroke cases and then randomly selected 378age-matched controls from the remaining children without stroke.They discovered that 29 percent of those who suffered a stroke hada medical encounter for infection in the two days preceding thestroke versus one percent of controls during the same dates. In the three- to seven-day window, 13 percent of children had aninfection compared to 2 percent of controls. The elevated risk of stroke didn't persist after the first month ofinfection, researchers said. "This is the first large study to establish the relationshipbetween infection and stroke in children," said Heather Fullerton,M.D., the study's principal investigator and director of thePediatric Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease Center at theUniversity of California in San Francisco. Researchers analyzed diagnostic and radiologic databases ofchildren enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente healthcare plan from1993 to 2007. They evaluated medical records and chart reviews forinfections during the two years prior to the childhood stroke, andthe same time period for the age-matched controls. The children with stroke ranged from infants to adolescents,average 10.5 years old (oldest child was 19). Researchersidentified three stroke-free controls per case. Findings betweengirls and boys or ethnic groups didn't differ. Researchers found acute infections are more important in triggeringstroke than chronic infections over time. "These were predominantly minor acute infections and represented avariety of infections, including upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections and ear infections," Fullerton said. "No particular type ofinfection predominated." The study findings hold implications for the secondary preventionof stroke in children, she said. Most previously healthy children with an ischemic stroke have adisease of the blood vessels to the brain, and these children areat highest risk of recurrent stroke. This study may provide someinsight into why children develop this arteriopathy: theinflammatory process that results from an infection which may leadto stroke by causing vascular injury, researchers said. The standard treatment for ischemic stroke in children is bloodthinners. But the study suggests that future research should focuson the potential role for anti-inflammatory medications inpreventing the recurrence of stroke in this population. The incidence of stroke in childhood is about five per 100,000 inthe United States each year, Fullerton said. About half of childhood strokes are hemorrhagic (bleeding in thebrain), according to American Heart Association statistics. "Childhood infections are exceedingly common, while childhoodstrokes are uncommon," Fullerton said. "Parents should not bealarmed at the findings of this study. We suspect that there arerare genetic factors that may place some children at risk for thisuncommon effect of common infections." Infection is an established risk factor for ischemic stroke inadults. In the United States, stroke is the fourth leading cause ofdeath and a leading cause of serious disability among adults. Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Flat Panel Led Lighting Manufacturer , Led Candle Light Bulbs Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits T10 Led Tube Light.
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