THALAMIC ISCHEMIC STROKE
Keywords:
ischemic stroke, thalamus, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, diagnosisAbstract
The objective of this research article is to provide an informed understanding on thalamic ischemic stroke and in particular the aetiology, pathophysiology and the symptomatic signs and characteristic features of a typical patient suffering from ischemic stroke. The thalamus provides an important role in executing functions such as ; memory, cognition, emotional behaviours, sleep-wake cycle, general cortical alert motor responses, processing fine and visualized sensory signals and relaying this information to the pre-motor cortex, motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex respectively. In addition to this, we will be particularly expanding on two aspects ; The diagnostic findings via computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging and we will be looking at the typical signs and charecteristics findings see on these two types of imaging modalities. We will also be making an in depth analysis of the incidence of the cases of thalamic ischemic stroke and examine the influence if any, that the age of an individual has on the onset of ischemic stroke and to establish any trends between the age and onset of thalamic ischemic stroke. Furthermore, previous studies indicate that there is a substantial and ever developing link between the increases in age leading to the increase risk of an ischemic attack/stroke however; this link has yet to be proven due to the existence of environmental factors that can have a polymorphic influence on the development of thalamic ischemic stroke. The method taken in this article was intended to take an un-biased and randomized selection of a sample of patients who had previously suffered from an ischemic stroke of thalamic origin or were currently undergoing treatment for an ischemic stroke and to utilise different imaging procedures such as; computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the severity and predict a cause of onset of the ischemic stroke. In addition to this, from a sample of 20 patients who had suffered from thalamic ischemic stroke, the results indicated that there was a direct correlation between the age and increased risk of developing thalamic ischemic stroke as the patients in our study were all of elderly origin ranging between the ages of 55-80. Furthermore, the characteristic signs upon evaluating the diagnostic images showed a pattern on C.T. as an ill-defined hypo-dense region of the thalamus or a general obscurity of the grey-white matter border between the adjacent internal capsule. On the other hand, in the diagnostic MRI images we could see a slightly impaired and hyper-intense grey-matter region and as the infarct develops with a higher degree of hyper-intensity can be seen. Overall, we can state that there is a generalized relationship with more elderly individuals at a higher risk of developing thalamic ischemic stroke/infarct, however, more research needs to be conducted in order to understand the pathophysiology and to have a greater depth of understanding of the diagnostic criteria found on C.T. / MRI that can be used to evaluate whether a patient is or has suffered from an thalamic ischemic stroke.
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