Midway evaluation - Vojtech Novotny
Midway evaluation for the PhD degree at the University of Bergen for candidate Vojtech Novotny
Main content
Vojtech Novotny is affiliated to the Department of Clinical Medicine. Supervisors are Nicola Logallo, Annette Fromm, Lars Thomassen og Halvor Næss.
PhD project
The Norwegian Sonothrombolysis in Acute Stroke Study (NOR-SASS) & Multiple Acute Cerebral Infarcts in more than one arterial territory study
By Vojtech Novotny
Abstract
Multiple Acute Cerebral Infarcts in more than one arterial territory (MACI) study is a project conducted by PhD candidate Vojtech Novotny, a member of the Bergen Stroke Research Group. The PhD project is based on the Bergen NORSTROKE registry, which is a comprehensive prospective registry of all stroke patients admitted to the stroke unit at Haukeland University Hospital.
Patients with MACI as a single event represent a substantial part of the stroke population. Few studies have aimed mainly on major etiologies and diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging in these patients. However, the numbers of patients were usually low. Several clinical, pathophysiological and radiological aspects are still unexplored.
The aim of the project is to contribute to the knowledge base in this field of stroke medicine and improve the diagnostics and treatment of this stroke population. The PhD candidate has already published two articles on this topic. The first article shows the association of MACI with cardiogenic embolism as the main cause. The second article demonstrates the different time patterns of MACI caused by either cardiogenic embolism or large artery atherosclerosis. The time patterns may distinguish these etiological mechanisms in MACI patients.
Further research within the PhD project will mainly focus on clinical characteristics of MACI patients in general and MACI associated with active cancer. The third article will explore the frequency, short-term outcomes and complications of MACI patients. The fourth article will explore those MACI patients where the etiological cause is an active cancer. There is an evidence that active cancer causes hypercoagulable states and consequently may result in acute ischemic stroke. Multiple lesions are most probably relatively more common in cancer patients; however, this phenomenon is not well described yet.