Thrombus composition identifies distinct etiologic phenotypes in embolic stroke of undetermined source.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Thrombus composition identifies distinct etiologic phenotypes in embolic stroke of undetermined source.
Authors: Schwarz, Ghil (AUTHOR), Bellavia, Simone (AUTHOR), Aquilano, Maria Costanza (AUTHOR), di Como, Martina (AUTHOR), Valtorta, Emanuele (AUTHOR), Bonoldi, Emanuela (AUTHOR), Macera, Antonio (AUTHOR), Cervo, Amedeo (AUTHOR), Pero, Guglielmo Carlo (AUTHOR), Tolva, Valerio (AUTHOR), Piano, Mariangela (AUTHOR), Sessa, Maria (AUTHOR), Rizzo, Angelo Cascio (AUTHOR)
Source: Neurological Sciences. May2026, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p1-10. 10p.
Abstract: Background and aims: Embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) is biologically heterogeneous and often presumed cardioembolic (CE). We investigated whether thrombus composition can capture etiologic heterogeneity within ESUS, clarifying its overall similarity to CE stroke and exploring whether selected radiological features are associated with atherothrombotic-like thrombus patterns. Methods: Retrospective single-center study of anterior-circulation ischemic stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) (2022–2025) with available thrombus, classified as large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA), CE, or ESUS. Thrombus composition (RBCs, fibrin, leukocytes; % thrombus area) was analyzed using prespecified non-parametric hierarchical comparisons with Bonferroni correction (k = 3). Reference analyses compared LAA vs. CE; primary analyses ESUS vs. LAA and CE; secondary and tertiary analyses stratified ESUS by ipsilateral high-risk non-stenotic carotid plaque (hrNSCP − vs. hrNSCP+, defined by CTA-based Plaque-RADS score 3–4). Robustness was assessed using isometric log-ratio transformation and exploratory multivariable models. Results: Among 344 MT-treated patients, 159 (46.2%) were included (91 CE, 18 LAA, 50 ESUS). LAA and CE showed distinct thrombus profiles, with higher RBC and lower fibrin content in LAA compared with CE (p < 0.01). ESUS thrombi were descriptively CE-like, without significant differences versus CE or LAA after correction. After stratification, two distinct and biologically coherent thrombus phenotypes emerged: ESUS hrNSCP− (n = 42) thrombi overlapped with CE, whereas ESUS hrNSCP+ (n = 8) thrombi were indistinguishable from LAA; these patterns were confirmed by compositional and multivariable analyses. Conclusions: When etiologic heterogeneity is taken into account, thrombus composition reveals distinct cardioembolic-like and atherothrombotic-like patterns within ESUS, supporting its role as a complementary tool for etiologic attribution alongside clinical and imaging data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Neurological Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 193103198
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Thrombus composition identifies distinct etiologic phenotypes in embolic stroke of undetermined source.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Schwarz%2C+Ghil%22&quot;&gt;Schwarz, Ghil&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Bellavia%2C+Simone%22&quot;&gt;Bellavia, Simone&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Aquilano%2C+Maria+Costanza%22&quot;&gt;Aquilano, Maria Costanza&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22di+Como%2C+Martina%22&quot;&gt;di Como, Martina&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Valtorta%2C+Emanuele%22&quot;&gt;Valtorta, Emanuele&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Bonoldi%2C+Emanuela%22&quot;&gt;Bonoldi, Emanuela&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Macera%2C+Antonio%22&quot;&gt;Macera, Antonio&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Cervo%2C+Amedeo%22&quot;&gt;Cervo, Amedeo&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Pero%2C+Guglielmo+Carlo%22&quot;&gt;Pero, Guglielmo Carlo&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Tolva%2C+Valerio%22&quot;&gt;Tolva, Valerio&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Piano%2C+Mariangela%22&quot;&gt;Piano, Mariangela&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Sessa%2C+Maria%22&quot;&gt;Sessa, Maria&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Rizzo%2C+Angelo+Cascio%22&quot;&gt;Rizzo, Angelo Cascio&lt;/searchLink&gt; (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;JN&quot; term=&quot;%22Neurological+Sciences%22&quot;&gt;Neurological Sciences&lt;/searchLink&gt;. May2026, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p1-10. 10p.
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background and aims: Embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) is biologically heterogeneous and often presumed cardioembolic (CE). We investigated whether thrombus composition can capture etiologic heterogeneity within ESUS, clarifying its overall similarity to CE stroke and exploring whether selected radiological features are associated with atherothrombotic-like thrombus patterns. Methods: Retrospective single-center study of anterior-circulation ischemic stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) (2022–2025) with available thrombus, classified as large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA), CE, or ESUS. Thrombus composition (RBCs, fibrin, leukocytes; % thrombus area) was analyzed using prespecified non-parametric hierarchical comparisons with Bonferroni correction (k = 3). Reference analyses compared LAA vs. CE; primary analyses ESUS vs. LAA and CE; secondary and tertiary analyses stratified ESUS by ipsilateral high-risk non-stenotic carotid plaque (hrNSCP − vs. hrNSCP+, defined by CTA-based Plaque-RADS score 3–4). Robustness was assessed using isometric log-ratio transformation and exploratory multivariable models. Results: Among 344 MT-treated patients, 159 (46.2%) were included (91 CE, 18 LAA, 50 ESUS). LAA and CE showed distinct thrombus profiles, with higher RBC and lower fibrin content in LAA compared with CE (p &lt; 0.01). ESUS thrombi were descriptively CE-like, without significant differences versus CE or LAA after correction. After stratification, two distinct and biologically coherent thrombus phenotypes emerged: ESUS hrNSCP− (n = 42) thrombi overlapped with CE, whereas ESUS hrNSCP+ (n = 8) thrombi were indistinguishable from LAA; these patterns were confirmed by compositional and multivariable analyses. Conclusions: When etiologic heterogeneity is taken into account, thrombus composition reveals distinct cardioembolic-like and atherothrombotic-like patterns within ESUS, supporting its role as a complementary tool for etiologic attribution alongside clinical and imaging data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: &lt;i&gt;Copyright of Neurological Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder&#39;s express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.&lt;/i&gt; (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=193103198
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10072-026-09021-4
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 1
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Thrombus composition identifies distinct etiologic phenotypes in embolic stroke of undetermined source.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Schwarz, Ghil
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bellavia, Simone
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Aquilano, Maria Costanza
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: di Como, Martina
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Valtorta, Emanuele
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bonoldi, Emanuela
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Macera, Antonio
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Cervo, Amedeo
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Pero, Guglielmo Carlo
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Tolva, Valerio
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Piano, Mariangela
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sessa, Maria
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Rizzo, Angelo Cascio
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 15901874
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 47
            – Type: issue
              Value: 5
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Neurological Sciences
              Type: main
ResultId 1