A case-control study of dietary patterns and lifestyle factors affecting colorectal cancer in Hunan province, South China.

Ischemic stroke accounts for a substantial proportion of global premature mortality and long-term disability. Lacunar infarction (LI), the most common ischemic stroke subtype, is caused by occlusion of small perforating arteries and accounts for about 1 quarter of all ischemic strokes. Studies show that LI has a relatively high incidence in both Asian and European populations, but research on LI remains insufficient. In clinical practice, it is often misdiagnosed or missed, especially in the early stages of the disease. Compared with non-lacunar stroke, LI more frequently presents with gradually progressive neurological deficits and motor dysfunction, which may delay disease recognition and timely intervention. Conventional risk factors including hypertension, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obstructive sleep apnea partly underlie the pathophysiology of LI, but studies suggest that other pathogenic mechanisms, particularly genetic susceptibility, may play an important role in the course of LI. The concept of LI has evolved from a pathological description to an imaging-based and etiologically classified entity. The term originally came from pathological descriptions, referring to small cystic cavities formed after liquefaction and absorption of brain tissue. With the widespread use of imaging technologies such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), LI gradually acquired the meaning of imaging diagnosis, and was further incorporated into ischemic stroke etiological classification systems such as Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST), becoming synonymous with the “small artery occlusion” subtype. This evolution has led to conceptual heterogeneity: LI in the literature may refer to acute or chronic lesions, differing etiologies, and both symptomatic and asymptomatic infarcts. This heterogeneity likely contributes to inconsistent results across studies. In this meta-analysis, we therefore used uniform imaging criteria and conducted predefined subgroup analyses to address this issue.