MES were detected in one-sixth of anterior circulation AIS patients, but were absent in lacunar stroke. Their presence was associated with multiple-territory infarcts, newly detected atrial fibrillation, and cancer-related stroke. MES counts correlated with D-dimer levels, supporting their role as markers of ongoing cerebral embolization and underlying prothrombotic state, with potential utility in revealing occult embolic mechanisms.
Bakola et al. (Sun,) studied this question.