In population-based studies, the peak age of presentation is approximately 45 years with a slight gender predisposition towards males (53-57%).Cervical arteries, as mentioned above, consist of two pairs of arteries: vertebral and carotid. As such, cervical artery dissection can be further categorized based on the involvement of artery: carotid vs. vertebral, and the location of the dissection: intracranial vs. extracranial. Causes
The two main causes of cervical artery dissection can be broadly categorized as either spontaneous or traumatic. Arterial walls are composed of three layers: an intima (the innermost layer), media (the middle muscular layer), and adventitia (the outermost layer). A tear in one of the layers of the arterial walls can result in blood collecting within a pocket between the layers of the artery, which can result in an intramural hematoma and/or aneursymal dilation. At the moment, there is no definitive location for the dissection, with some believing dissection initially occurs within the connective tissue and vasa vasorum of the media while others believe dissection begins with an intimal tear. Spontaneous
Spontaneous cervical artery dissections are dissections that occur without any trauma to the neck. More specifically, this can include potential causes such as hereditary connective tissue diseases, family history of strokes, infections and other miscellaneous causes such as smoking, hypertension, migraines and contraceptive use.
The effect of docusate may not necessarily be all due to its surfactant properties. Perfusion studies suggest that docusate inhibits fluid absorption or stimulates secretion in the portion of the small intestine known as the jejunum. Pharmaceutical brand names
In the U.S., docusate sodium for pharmaceutical use is available under multiple brand names: Aqualax, Calube, Colace, Colace Micro-Enema, Correctol Softgel Extra Gentle, DC-240, Dialose, Diocto, Dioctocal, Dioctosoftez, Dioctyn, Dionex, Doc-Q-Lace, Docu Soft, Docucal, Doculax, Docusoft S, DOK, DOS, Doss-Relief, DSS, Dulcolax - Stool Softener (not to be confused with another drug marketed under the Dulcolax brand, bisacodyl, which is a stimulant laxative), Ex-Lax Stool Softener, Fleet Sof-Lax, Genasoft, Kasof, Laxa-basic, Modane Soft, Octycine-100, Pedia-Lax, Preferred Plus Pharmacy Stool Softener, Regulax SS, Sulfalax Calcium, Sur-Q-Lax, Surfak Stool Softener, and Therevac-SB. Generic preparations are also available. In the UK, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate is sold under the brand name Docusol (Typharm Ltd) and DulcoEase (Boehringer Ingelheim). In Australia, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate is sold as Coloxyl and Coloxyl with senna. In India, preparations include Laxatin by Alembic, Doslax by Raptakos Laboratories, Cellubril by AstraZeneca, and Laxicon by Stadmed. Other uses
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate is used as a surfactant in a wide range of applications, often under the name Aerosol-OT. It is unusual in that it is able to form microemulsions without the use of co-surfactants, and it has a rich variety of aqueous-phase behavior including multiple liquid crystalline phases. Food additive
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate has been approved by the US FDA as a "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) additive.