ObjectiveTo investigate the technique and efficacy of left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) in elderly patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and atrial fibrillation (AF).MethodsFrom 2013 to 2018, 84 elderly patients with CAD and AF with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF< 50%) underwent OPCABG in our department. There were 54 males and 30 females at age of 70-82 years. They were divided into a left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion group (n=56) and a non-LAA occlusion group (n=28). Postoperative antithrombotic therapy: the LAA occlusion group was given warfarin + aspirin + clopidogrel “triple antithrombotic therapy” for 3 months after operation, then was changed to aspirin + clopidogrel “dual antiplatelet” for long-term antithrombotic; the non-LAA occlusion group was given warfarin + aspirin + clopidogrel “triple antithrombotic” for long-term antithrombotic after operation. The clinical effectiveness of the two groups was compared.ResultsAll patients underwent the surgery successfully. There were 56 patients in the LAA occlusion group, including 44 patients of LAA exclusion and 12 patients of LAA clip. The time of LAA occlusion was 3 to 8 minutes. There was no injury of graft vessels and anastomotic stoma. Early postoperative death occurred in 2 patients (2.4%). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in postoperative hospital stay (P=0.115). Postoperative LVEF of the two groups significantly improved compared with that before operation (P<0.05). There was no stroke or bleeding in important organs during hospitalization. During follow-up of 1 year, no cerebral infarction occurred in both groups, but the incidence of bleeding related complications in the LAA occlusion group was significantly lower than that in the non-LAA occlusion group (3.6% vs. 18.5%, P=0.036).ConclusionFor elderly patients with CAD and AF with reduced LVEF, LAA occlusion during OPCABG can effectively reduce the risk of stroke and bleeding related complications, and without increasing the risk of surgery.
Clinically, non-contrastive computed tomography (NCCT) is used to quickly diagnose the type and area of stroke, and the Alberta stroke program early computer tomography score (ASPECTS) is used to guide the next treatment. However, in the early stage of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), it’s difficult to distinguish the mild cerebral infarction on NCCT with the naked eye, and there is no obvious boundary between brain regions, which makes clinical ASPECTS difficult to conduct. The method based on machine learning and deep learning can help physicians quickly and accurately identify cerebral infarction areas, segment brain areas, and operate ASPECTS quantitative scoring, which is of great significance for improving the inconsistency in clinical ASPECTS. This article describes current challenges in the field of AIS ASPECTS, and then summarizes the application of computer-aided technology in ASPECTS from two aspects including machine learning and deep learning. Finally, this article summarizes and prospects the research direction of AIS-assisted assessment, and proposes that the computer-aided system based on multi-modal images is of great value to improve the comprehensiveness and accuracy of AIS assessment, which has the potential to open up a new research field for AIS-assisted assessment.
ObjectiveTo explore the rehabilitation effect of a domestic lower limb rehabilitation robot on patients with chronic stroke.MethodsChronic stroke patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from September 2017 to August 2019 were collected. These patients underwent A3 robot-assisted gait training for 6 weeks. The differences of gait parameters, spatiotemporal asymmetries, total score and score of each item of Barthel Index were analyzed before and after 6 weeks training.ResultsA total of 15 patients were included, and 12 patients finally completed the trial. After the training, the gait parameters of patients with chronic stroke were significantly improved. Comparing with the baseline data, the cadence, stride length, velocity, step length of the affected leg, and step length of the healthy leg significantly increased (P<0.05) after the training; the stride time and the double-support time were significantly shorter (P<0.05); the stance phase of the affected leg was shortened (P<0.05); the swing phase of the affected leg was prolonged (P<0.05); While no significant difference in the stance phase or swing phase of the healthy leg was found (P>0.05). The spatiotemporal asymmetries had no significant change compared with the baseline data, including the ratio of step length [(1.26±0.23) vs. (1.13±0.10); t=1.816, P=0.097] and the ratio of swing phase of both lower limbs [1.14 (0.23) vs. 1.10 (0.38); Z=−0.153, P=0.878]. The activities of daily living were improved after the training, and the total score of Barthel Index [(72.92± 13.05) vs. (85.42±14.38); t=−6.966, P<0.001] was significantly higher than that before the training. Among the items, the scores of bathing [0.00 (3.75) vs. 5.00 (5.00); Z=−2.000, P=0.046], walking on the flat ground [10.00 (3.75) vs. 15.00 (5.00); Z=−3.000, P=0.003], and going up and down stairs [5.00 (5.00) vs. 7.50 (5.00), Z=−3.000, P=0.003] were higher than the baseline data, and the differences were statistically significant.ConclusionsA3 robot-assisted gait training can effectively improve the walking ability and activities of daily living of patients with chronic stroke but not the spatiotemporal asymmetries. Whether the spatiotemporal asymmetries can be improved by adjusting the robot equipment parameters needs to be further studied.
Objective To explore the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) change and the prognosis of patients with stroke. Methods Individuals who were diagnosed with stroke from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) registry were included. The baseline characteristics in 2011, blood tests in 2011 and 2015, and follow-up data in 2018 were collected. The patients were divided into three groups according to their CPR change from 2011 to 2015, and the cut-off values of CRP change were 0 and 5 mg/L. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between CRP change and the risk of death after stroke. Results A total of 1065 participants diagnosed in 2011 were enrolled. There were 383 participants in the CRP decreased group (CRP change ranging from –74.30 to –0.01 mg/L), 584 participants in the CRP stable group (CRP change ranging from 0 to 4.98 mg/L), and 98 participants in the CRP increased group (CRP change ranging from 5.00 to 79.27 mg/L). By 2018, the numbers (rates) of deaths in CRP decreased group, CRP stable group, and CRP increased group were 25 (6.53%), 33 (5.65%), and 13 (13.27%), respectively, and the difference in the mortality among the three groups was statistically significant (P=0.020). Logistic regression analysis showed that the CRP change≥5 mg/L was associated with a higher risk of death after stroke [odds ratio=2.332, 95% confidence interval (1.099, 4.946), P=0.027]. Conclusions Increasing CRP levels over time may indicate an increased risk of death in stroke patients. A 4-year increase in CRP greater than 5 mg/L may be an independent predictor of the risk of long-term death in stroke patients.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical and video EEG features of patients with post-stroke epilepsy (PSE).MethodsThe clinical data of 68 patients with epilepsy after cerebral infarction and 33 patients with epilepsy after cerebral hemorrhage were analyzed retrospectively from January 2015 to June 2018 in the Affilated Hospital of Jining Medical University. There were 5 cases of early-onset epilepsy, and the rest were late-onset epilepsy. There were 68 cases of cerebral infarction (1 case showed post-infarction hemorrhagic transformation), 33 cases of cerebral hemorrhage; 51 females, 50 males (f∶m = 1.02∶1); the onset age was 45 ~ 101 years, with an average of (68.10 ± 10.26) years.ResultsThe time from seizure to stroke in 101 cases was (28.92 ± 35.61) months, 60 cases (59.40%) ≤ 1 year, 26 cases (25.74%) 1 ~ 5 years, and 15 cases (14.85%) 5 ~ 10 years. Post-stroke epilepsy had no relation to gender (P>0.05). The age of onset is mostly in 60 to 75 years old (62.38%). Seizure often happen within 1 year after stroke (59.4%). The type of attack is focal seizure (77.23%). Cortical infarction (77.94%), cerebral artery stenosis (83.82%), hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation are risk factors for epilepsy after infarction. The abnormal rate of EEG for PSE is 90.1%, which was manifested as slow wave in the lesion side, epileptic wave in the lesion side or contralateral side.ConclusionsThe location, duration, age and severity of cerebral artery stenosis in patients with PSE are closely related to the occurrence of seizure. VEEG plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of epilepsy.
A realizaton project of electrical stimulator aimed at motor dysfunction of stroke is proposed in this paper. Based on neurophysiological biofeedback, this system, using an ARM9 S3C2440 as the core processor, integrates collection and display of surface electromyography (sEMG) signal, as well as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) into one system. By embedding Linux system, the project is able to use Qt/Embedded as a graphical interface design tool to accomplish the design of stroke rehabilitation apparatus. Experiments showed that this system worked well.
The functional coupling between motor cortex and effector muscles during autonomic movement can be quantified by calculating the coupling between electroencephalogram (EEG) signal and surface electromyography (sEMG) signal. The maximal information coefficient (MIC) algorithm has been proved to be effective in quantifying the coupling relationship between neural signals, but it also has the problem of time-consuming calculations in actual use. To solve this problem, an improved MIC algorithm was proposed based on the efficient clustering characteristics of K-means ++ algorithm to accurately detect the coupling strength between nonlinear time series. Simulation results showed that the improved MIC algorithm proposed in this paper can capture the coupling relationship between nonlinear time series quickly and accurately under different noise levels. The results of right dorsiflexion experiments in stroke patients showed that the improved method could accurately capture the coupling strength of EEG signal and sEMG signal in the specific frequency band. Compared with the healthy controls, the functional corticomuscular coupling (FCMC) in beta (14~30 Hz) and gamma band (31~45 Hz) were significantly weaker in stroke patients, and the beta-band MIC values were positively correlated with the Fugl-Meyers assessment (FMA) scale scores. The method proposed in this study is hopeful to be a new method for quantitative assessment of motor function for stroke patients.
Objectives To assess the efficacy and safety of cytidine diphosphate choline for patients with acute stroke. Methods Such databases as PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP Database and Chinese Medical Association Journals were searched from the establishment to September of 2010, and the references of the included literatures were also searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cytidine diphosphate choline for patients with acute stroke. The data were extracted by two reviewers independently in accordance with the inclusion criteria. The quality of included trials was evaluated according to the Jadad scale standard. RevMan5.0 software was used for data analyses. Results Thirteen RCTs involving 2837 patients were included. The results of meta-analyses showed that, there was no significant difference in the mortality or the rate of dependency at the end of follow-up (OR=0.94, 95%CI 0.66 to 1.36, P=0.75) between the cytidine diphosphate choline group and the placebo group. But the total effective rate of the cytidine diphosphate choline group was higher than that of the placebo group with a significant difference (OR=1.72, 95%CI 1.41 to 2.10, Plt;0.000 01). Five trials reported the incidence of adverse reaction of cytidine diphosphate choline treatment which showed the adverse reaction was mild; no severe adverse events (SAEs) were reported and the clinical application was safe. Conclusion The cytidine diphosphate choline is effective and safe for acute stroke. However, it is invalid to reduce the mortality and the rate of dependency at the end of three months’ follow-up.
Objective To analyze the influencing factors of hemorrhagic transformation (HT) after intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods AIS patients hospitalized in the Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between June 2017 and June 2020 and receiving rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis were selected. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had HT, HT group and non-HT group. General data such as patient’s age, sex, past history, score of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) before thrombolysis, and related biochemical examination indicators were collected, to analyze the difference between the patients with HT or not, and analyze the related factors affecting the HT of AIS patients after intravenous thrombolysis. Results A total of patients 323 were included. Among them, 46 cases (14.2%) had HT, and 277 cases (85.8%) had no-HT. Except for serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), atrial fibrillation, hypertension, cerebral infarction area, NIHSS score before thrombolysis, uric acid, blood glucose before thrombolysis, white blood cell count, albumin level, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase and C-reactive protein (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in other indexes between the two groups (P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that NIHSS score≥13 before thrombolysis, aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase, blood glucose before thrombolysis≥12.74 mmol/L, low FT3 level, massive cerebral infarction, and atrial fibrillation were independent risk factors for HT after thrombolysis in AIS. Conclusions FT3 and aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase levels may be good biomarkers for predicting HT after intravenous thrombolysis. For patients with reduced albumin and uric acid levels, supplementation of exogenous uric acid and albumin may help reduce the risk of HT after AIS thrombolysis.
ObjectiveTo explore the association of elongase of very long chain fatty acids family member 6 (ELOVL6) gene with increased risk of large-artery atherosclerosis stroke (LAA) in Han Chinese population in Chengdu.MethodsHan Chinese populations in Chengdu, Sichuan were chosen for this study using the case-control design between January 2015 and December 2017. The genotypes and haplotypes of six single nucleotides polymorphisms (SNPs) of ELOVL6 gene (rs3813825, rs17041272, rs4141123, rs9997926, rs6824447, and rs12504538) were analyzed in different genetic models in entire samples, and gene-enviromental interaction analyses were also carried out to get an insight of the risk factors for LAA. At the same time, we also analyzed the gene expression profile in peripheral blood mononuclear cells between groups.ResultsA total of 240 LAA cases and 211 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. All the enrolled subjects presented CC genotype of rs9997926, while the other five SNPs (rs3813825, rs17041272, rs4141123, rs6824447, and rs12504538) were genotyped successfully in all the enrolled subjects. rs17041272 polymorphism and TGTTG haplotype were significantly associated with LAA risk in studied population [CC/(CG+GG): odds ratio (OR)=0.640, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.423, 0.968), P=0.034; TGTTG: OR=1.776, 95%CI (1.069, 2.951), P=0.024], and the interaction among rs17041272, rs6824447 SNPs and dyslipidemia increased susceptibility to LAA [OR=2.737, 95%CI (1.715, 4.368), P<0.001]. The ELOVL6 gene expression level was higher in LAA subjects (t=−3.167, P=0.003).ConclusionsELOVL6 gene is associated with LAA risk in Han nationality of Chinese population in Chengdu, and the interaction of gene-environmental risk factors could be of great importance in pathophysiology of LAA.