Objective To systematically review the dose-response relationship between cadmium exposure and the risk of stroke onset. Methods The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect studies related to objectives from inception to June 2024. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using Stata 15.1 software. Results There were 10 studies that involved 28 250 participants, and 7 of them were prospective cohort studies and 3 were case-control studies. Meta-analysis results showed that cadmium exposure significantly increased the risk of stroke (RR=1.39, 95%CI 1.20 to 1.59, P<0.01), blood cadmium exposure significantly increased the risk of stroke (RR=1.79, 95%CI 1.34 to 2.25, P<0.01), urinary cadmium exposure significantly increased the risk of stroke (RR=1.30, 95%CI 1.09 to 1.52, P<0.01). Blood cadmium exposure had a significantly nonlinear dose-response relationship associated with an increased risk of stroke (χ2=8.56, P<0.05). The risk of stroke increased by 15% with the blood cadmium exposure concentration of 0.8 μg/L (RR=1.15, 95%CI 0.98 to 1.36), and 51% with the blood cadmium exposure concentration of 1.2 μg/L (RR=1.51, 95%CI 1.14 to 2.01) than those without blood cadmium exposure. Urinary cadmium exposure had significantly linear dose-response relationship associated with an increased risk of stroke (χ2=2.47, P=0.12). The risk of stroke increased by 26% with the urinary cadmium exposure concentration of 0.8 μg/g (RR=1.26, 95%CI 1.20 to 1.31), and 31% with the urinary cadmium exposure concentration of 1.2 μg/g (RR=1.31, 95%CI 1.27 to 1.36) than those without urinary cadmium exposure. Conclusion Cadmium exposure increases the risk of stroke. There was a significant dose-response relationship between cadmium exposure and the risk of stroke.
ObjectiveConstructing a prediction model for seizures after stroke, and exploring the risk factors that lead to seizures after stroke. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 1 741 patients with stroke admitted to People's Hospital of Zhongjiang from July 2020 to September 2022 who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These patients were followed up for one year after the occurrence of stroke to observe whether they experienced seizures. Patient data such as gender, age, diagnosis, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, Activity of daily living (ADL) score, laboratory tests, and imaging examination data were recorded. Taking the occurrence of seizures as the outcome, an analysis was conducted on the above data. The Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to screen predictive variables, and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed. Subsequently, the data were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set in a 7:3 ratio. Construct prediction model, calculate the C-index, draw nomogram, calibration plot, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) to evaluate the model's performance and clinical application value. ResultsThrough LASSO regression, nine non-zero coefficient predictive variables were identified: NIHSS score, homocysteine (Hcy), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), platelet count, hyperuricemia, hyponatremia, frontal lobe lesions, temporal lobe lesions, and pons lesions. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that NIHSS score, Hcy, hyperuricemia, hyponatremia, and pons lesions were positively correlated with seizures after stroke, while AST and platelet count were negatively correlated with seizures after stroke. A nomogram for predicting seizures after stroke was established. The C-index of the training set and validation set were 0.854 [95%CI (0.841, 0.947)] and 0.838 [95%CI (0.800, 0.988)], respectively. The areas under the ROC curves were 0.842 [95%CI (0.777, 0.899)] and 0.829 [95%CI (0.694, 0.936)] respectively. Conclusion These nine variables can be used to predict seizures after stroke, and they provide new insights into its risk factors.
Enteral nutrition can improve patient’s nutritional status, reduce the incidence of complications, and promote the patient’s rehabilitation. For patients with stroke, enteral nutrition is the first choice for nutritional support. Nurses not only participate but also play important roles in the whole process of nutrition management in stroke. Therefore, standardizing the nursing practice in enteral nutrition and developing nursing guideline in line with Chinese clinical practice is of great significance. In the guideline, 18 key clinical questions had been established via the Delphi method, and for each question, detailed recommendations had been constructed. It is expected to provide clinical standards for enteral nutrition in patients with stroke, and to improve the nutritional management and disease prognosis of stroke patients.
ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between the functional status of upper limb motor neurons and motor function in stroke patients, and provide guidance for rehabilitation assessment and functional prognosis.MethodsThe stroke patients who were hospitalized in Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University between November 2020 and January 2021 were selected. Motor unit number estimation (MUNE) and F wave were examined to evaluate the functional status of motor neuron. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) were used to evaluate the upper limb motor function. The correlations of electrophysiological parameters with FMA score and MAS score were analyzed respectively.ResultsA total of 42 patients were enrolled, and 16 patients were complicated with carpal flexor spasm on the affected side. Among the 42 stroke patients, the MUNE of the abductor pollicis brevis on the affected side was lower than that on the unaffected side (t=−3.466, P=0.001), and the percentage of F waves with different shapes on the affected side was significantly lower than that on the unaffected side (Z=−5.583, P<0.001). Among the 16 stroke patients with carpal flexor spasm, the F wave amplitude was higher on the affected side than that on the unaffected side (t=2.764, P=0.014), while the F wave latency on the affected side was not statistically significant compared with the unaffected side (Z=−0.595, P=0.552). Among the 42 stroke patients, the affected/unaffected side ratio of the percentage of F waves with different shapes was positively correlated with FMA score (rs=0.377, P=0.014), while the correlation between the affected/unaffected side ratio of MUNE and FMA score was not statistically significant (rs=0.104, P=0.513). Among the 16 stroke patients with carpal flexor spasm, the affected/unaffected side ratio of the F wave amplitude was positively correlated with the MAS score of the carpi flexor muscle (rs=0.550, P=0.027).ConclusionStroke may result into the number of functional motor neurons of the upper limbs of the hemiplegic side decreased and the excitability of motor neurons increased simultaneously, and which were related to motor function and muscle tone.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the related factors of constipation in patients with stroke. MethodsCochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang and China Biomedical Literature Database were searched by computer, and the retrieval time was set to May 2022. Case-control studies, cohort studies and cross-sectional studies on stroke and constipation were selected. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 13 studies involving 2 834 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that age [odds ratio (OR) =2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.36, 3.73), P<0.001], lesion location [OR=1.98, 95%CI (1.27, 3.11), P=0.003], National Institutes of HealthStroke Scale score [OR=0.40, 95%CI (0.10, 0.70), P=0.010], hemiplegia [OR=4.31, 95%CI (2.59, 7.17), P<0.001], dysphagia [OR=2.32, 95%CI (1.27, 4.25), P=0.006], antidepressants [OR=2.33, 95%CI (1.62, 3.34), P<0.001], BI score [OR=−17.08, 95%CI (−33.07, −1.08), P=0.04], eating pattern [OR=4.18, 95%CI (1.16, 15.09), P=0.030], drinking water volume ≥800 mL [OR=0.30, 95%CI (0.19, 0.46), P<0.001] might be the influencing factors of constipation in patients after stroke. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that age, education level, diabetes, smoking, stroke type, lesion location, diuretic and BI score might be the influencing factors of constipation after stroke (P<0.05). The results of bias analysis suggest that publication bias is less likely. Conclusions There are many risk factors for constipation in patients with stroke. Current evidence shows that age, diabetes, smoking and other 11 factors may be risk factors for stroke constipation, while high education level and drinking water ≥800 mL may be protective factors, and the other influencing factors have not been determined and need further study.
Stroke is one of the most health-threatening diseases in the world, with high incidence and high morbidity. Despite the development of stroke therapy and improved systems to recognize stroke symptoms and deliver care promptly, only a minority of patients with acute stroke receive thrombolytic therapy, and many of them remain with residual functional deficits. Thus, the need for effective stroke rehabilitation is likely to remain an essential part of the continuum of stroke care for the foreseeable future. This review summarizes and analyzes the results of literatures on stroke rehabilitation in recent years, briefly describes the rehabilitation techniques and progress in dyskinesia, speech barrier, dysphagia, emotional disorder and spasticity after stroke, to provide some references for the optimization of rehabilitation treatment.
Objective To investigate the assessment and treatment methods for unilateral spatial agnosia as well as its influence on the functional recovery of patients after stroke, so as to comprehensively understand unilateral spatial agnosia and formulate an effective treatment plan to improve the effect of rehabilitation for stroke patients. Methods A total of 86 patients with unilateral spatial agnosia were analyzed and a pre-treatment and post-treatment comparison was done. Results Of the 86 patients, 21% suffered from unilateral spatial agnosia. The occurrence of unilateral spatial agnosia was related to the location of the stroke lesion. The treatment group witnessed significant improvement after rehabilitation training of correcting unilateral spatial agnosia (Plt;0.05). Conclusion The correct rehabilitation method is beneficial for an early improvement in a patient’s cognitive ability. This also lays a foundation for the recovery of function in their limbs.
In recent years, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HRMRI) has become a useful clinical and research tool. HRMRI can be used to observe intracranial vascular wall lesions in vivo, providing more valuable pathophysiological information, and providing guidance for the diagnosis, differential diagnosis and prognosis of intracranial atherosclerosis. For stenotic intracranial atherosclerosis, the morphology of the vessel wall can effectively differentiate various vascular stenosis diseases. Further, plaque composition, vessel wall enhancement, remodel mode provide information of plaque vulnerability. For non-stenotic intracranial atherosclerosis, the location of the plaque can reveal the pathophysiological mechanism. In addition, HRMRI can show the lesion in lenticulostriate artery. Therefore, this article will summarize the clinical application of HRMRI.
Objective To observe the effects of selecting different cognitive tasks during dual-task stepping training assisted by a pelvic weight support rehabilitation robot on cerebral cortex activation and task performance in convalescent period stroke patients. Methods Convalescent period stroke patients treated at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University between June 2023 and July 2024 were selected. Patients were recruited and conducted a self-controlled study. Patients were subjected to a self controlled study and received AB regimen training. The plan A underwent dual-task verbal fluency-stepping training assisted by the pelvic weight support rehabilitation robot, while the plan B performed dual-task serial subtraction-stepping training assisted by the pelvic weight support rehabilitation robot. During the intervention process, near-infrared equipment was used to collect relative oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) concentrations in six brain areas including prefrontal cortex (PFC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and primary motor cortex (PMC). The correct response rate and average number of steps were collected. Results A total of 20 patients were included. Among them, there were 16 males and 4 females. The average number of steps in Plan A were higher than those in Plan B (P<0.05). The correct response rate and the relative increase in HbO2 concentration of PFC, PMC, and SMA in both hemispheres of Plan A was higher than that in Plan B, but there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). Conclusions Compared with the dual-task serial subtraction-stepping training assisted by the pelvic weight support rehabilitation robot, the dual-task verbal fluency-stepping training assisted by the pelvic weight support rehabilitation robot can significantly increase the mean number of steps in the dual tasks.
In response to the problem that the traditional lower limb rehabilitation scale assessment method is time-consuming and difficult to use in exoskeleton rehabilitation training, this paper proposes a quantitative assessment method for lower limb walking ability based on lower limb exoskeleton robot training with multimodal synergistic information fusion. The method significantly improves the efficiency and reliability of the rehabilitation assessment process by introducing quantitative synergistic indicators fusing electrophysiological and kinematic level information. First, electromyographic and kinematic data of the lower extremity were collected from subjects trained to walk wearing an exoskeleton. Then, based on muscle synergy theory, a synergistic quantification algorithm was used to construct synergistic index features of electromyography and kinematics. Finally, the electrophysiological and kinematic level information was fused to build a modal feature fusion model and output the lower limb motor function score. The experimental results showed that the correlation coefficients of the constructed synergistic features of electromyography and kinematics with the clinical scale were 0.799 and 0.825, respectively. The results of the fused synergistic features in the K-nearest neighbor (KNN) model yielded higher correlation coefficients (r = 0.921, P < 0.01). This method can modify the rehabilitation training mode of the exoskeleton robot according to the assessment results, which provides a basis for the synchronized assessment-training mode of “human in the loop” and provides a potential method for remote rehabilitation training and assessment of the lower extremity.