Objective To explore the status of smoking and passive smoking of the population with the high risk of stroke in the community and their attitude towards smoking control. Methods In March 2015, under the direction of Stroke Screening and Prevention Projection, the residents with the high risk of stroke were sought out in Longfeng Community, Suining City, Sichuan Province. And then their status of smoking and passive smoking and their attitude towards smoking control was investigated by Passive Smoking Questionnaire for Adults from National Smoking Control Office. Results A total of 354 residents with the high risk of stroke were sought out, in whom 152 (42.9%) were smokers, and the smoking rate of males (70.1%) and females (1.4%) was significantly different (P<0.001). Those aged 40-49 had the highest smoking rate (55.0%), followed by those aged 50-59 (51.7%), and smokers of the two age groups accounted for 73.0% of all smokers. There was significant difference in smoking rate among different age groups (P<0.001). The smoking rate of those with a lower education level of primary school (57.9%) was the highest, and there were significant differences in smoking rates among the population with different education levels (P<0.001). The smoking rate of the solitary (95.7%) was higher than that of the non solitary (34.9%) (P<0.001). In 202 non-smokers, 67 (33.2%) was suffered from passive smoking, and the rate of passive smoking was 31.3% in males and 62.3% in females with a significant difference (P<0.001). The proportion of the female non-smokers against passive smoking (84.1%) was higher than that of the male non-smokers (57.8%). According to the participants report, 79.9% of participants approved completely non-smoking in hospital, school and public transport, 66.4% approved non-smoking in the office and traffic station, and only 10.2% approved non-smoking in the restaurants. Conclusions The rates of smoking and passive smoking among the population with the high risk of stroke are high, and most of the population are supportive to smoke prohibition in public places except restaurants. The population with a low cultural level is short of smoking harm knowledge.
Objective To observe the effect of transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) on the recovery of upper limb motor function in stroke patients and explore its mechanism. Methods The inpatients with ischemic stroke and hemiplegia admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University between November 2019 and December 2021were prospectively included. The patients were randomly divided into a true stimulation group and a false stimulation group. All patients received routine medication treatment and rehabilitation training, with a course of 2 weeks. The patients in the true stimulation group also received TUS, and the stimulation site and mode in the false stimulation group were the same as those in the true stimulation group, but the transducer was in a non working mode. The changes in upper limb function and motor cortex electrical activity before and after treatment were compared between two groups of patients. The Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT), and Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities (FMA-UE) were used as indicators of upper limb motor function. The motor evoked potential (MEP) latency, resting motor threshold (RMT), cortical silent period (CSP), and central motor conduction time (CMCT) were used as indicators of cortical excitability. Results A total of 30 patients were included, with 15 in the true stimulation group and 15 in the false stimulation group. There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, course of disease, lesion side, handedness, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, and Barthel Index between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in WMFT score, JHFT time, and FMA-UE score between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). After treatment, the WMFT score and FMA-UE score of both groups of patients increased compared to before treatment within the group, while the JHFT time decreased compared to before treatment within the group (P<0.05). The improvement degree of WMFT score (19.2±8.0 vs. 11.8±5.5), JHFT time [(39.3±20.4) vs. (26.0±15.9) s], and FMA-UE score [14.0 (12.0, 16.0) vs. 8.0 (7.0, 9.0)] before and after treatment in the true stimulation group were better than those in the false stimulation group (P<0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in MEP latency, CSP, CMCT, and RMT between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). After treatment, the MEP latency, CSP, CMCT, and RMT of both groups of patients decreased compared to before treatment within the group (P<0.05). The degree of decrease in CSP [(33.5±12.3) vs. (18.5±5.5) ms], CMCT [3.5 (2.5, 5.8) vs. 1.8 (1.5, 3.4) ms], and RMT [(19.2±12.8)% vs. (8.8±8.7)%] in the true stimulation group before and after treatment were greater than those in the false stimulation group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the degree of decrease in MEP latency between the two groups before and after treatment (P>0.05). Both groups of patients had no adverse reactions during the treatment period. Conclusion TUS applied to the primary motor cortex can help restore upper limb motor function in stroke patients, and the mechanism of action may be related to TUS enhancing cortical excitability in the affected brain.
Objective To systematically review the efficacy of six cognitive interventions on cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive impairment after stroke. Methods The PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, SinoMed, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials on the effects of non-drug interventions on the cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive impairment after stroke from inception to March 2023. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Network meta-analysis was then performed using Openbugs 3.2.3 and Stata 16.0 software. Results A total of 72 studies involving 4 962 patients were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that the following five cognitive interventions improved the cognitive function of stroke patients with mild cognitive impairment: cognitive control intervention (SMD=?1.28, 95%CI ?1.686 to ?0.90, P<0.05) had the most significant effect on the improvement of cognitive function, followed by computer cognitive training (SMD=?1.02, 95%CI ?1.51 to ?0.53, P<0.05), virtual reality cognitive training (SMD=?1.20, 95%CI ?1.78 to ?0.62, P<0.05), non-invasive neural regulation (SMD=?1.09, 95%CI ?1.58 to ?0.60, P<0.05), and cognitive stimulation (SMD=?0.94, 95%CI ?1.82 to ?0.07, P<0.05). Conclusion Five cognitive interventions are effective in improving cognitive function for stroke patients with mild cognitive impairment, among which cognitive control intervention is the most effective. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To explore the impact of early blood pressure reduction on the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chongqing VIP, with the search period from databases establishment to December 31, 2024. Randomized controlled studies on early blood pressure reduction within 7 days after the onset of acute ischemic stroke were included, and meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 software. Results Finally, 15 randomized controlled studies were included. The meta-analysis results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome (90 days disability or death) and the secondary outcomes (90 days all-cause death) between the early blood pressure reduction group and the control group (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the early blood pressure reduction group had a higher National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score at 2 weeks [standardized mean difference=0.25, 95% confidence interval (0.07, 0.44), P=0.008]. Conclusion Early blood pressure reduction cannot reduce the risk of 90 days disability or death and 90 days all-cause death in patients with acute ischemic stroke, and may be detrimental to 2 weeks neurological function recovery.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) transplantation for ischemic stroke. MethodsWe electronically searched PubMed, The Cochrane Library (Issue 12, 2014), EMbase, CBM, CNKI and WanFang Data from inception to December 2014, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of BMSCs transplantation for ischemic stroke. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 6 RCTs involving 332 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, the BMSCs transplantation group was superior to the routine treatment group with significant differences in the neurologic deficits score (NIHSS score)(MD=-2.09, 95%CI -2.88 to -1.29, P<0.000 01), motor function (Fugl-Meyer rating scale) (MD=15.25, 95%CI 13.51 to 16.99, P<0.000 01) and daily life ability (Barthel index) (MD=20.04, 95%CI 9.91 to 30.17, P=0.000 1) after 3 months treatment. Two trials reported the adverse events including fever and headache, but the patients relieved in a brief period. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that BMSCs transplantation can improve the neurological deficits, motor function and daily life ability after ischemic stroke with less adverse effect. No serious adverse events are observed. However, more high quality studies are needed to confirm its effects for lowering rates of death and dependency of BMSC.
Objective To explore the association between triglyceride glucose-waist circumference (TyG-WC) index and the risk of stroke among the middle-aged and older people, and compare the differences among TyG-WC, triglyceride glucose (TyG), and waist circumference (WC) in the prediction of stroke. Methods The data of adults aged 45 years or older enrolled in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study registry in 2011 were collected, and the endpoint was self-reported or physician-diagnosed new stroke event by 2015. According to the baseline TyG-WC tertile, individuals were divided into three groups: TyG-WC tertile 1, tertile 2, and tertile 3 groups. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to analyze the associations of TyG-WC, TyG, and WC with the risk of stroke. The area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) score, and net reclassification improvement (NRI) score were calculated to evaluate the predictive value of TyG-WC, TyG, and WC in stroke. Results A total of 5847 participants were finally included, with 1949 in each group. After 4 years of follow-up, there were 252 cases of new stroke. There was significant difference in the incidence of stroke among the three groups (TyG-WC tertile 1 group: 2.57%, TyG-WC tertile 2 group: 4.16%, TyG-WC tertile 3 group: 6.21%; P<0.05). The results of multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the risk of new stroke in the third tertile group of TyG-WC and WC was higher than that in the first tertile group, respectively [TyG-WC: odds ratio (OR)=1.465, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.033, 2.078), P=0.032; WC: OR=1.717, 95%CI (1.190, 2.478), P=0.004], while TyG was not the risk factor of stroke (P>0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of WC (0.566) was slightly higher than that of TyG-WC (0.556) and TyG (0.527). The IDI of TyG-WC (0.25%) was slightly higher than that of WC (0.22%), and the both were higher than that of TyG (0.07%). The NRI of WC (25.04%) was slightly higher than that of TyG-WC (19.68%), and the both were high than that of TyG (12.02%). Conclusions Compared with TyG, higher TyG-WC and WC are associated with the increased risk of new stroke among the middle-aged and older people. The predictive value of TyG-WC and WC for the risk of new stroke in the middle-aged and elderly is similar, and is better than that of TyG.
Objective To investigate the relationship between age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (aCCI) and ischemic stroke in patients with ophthalmic artery occlusion (OAO) or retinal artery occlusion (RAO). MethodsA single center retrospective cohort study. Seventy-four patients with OAO or RAO diagnosed by ophthalmology examination in Shenzhen Second People's Hospital from June 2004 to December 2020 were included in the study. The baseline information of patients were collected and aCCI was used to score the patients’ comorbidity. The outcome was ischemic stroke. The median duration of follow-up was 1 796.5 days. According to the maximum likelihood ratio of the two-piecewise COX regression model and the recursive algorithm, the aCCI inflection point value was determined to be 6, and the patients were divided into low aCCI group (＜6 points) and high aCCI group (≥6 points). A Cox regression model was used to quantify the association between baseline aCCI and ischemic stroke. ResultsAmong the 74 patients, 53 were males and 21 were females, with the mean age of (55.22±14.18) (19-84) years. There were 9 patients of OAO and 65 patients of RAO. The aCCI value ranges from 1 to 10 points, with a median of 3 points. There were 63 patients (85.14%, 63/74) in the low aCCI group and 11 patients (14.86%, 11/74) in the high aCCI group. Since 2 patients could not determine the time from baseline to the occurrence of outcome events, 72 patients were included for Cox regression analysis. The results showed that 16 patients (22.22%, 16/72) had ischemic stroke in the future. The baseline aCCI in the low aCCI group was significantly associated with ischemic stroke [hazard ratio (HR)=1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21-2.56, P=0.003], and for every 1 point increase in baseline aCCI, the risk of future ischemic stroke increased by 76% on average. The baseline aCCI in the high aCCI group had no significant correlation with the ischemic stroke (HR=0.66, 95%CI 0.33-1.33, P=0.247). ConclusionsaCCI score is an important prognostic information for patients with OAO or RAO. A higher baseline aCCI score predicts a higher risk of ischemic stroke, and the association has a saturation effect.