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The purpose of this study is to investigate predictors of crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD), and the effects of CCD on functional outcomes including motor function, activities of daily living, cognitive function, and ambulation 6 months after onset in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
A total of 74 patients experiencing their first ICH were recruited. If the asymmetric index was more than 10% using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), a diagnosis of CCD was confirmed. Clinical factors were retrospectively assessed by reviewing medical records. Radiologic factors encompassed the concomitance of intraventricular hemorrhage, side and location of the lesion, and hemorrhage volume. Functional outcomes were evaluated using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index, and measurement of the Functional Ambulatory Category at the time of SPECT measurement and 6 months post-ICH.
Lesion location, especially in the basal ganglia (odds ratio [OR]=6.138, p=0.011), and hemorrhagic volume (OR=1.055, p=0.046) were independent predictors for CCD according to multivariate logistic regression analysis. In addition, the presence of CCD was significantly related to the improvement in Fugl-Meyer Assessment score after 6 months (adjusted R2=0.152, p=0.036).
Lesion location and hemorrhagic volume were the predisposing factors for CCD, and the CCD was associated with poor motor recovery over 6 months in patients with hemorrhagic stroke.
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To investigate neural correlates associated with recovery of motor function over 6 months in patients with basal ganglia (BG) stroke using acetazolamide (ACZ) stress brain-perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
Medical records of 22 patients presenting first-ever BG stroke were retrospectively reviewed. Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) were measured for 9 regions in each cerebral hemisphere (primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, BG, and thalamus). The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) motor score was used to assess motor function.
After ACZ injection, CBF of all regions of interest (ROIs) increased compared with baseline. Baseline CBF of all ROIs was not significantly correlated with changes in FMA upper or lower motor score. However, multivariate analysis revealed CVR was significantly associated with change in FMA upper score in the ipsilateral primary motor cortex (R2=0.216, p=0.017), the ipsilateral parietal lobe (R2=0.135, p=0.029), and the contralateral primary motor cortex (R2=0.210, p=0.041).
CVR in the bilateral primary motor cortex and ipsilateral parietal lobe was associated with restoration of upper motor function 6 months after BG stroke. SPECT is a readily available imaging modality useful in studying brain residual function in patients with BG stroke.
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To delineate the effect of early cranioplasty on the recovery of cognitive and functional impairments in patients who received decompressive craniectomy after traumatic brain injury or spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage.
Twenty-four patients who had received cranioplasty were selected and divided according to the period from decompressive craniectomy to cranioplasty into early (≤90 days) and late (>90 days) groups. The Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were evaluated at admission just after decompressive craniectomy and during the follow-up period after cranioplasty.
Twelve patients were included in the early group, and another 13 patients were included in the late group. The age, gender, type of lesion, and initial K-MMSE, K-MBI, and FIM did not significantly differ between two groups. However, the total gain scores of the K-MMSE and FIM in the early group (4.50±7.49 and 9.42±15.96, respectively) increased more than those in the late group (−1.08±3.65 and −0.17±17.86, respectively), and some of K-MMSE subscores (orientation and language) and FIM subcategories (self-care and transfer-locomotion) in the early group increased significantly when compared to those in the late group without any serious complications. We also found that the time to perform a cranioplasty was weakly, negatively correlated with the K-MMSE gain score (r=−0.560).
Early cranioplasty might be helpful in restoring cognitive and functional impairments, especially orientation, language ability, self-care ability, and mobility in patients with traumatic brain injury or spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage.
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To elucidate the impact of co-occurring dysarthria and aphasia on functional recovery in post-stroke patients.
The medical records, including results of primary screening tests and secondary definite examinations for language problems, of 130 patients admitted to our institute's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine were retrospectively reviewed. Functional outcomes were assessed longitudinally using the Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), Mini-Mental State Examination-Korean version (MMSE-K), European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions 3-Level version (EQ-5D-3L), the Korean version of the Modified Barthel index (K-MBI), and Motricity Index (MI) of the hemiplegic side.
Patients were classified into four groups regarding language function: aphasia only (group A, n=9), dysarthria only (group D, n=12), aphasia and dysarthria (group AD, n=46), and none (group N, n=55). The initial functional outcome scores in the group AD were significantly poor compared to those of the groups N and A. Within groups, there were significant improvements in all outcome measurements in the groups AD and N. A between-group analysis revealed significant improvements in K-MBI for the group AD after adjusting for the initial severity and patient's age compared to other groups.
Post-stroke patients suffering from aphasia with dysarthria showed significantly lower initial functional level and relatively wide range of recovery potential in activities of daily living compared to patients without language problems.
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To investigate the factors related to upper extremity functional improvement following inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in stroke patients.
Forty-one stroke patients received low-frequency rTMS over the contralesional hemisphere according to a standard protocol, in addition to conventional physical and occupational therapy. The rTMS-treated patients were divided into two groups according to their responsiveness to rTMS measured by the self-care score of the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI): responded group (n=19) and non-responded group (n=22). Forty-one age-matched stroke patients who had not received rTMS served as controls. Neurological, cognitive and functional assessments were performed before rTMS and 4 weeks after rTMS treatment.
Among the rTMS-treated patients, the responded group was significantly younger than the non-responded group (51.6±10.5 years and 65.5±13.7 years, respectively; p=0.001). Four weeks after rTMS, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, the Brunnstrom recovery stage and upper extremity muscle power scores were significantly more improved in the responded group than in the control group. Besides the self-care score, the mobility score of the K-MBI was also more improved in the responded group than in the non-responded group or controls.
Age is the most obvious factor determining upper extremity functional responsiveness to low-frequency rTMS in stroke patients.
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To determine the predictability of motor evoked potentials (MEP) in patients with putaminal hemorrhage (PH) according to the time of MEP from the onset of stroke.
Sixty consecutive patients with PH from January 2006 to November 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Motor function of affected extremities was measured at onset time and at six months after the onset. Patients were classified into two groups according to the time of MEP from the onset of stroke: early MEP group (within 15 days from onset) and late MEP group (16-30 days from onset). Patients were also classified into two groups according to the presence of MEP on the affected abductor pollicis brevis (APB): MEP (+) group-patients (showing MEP in the affected APB) and MEP (-) group-patients (no MEP in the affected APB). Motor outcome was compared between the two early and late MEP groups or between the presence and absence of MEP in the affected APB groups.
For patients with MEP (+), a larger portion in the late MEP group showed good prognosis compared to the early MEP group (late MEP, 94.4%; early MEP, 80%). In contrast, in patients with MEP (-), a larger portion of patients in the late MEP group showed bad prognosis compared to the early MEP group (late MEP, 80%; early MEP, 71.4%). No significant improvement of MI between MEP (+) and MEP (-) was observed when MEP was performed early or late.
Our results revealed that the predictability of motor outcome might be better if MEP is performed late compared to that when MEP is performed early in patients with PH.
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To investigate the association between baseline motor evoked potential (MEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) responses in the lower extremities and balance recovery in subacute hemiparetic stroke patients.
MEPs and SSEPs were evaluated in 20 subacute hemiparetic stroke patients before rehabilitation. Balance (static posturography and Berg Balance Scale [BBS]), motor function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment [FMA]) and the ability to perform activities of daily living (Modified Barthel Index [MBI]) were evaluated before rehabilitation and after four-weeks of rehabilitation. Posturography outcomes were weight distribution indices (WDI) expressed as surface area (WDI-Sa) and pressure (WDI-Pr), and stability indices expressed as surface area (SI-Sa) and length (SI-L). In addition, all parameters were evaluated during eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) conditions.
The MEP (+) group showed significant improvements in balance except WDI-Sa (EC), FMA, and MBI, while the MEP (-) group showed significant improvements in the BBS, FMA, and MBI after rehabilitation. The SSEP (+) group showed significant improvements in balance except SI-Sa (EO), FMA, and MBI, while the SSEPs (-) group showed significant improvements in the BBS, MBI after rehabilitation. The changes in the SI-Sa (EO), SI-L (EO), total MBI, and several detailed MBI subscales in the MEP (+) group after rehabilitation were significantly larger than those in the MEP (-) group.
Our findings suggest that initial assessments of MEPs and SSEPs might be beneficial when predicting balance recovery in subacute hemiparetic stroke patients.
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To investigate the prognostic factors predicting the recovery of pre-fracture functional mobility, we evaluated this by the use of ambulatory assistive devices in short-term follow-up.
Five hundred and fifty-three elderly patients who had undergone hip fracture operations from January 2006 to June 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Clinical characteristics and predicted factors affecting functional recovery, such as the delay of rehabilitation after the operation, were reviewed. The functional status of the gait was classified as either a bedridden state, wheelchair-bound state, walker gait, single cane gait, and self-gait without any ambulatory assistance device. When this functional grade in patients who recovered after the surgery was compared to before the surgery, this state was considered 'functional recovery'.
One hundred and ninety-two patients (34.7%) showed recovery of preoperative mobility in the first month after their operation. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified that the following four factors were significantly associated with a deterioration of functional recovery: old age (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-0.97), delays in rehabilitation after operation (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98), the presence of cognitive dysfunction (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.18-0.71), and trochanteric fracturing (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36-0.94).
We found that old age, cognitive dysfunction, trochanteric fracture type, and delay of rehabilitation were associated with the deterioration of functional recovery after a hip fracture operation in the short-term. Therefore, early rehabilitation was required to acquire functional recovery after a hip fracture operation in the short-term.
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To determine the effect of robotic-assisted gait training (RAGT) compared to conventional overground training.
Sixty patients with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) were included in a prospective, randomized clinical trial by comparing RAGT to conventional overground training. The RAGT group received RAGT three sessions per week at duration of 40 minutes with regular physiotherapy in 4 weeks. The conventional group underwent regular physiotherapy twice a day, 5 times a week. Main outcomes were lower extremity motor score of American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (LEMS), ambulatory motor index (AMI), Spinal Cord Independence Measure III mobility section (SCIM3-M), and walking index for spinal cord injury version II (WISCI-II) scale.
At the end of rehabilitation, both groups showed significant improvement in LEMS, AMI, SCIM3-M, and WISCI-II. Based on WISCI-II, statistically significant improvement was observed in the RAGT group. For the remaining variables, no difference was found.
RAGT combined with conventional physiotherapy could yield more improvement in ambulatory function than conventional therapy alone. RAGT should be considered as one additional tool to provide neuromuscular reeducation in patient with incomplete SCI.
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Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) classically occurs in alcoholics, malnourished individuals, chronic liver diseases, and rapid correction of hyponatremia. This report presents locked-in syndrome due to CPM following rapid correction of hyponatremia. A 44-year-old male came to the hospital due to a short period of loss of consciousness. He was alert and had no focal neurological abnormalities at admission. The serum sodium concentration was 118 mEq/L and was corrected to 134 mEq/L in the first 18 hours. One week later, progressive weakness in limbs developed and he progressed to a complete quadriplegic state and bulbar palsy, with only eye blinking preserved. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a characteristic hyperintense signal abnormality in both pons, so he was diagnosed to locked-in syndrome caused by CPM. The patient gradually improved following continuous intensive rehabilitation for more than 2 years. He was able to move all joint muscles against gravity in generally and he could gait under supervision.
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