Diffusion tensor imaging detects Wallerian degeneration of the corticospinal tract early after cerebral infarction.

To investigate the feasibility and time window of early detection of Wallerian degeneration in the corticospinal tract after middle cerebral artery infarction, 23 patients were assessed using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging at 3.0T within 14 days after the infarction. The fractional anisotropy values of the affected corticospinal tract began to decrease at 3 days after onset and decreased in all cases at 7 days.

Cholecystectomy and risk of pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Objective: Data from epidemiological studies related to the association of cholecystectomy and pancreatic cancer (PaC) risk are inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies to explore this relationship.

Methods: We identified studies by a literature search of Medline (from 1 January 1966) and EMBASE (from 1 January 1974), through 30 June 2011, and by searching the reference lists of pertinent articles.

[A study on the recurrence of ischemic stroke in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation].

Objective: To study the recurrence of ischemic stroke in patient with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and to determine the recurrence related factors of ischemic stroke in patients with NVAF.

Methods: The clinical data of 386 NVAF patients with ischemic stroke treated in our hospital from January 1992 to February 2002 were included in this study. The basic clinical information of each patient was recorded.