Effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial.

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) predicts poor functional outcome after stroke and increases the risk for recurrent stroke. Less is known about continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on stroke recovery.

Methods: In a pilot randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, adult stroke rehabilitation patients were assigned to auto-titrating or sham CPAP without diagnostic testing for OSA.

Higher plasma fractalkine is associated with better 6-month outcome from ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Fractalkine (CX3CL1) is a unique chemokine that is constitutively expressed on neurons where it serves as an adhesion molecule for lymphocytes and monocytes. CX3CL1 may also be cleaved from the surface of these cells and enter the circulation to act as a traditional chemokine. CX3CL1 could thus influence the inflammatory response after stroke.