Theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation attenuates chronic ischemic demyelination and vascular cognitive impairment in mice.

Vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is mainly caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and subsequent white matter lesions. Noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation has been utilized in treating various neurological disorders. However, the function of theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation on VCID remains to be defined.

Periprocedural intravenous heparin in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with endovascular thrombectomy after intravenous thrombolysis.

Objective: The benefit-to-risk ratio of periprocedural heparin in patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effects of periprocedural heparin on clinical outcomes of EVT after IVT.

Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed patients from multicenter studies treated with EVT after IVT in the anterior circulation.

Trajectories of stroke severity and functional outcomes after endovascular treatment in ischemic stroke: A post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The trajectory of early neurological changes in patients with acute ischemic stroke has been understudied. This study aimed to investigate the association between longitudinal trajectories of stroke severity and 90-day functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving endovascular treatment.

Methods: We enrolled patients from a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial.

Periodontitis and stroke: A Mendelian randomization study.

Background And Purpose: Periodontitis has been implicated in the incidence of ischemic stroke. However, the generalizability of results to individuals with different subtypes of periodontitis is unknown. We aimed to investigate the causal relationship of chronic periodontitis (CP) and aggressive periodontitis (AgP) with ischemic stroke and its subtypes in the Mendelian randomization framework.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and stroke: A Mendelian randomization study.

Background: The association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the risk of stroke is heterogeneous. Therefore, we aimed to examine any potential causal relationship between these two traits through Mendelian randomization.

Methods: The genetic instruments associated with NAFLD were selected from a large genome-wide association study in individuals of European ancestry (1483 cases and 17,781 controls, replicated in 559 cases and 945 controls).

Identification of Symptomatic Carotid Artery Plaque: A Three-Item Scale Combined Angiography With Optical Coherence Tomography.

Symptomatic carotid disease conveys a high risk of recurrent stroke. Plaque morphology and specific plaque characteristics are associated with the risk of stroke. This study aimed to evaluate the detailed plaque features by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and develop a simple scale combining clinical indicators, digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and OCT imaging markers to identify symptomatic carotid plaque.

Motor Network Reorganization After Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Early Stroke Patients: A Resting State fMRI Study.

Objective: To compare the effects of high-frequency (10 Hz) versus low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) on motor recovery and functional reorganization of the cortical motor network during the early phase of stroke.

Methods: Forty-six hospitalized, first-ever ischemic stroke patients in early stage (within two weeks) with upper limb motor deficits were recruited. They were randomly allocated to three groups with 10 Hz ipsilesional rTMS, 1 Hz contralesional rTMS, and sham rTMS of five daily session.

Off-hour effect is not significant in endovascular treatment for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion in a multicentre registry.

Background And Purpose: Whether the off-hour effect has an impact on workflow and outcomes of endovascular treatment (EVT) for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (AC-LVO) remains uncertain. This study aimed to compare the characteristics and outcomes of patients who presented or were treated during off-hour versus on-hour in a multi-center registry.

Methods: AC-LVO patients from 21 centres were categorised into the off-hour group and the on-hour group.

A Pre-Interventional Scale to Predict Atherosclerotic Thrombosis in Acute Vertebrobasilar Artery Occlusion Patients.

Determining the occlusion mechanism before endovascular treatment (EVT) is of great significance for acute large vessel occlusion patients. We aimed to develop and validate a simple pre-EVT scale with readily available variables for predicting atherosclerotic thrombosis (ISAT) in acute vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBAO) patients. Consecutive patients were retrieved from Nanjing Stroke Registry Program between January 2014 and December 2019 as a derivation cohort.

Off-hour effect on time metrics and clinical outcomes in endovascular treatment for large vessel occlusion: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is an ongoing debate on the off-hour effect on endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute large vessel occlusion (LVO).

Aim: This meta-analysis aimed to compare time metrics and clinical outcomes of acute LVO patients who presented/were treated during off-hour with those during working hours.

Summary Of Review: Structured searches on the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were conducted through 23 February 2021.

Increased Renal Dysfunction, Apoptosis, and Fibrogenesis Through Sympathetic Hyperactivity After Focal Cerebral Infarction.

Sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in secondary injury of diseases. Accumulating evidence has observed association between ischemic stroke and renal dysfunction, but the mechanisms are incompletely clear. In this study, we investigated whether sympathetic hyperactivity can cause the development of renal dysfunction, apoptosis, and fibrogenesis after focal cerebral infarction.

Insulin enhances neointimal hyperplasia following arterial injury through the PI3K/Akt pathway in type 1 diabetic rats.

Although insulin is known to affect neointimal hyperplasia via distinct signaling pathways, how neointimal hyperplasia is affected in insulin‑deficient type 1 diabetes remains unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate two major signaling branches of insulin action regulating neointimal hyperplasia following arterial injury in type 1 diabetes with or without exogenous insulin administration. Rats were treated with vehicle (control group), streptozotocin (STZ) alone (STZ group; uncontrolled type 1 diabetes) or STZ followed by insulin (STZ + I group; controlled type 1 diabetes).

Risk Factors and Outcomes of Stroke-Associated Pneumonia in Patients with Stroke and Acute Large Artery Occlusion Treated with Endovascular Thrombectomy.

Background And Purpose: Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) often increases high hospital mortality, prolongs length of hospital stay, and has considerable economic impact on healthcare costs. We aimed to explore independent predictors of SAP in acute anterior large artery occlusion patients who treated with endovascular treatment (EVT).

Methods: Consecutive patients with acute anterior large artery occlusion stroke who underwent EVT from the Nanjing Stroke Registry from January 2019 to January 2020 were identified retrospectively.

Calcification in Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability: Friend or Foe?

Calcification is a clinical marker of atherosclerosis. This review focuses on recent findings on the association between calcification and plaque vulnerability. Calcified plaques have traditionally been regarded as stable atheromas, those causing stenosis may be more stable than non-calcified plaques.

Renal impairment on clinical outcomes following endovascular recanalization.

Objective: To determine the influence of renal impairment (RI) on clinical outcomes at 3 months and the risk of recurrent stroke in patients presenting with emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) treated with emergent endovascular treatment (EVT).

Methods: Consecutive patients with anterior circulation stroke due to ELVO treated with EVT in 21 endovascular centers were included. Multivariate regressions were used to evaluate the association of RI with mortality, functional independence (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score 0-2), and functional improvement (shift in mRS score) at 3 months.

Endovascular treatment versus standard medical treatment for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (BEST): an open-label, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Previous randomised trials have shown an overwhelming benefit of mechanical thrombectomy for treating patients with stroke caused by large vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation. Whether endovascular treatment is beneficial for vertebrobasilar artery occlusion remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of endovascular treatment of acute strokes due to vertebrobasilar artery occlusion.

Lipocalin-2 may produce damaging effect after cerebral ischemia by inducing astrocytes classical activation.

Background: Functions of astrocytes in the rehabilitation after ischemic stroke, especially their impacts on inflammatory processes, remain controversial. This study uncovered two phenotypes of astrocytes, of which one was helpful, and the other harmful to anoxic neurons after brain ischemia.

Methods: We tested the levels of inflammatory factors including TNF-a, IL-6, IL-10, iNOS, IL-1beta, and CXCL10 in primary astrocytes at 0 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h after OGD, grouped the hypoxia astrocytes into iNOS-positive (iNOS(+)) and iNOS-negative (iNOS(-)) by magnetic bead sorting, and then co-cultured the two groups of cells with OGD-treated neurons for 24 h.

GRP78 Promotes Neural Stem Cell Antiapoptosis and Survival in Response to Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation (OGD)/Reoxygenation through PI3K/Akt, ERK1/2, and NF-B/p65 Pathways.

When brain injury happens, endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) located in the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) and subgranular zone (SGZ) are attacked by ischemia/reperfusion to undergo cellular apoptosis and death before being induced to migrate to the lesion point and differentiate into mature neural cells for damaged cell replacement. Although promoting antiapoptosis and NSC survival are critical to neuroregeneration, the mechanism has yet been elucidated clearly. Here in this study, we established an oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)/reoxygenation model on NSCs and detected glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) involved in apoptosis, while in the absence of GRP78 by siRNA transfection, OGD/reoxygenation triggered PI3K/Akt, ERK1/2, and NF-B/p65 activation, and induced NSC apoptosis was attenuated.

Distinctive expression signatures of serum microRNAs in ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack patients.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as promising biomarkers for ischaemic stroke (IS). However, the expression patterns of specific miRNAs in transient ischaemic attack (TIA) patients have not been investigated. Their predictive values for the presence of IS and TIA and their relationships to the neurological deficit severity of IS and the subsequent stroke risk after TIA remain unclear exactly.

NSFC health research funding and burden of disease in China.

Background: Allocation of health research funds among diseases has never been evaluated in China. This study aimed to examine the relationship between disease-specific funding levels of National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the main governmental resource for health research in China, and burden of disease.

Methods: Funding magnitudes for 53 diseases or conditions were obtained from the website of NSFC.

Intranasal nerve growth factor attenuates tau phosphorylation in brain after traumatic brain injury in rats.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a considerable cause of mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Intranasal administration of nerve growth factor (NGF) has previously been found to improve cognitive function after TBI, but the mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of intranasal NGF on the tau hyperphosphorylation following TBI.

Intranasal delivery of nerve growth factor attenuates aquaporins-4-induced edema following traumatic brain injury in rats.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains the leading cause of injury-related death and disability. Brain edema, one of the most major complications of TBI, contributes to elevated intracranial pressure, and poor prognosis following TBI. Nerve growth factor (NGF) appears to be a viable strategy to treat brain edema and TBI.

Intranasal administration of nerve growth factor ameliorate β-amyloid deposition after traumatic brain injury in rats.

The marked increase of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide after traumatic brain injury (TBI), confers a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in patients' later life. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is great potential to repair brain injury. But its clinical application is limited because of lacking feasible methods for delivering NGF into brain.