BNG-1 in the Recovery of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A phase 2, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Randomized Trial.

Purpose: Few strategies have been approved for acute therapy of ischemic stroke in Western medicine. Hundreds of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been used for stroke therapy and were rarely tested by qualified studies. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of BNG-1, a novel mixture of TCMs, in patients with acute ischemic stroke, we conducted the clinical trial.

Initial blood pressure is associated with stroke severity and is predictive of admission cost and one-year outcome in different stroke subtypes: a SRICHS registry study.

Background: To investigate if initial blood pressure (BP) on admission is associated with stroke severity and predictive of admission costs and one-year-outcome in acute ischemic (IS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS).

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective cohort study. Stroke patients admitted within 3 days after onset between January 1st and December 31st in 2009 were recruited.

Carotid artery stenting improves cerebral hemodynamics regardless of the flow direction of ophthalmic artery.

We enrolled 221 patients with elective carotid artery stenting (CAS). Patients with contralateral carotid stenosis exceeding 50%, insufficient vertebral artery (VA) flows, or angioplasty at subclavian artery were excluded. All patients underwent serial cerebral ultrasound studies.

Fire-heat and Qi deficiency syndromes as predictors of short-term prognosis of acute ischemic stroke.

Objectives: To explore the relationships between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and disease severity and prognoses after ischemic stroke, such as neurologic deficits and decline in activities of daily living (ADLs).

Methods: The study included 211 patients who met the inclusion criteria of acute ischemic stroke based on clinical manifestations, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging findings, and onset of ischemic stroke within 72 hours with clear consciousness. To assess neurologic function and ADLs in patients with different TCM syndromes, the TCM Syndrome Differentiation Diagnostic Criteria for Apoplexy scale (containing assessments of wind, phlegm, blood stasis, fire-heat, qi deficiency, and yin deficiency with yang hyperactivity syndromes) was used within 72 hours of stroke onset, and Western medicine-based National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Barthel Index (BI) assessments were performed at both admission and discharge.

Impact of silent ischemic lesions on cognition following carotid artery stenting.

Objective: The occurrence of silent ischemic lesions (SILs) is a common finding after carotid artery stenting (CAS). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of SILs on cognitive functioning following CAS.

Methods: The retrospective study separated 131 patients with unilateral carotid stenosis into three groups: medication only, MRI-evaluated CAS and CT-evaluated CAS, and compared the sociodemographic factors, post-CAS images and Mini-Mental State Examination scores performed before and 6-12 months after enrollment.

ALOX5AP genetic variants and risk of atherothrombotic stroke in the Taiwanese population.

We explored the role of variants of the arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (ALOX5AP) gene as factors for atherothrombotic stroke (ATS). A HapMap-based haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (htSNP) association study was conducted in an isolated Taiwanese population. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that patients with the GG/CG genotype of rs4293222 and the AA/AG genotype of rs4360791 had a 1.

The role of perfusion computed tomography in the prediction of cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome.

Background: Hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS) following carotid angioplasty with stenting (CAS) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. At present, there are no reliable parameters to predict HPS. The aim of this study was to clarify whether perfusion computed tomography (CT) is a feasible and reliable tool in predicting HPS after CAS.

Comparison of intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients with autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease.

Background/aims: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are two subtypes of hemorrhagic stroke that may cause severe complications in patients with autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The differences in clinical features between SAH and ICH associated with ADPKD are not known.

Methods: Among 647 ADPKD patients hospitalized between 1997 and 2007 in our hospital, 11 with ICH (1.

Interhemispheric comparisons of cerebral blood flow velocity changes during mental tasks with transcranial Doppler sonography.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate hemispheric asymmetry of cerebral blood flow changes during various mental tests by applying transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) to simultaneously monitor bilateral cerebral blood flow velocity changes.

Methods: Twenty-one participants without cerebrovascular disease performed 3 left hemispheric tasks (reading, calculation, and color scaling) and 3 right hemispheric tasks (face recognition, space imagination, and line orientation).

Results: Mean velocities of the rest and performing periods did not differ significantly between the left and right hemispheric tasks.

Analyses of interaction effect between apolipoprotein E polymorphism and alcohol use as well as cholesterol concentrations on spontaneous deep intracerebral hemorrhage in the Taiwan population.

Background: To determine the interaction effect between APOE polymorphism and lipid concentrations and alcohol use on spontaneous deep intracerebral hemorrhage (SDICH) risks.

Methods: We enrolled 217 SDICH patients and 280 controls. Anthropometrics, personal history, and concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and triglyceride were collected.

Predictors of carotid artery stenosis after radiotherapy for head and neck cancers.

Objective: To study the prevalence of and risk factors associated with carotid artery stenosis (CAS) after radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer.

Design Of Study: Prospective, cross-sectional study.

Setting: Patients recruited from a hospital Radiation-Oncology department.

Genetic polymorphisms of low density lipoprotein receptor can modify stroke presentation.

Low density lipoprotein is transcytosed across the blood-brain barrier mediated by low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). LDLR in the brain is mainly expressed on capillary endothelial cells and is therefore considered to be an important susceptibility gene in modifying the stroke presentation. A HapMap-based haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphism association study was conducted in an isolated Taiwanese population.

Estimation of premorbid general fluid intelligence using traditional Chinese reading performance in Taiwanese samples.

Aims: The aims of the present study were to (i) investigate if traditional Chinese word reading ability can be used for estimating premorbid general intelligence; and (ii) to provide multiple regression equations for estimating premorbid performance on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), using age, years of education and Chinese Graded Word Reading Test (CGWRT) scores as predictor variables.

Methods: Four hundred and twenty-six healthy volunteers (201 male, 225 female), aged 16-93 years (mean +/- SD, 41.92 +/- 18.

[Guidelines for the general management of patients with acute ischemic stroke].

The content of the second edition of "Guideline for General Management of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke" was amended from the first edition of that of the Taiwan Stroke Society in 2002. The format of the guideline followed the common unified instruction for the project of "The establishment of clinical guidelines for the top 10 payments diseases of the National Health Insurance at the departments of inpatients, emergency and outpatients" as recommended by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI). The guideline was revised after several official meetings of local experts, as well as citation from the latest updated guidelines of the United States and the European Stroke academic groups.

Very early hemorrhagic transformation of a subcortical infarction.

Hemorrhagic transformation (HT) of an ischemic stroke within 6 hours has never been documented. We reported a case of 65-year-old female experiencing sudden onset of slurred speech and right side weakness. Her past history disclosed rheumatic heart disease and atrial fibrillation.

Prediction of worse outcome by systemic atherosclerosis following acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: To determine the relationship between atherosclerosis and the short-term outcome following an acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: Quantitative measurements of ankle brachial index (ABI), color-coded carotid duplex (CCD), electrocardiography (ECG), and other cardiovascular risk factors were performed for acute ischemic stroke patients. Prevalent cardiovascular disease (PCVD) was defined when there were evident abnormal findings of ABI, CCD, or ECG.

Underrecognition and undertreatment of atherothrombotic diseases: REACH Registry Taiwan baseline data.

Background/purpose: Atherothrombosis is a generalized disease affecting different vascular beds, making it the leading cause of death worldwide. To evaluate the long-term risk of atherothrombotic risk factors and determine the predictors for atherothrombotic events, an international, prospective, observational study was initiated, in which Taiwan was involved.

Methods: The REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry recruited outpatients with either symptomatic atherothrombotic diseases or multiple risk factors.

Risk factors of carotid stenosis in first-ever ischemic stroke in Taiwan: a hospital-based study.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the risk factors of extracranial carotid atherosclerosis in patients with first-ever ischemic stroke.

Material And Methods: A total of 541 consecutive first-ever ischemic stroke patients were enrolled in the present study. We examined clinical and laboratory factors that were potentially relevant to extracranial carotid artery atherosclerosis.

Carotid ultrasound criteria for detecting intracranial carotid stenosis.

Background/aims: This study attempted to establish carotid ultrasound criteria for identifying stenosis of the intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA).

Methods: Two hundred and fifty-five patients were enrolled. Ultrasound measurements for common carotid artery (CCA) and ICA were as follows: flow volume (FV), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI).

Concurrent moyamoya disease and Graves' thyrotoxicosis: case report and literature review.

Coexistence of thyrotoxicosis and moyamoya disease is extremely rare. A 23-year-old woman who had a history of migraine, suffered from frequent right carotid transient ischemic attacks, followed by an ischemic stroke after taking ergotamine for migraine. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed a tubular stenosis of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and bilateral strictures of the supraclinoid segments of the ICAs.

Dose titration to reduce dipyridamole-related headache.

Background: Combination of low-dose aspirin and modified-release dipyridamole (ASA+MR-DP) provides a significantly increased benefit in stroke prevention over aspirin alone. However, headaches were reported in more patients receiving dipyridamole-containing agents than in those receiving placebo. We undertook a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate which dosing regimens of ASA+MR-DP have better tolerance.

Cerebral hemodynamic responses to betel chewing: a Doppler study.

We sought to evaluate cerebral hemodynamic responses to betel chewing. Thirty healthy male volunteers (mean age = 35 years), ten new chewers, ten occasional chewers, and ten chronic chewers were included in this study. We used carotid duplex sonography and transcranial Doppler to measure the flow velocities and flow volume (FV) of the common carotid (CCA), internal carotid (ICA), external carotid (ECA) arteries, and the flow velocity of middle cerebral artery (MCA).

Carotid artery stenosis in ischemic stroke patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Purpose: To study the prevalence, severity and clinical relevance of carotid atherosclerosis in ischemic stroke patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).

Material And Methods: We reviewed carotid duplex sonography, computed tomography (CT) and clinical features in 103 consecutive ischemic stroke patients with NVAF. Both sonography and CT were performed within 3-7 days after stroke.