Elevated visfatin/pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor plasma concentration in ischemic stroke.

Background: Visfatin/pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor is a cytokine that is expressed as a protein in several tissues (e.g., liver, skeletal muscle, immune cells), including adipose tissue, and is reported to stimulate inflammatory cytokine expressions and promote vascular smooth cell maturation.

Diagnosis and development of screening items for migraine in neurological practice in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: The objectives of this study were to: (1) survey migraine diagnoses among neurological outpatients in Taiwan; (2) compare neurologists' migraine diagnoses with the International Classification of Headache Disorders 2nd Edition (ICHD-2) criteria; and (3) evaluate the diagnostic ability of screening items on a patient migraine questionnaire.

Methods: This prospective study surveyed patients who consulted neurologists for the first time with a chief complaint of headache, excluding those experiencing headaches for > or = 15 days/month. Each neurologist interviewed a maximum of 10 patients.

Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Objective: Adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived peptide with antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic effects, is known to protect against the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigate whether hypoadiponectinemia is present in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease (CVD).

Methods And Results: In this case-control study, plasma adiponectin concentration was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in type 2 diabetic and nondiabetic subjects with or without ischemic CVD.