Pathological Role of High Sugar in Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Defect-Augmented Mitochondrial Stress.

According to many research groups, high glucose induces the overproduction of superoxide anions, with reactive oxygen species (ROS) generally being considered the link between high glucose levels and the toxicity seen at cellular levels. Respiratory complex anomalies can lead to the production of ROS. Calcium [Ca] at physiological levels serves as a second messenger in many physiological functions.

A disease-specific language representation model for cerebrovascular disease research.

Background: Effectively utilizing disease-relevant text information from unstructured clinical notes for medical research presents many challenges. BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers) related models such as BioBERT and ClinicalBERT, pre-trained on biomedical corpora and general clinical information, have shown promising performance in various biomedical language processing tasks.

Objectives: This study aims to explore whether a BERT-based model pre-trained on disease-related clinical information can be more effective for cerebrovascular disease-relevant research.

Impact of chronic kidney disease severity on causes of death after first-ever stroke: A population-based study using nationwide data linkage.

Background: Stroke is prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with high mortality, but the causes of death after stroke among different CKD stages are not well known.

Aims: We aimed to investigate whether the severity of CKD would impact on the causes of death after first-ever stroke.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter cohort study included stoke patients with CKD between 2007 and 2012.

Comparison of long-term efficacy and safety between cilostazol and clopidogrel in chronic ischemic stroke: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: Previous clinical trials showed a significant difference in efficacy and safety among antiplatelets in acute ischemic stroke (IS). The present study wished to compare the efficacy and safety head-to-head between cilostazol and clopidogrel in chronic IS.

Methods: This open prospective cohort study recruited chronic IS patients with an index hospitalization between 2001 and 2013 from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Risk Factors Associated with Outcomes of Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Therapy in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, and early interventional treatment is associated with favorable outcomes. In the guidelines, thrombolytic therapy using recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is recommended for eligible patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, the risk of hemorrhagic complications limits the use of rt-PA, and the risk factors for poor treatment outcomes need to be identified.

Low-dose versus standard-dose alteplase in acute ischemic stroke in Asian stroke registries: an individual patient data pooling study.

Objective: To investigate the comparative efficacy and safety of the low-dose versus standard-dose alteplase using real-world acute stroke registry data from Asian countries.

Methods: Individual participant data were obtained from nine acute stroke registries from China, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan between 2005 and 2018. Inverse probability of treatment weight was used to remove baseline imbalances between those receiving low-dose versus standard-dose alteplase.

Protective stabilization of mitochondrial permeability transition and mitochondrial oxidation during mitochondrial Ca stress by melatonin's cascade metabolites C3-OHM and AFMK in RBA1 astrocytes.

Cyclic 3-hydroxymelatonin (C3-OHM) and N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK) are two major cascade metabolites of melatonin. We previously showed melatonin provides multiple levels of mitochondria-targeted protection beyond as a mitochondrial antioxidant during ionomycin-induced mitochondrial Ca (mCa ) stress in RBA1 astrocytes. Using noninvasive laser scanning fluorescence coupled time-lapse digital imaging microscopy, this study investigated whether C3-OHM and AFMK also provide mitochondrial levels of protection during ionomycin-induced mCa stress in RBA1 astrocytes.

Choices for long-term hypertensive control in patients after first-ever hemorrhagic stroke: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: To compare the long-term clinical outcomes of different antihypertensive drugs in stable patients after acute hemorrhagic stroke (HS).

Methods: From January 2001 to December 2013, patients with first-ever primary HS were identified in the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan. Patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage and secondary HS were excluded.

Chest width, waist circumference, and thigh circumference are predictors of dementia.

Objective: Few studies have investigated the relationship between specific body measures and dementia.

Methods: Three-dimensional anthropometric body surface scanning data containing 38 body measures were collected from 6831 participants from the health examination department of a medical center in Taiwan during 2000 to 2008, and 236 dementia cases were identified during the 10-year follow-up. A multiple Cox regression analysis was performed.

Causes of Death in Different Subtypes of Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke.

Causes of death in both ischemic stroke (IS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS) subtypes are not comprehensively studied. Between 2008 and 2011, we enrolled 11 215 first-ever stroke patients from the Stroke Registry of Chang-Gung Healthcare System and linked these data to the national death registry. The main causes of death in each stroke subtype were assessed.

The influence of dehydration on the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke for patients treated with tissue plasminogen activator.

Background: Many studies have determined that dehydration is an independent predictor of outcome after ischemic stroke (IS); however, none have determined if the use of thrombolytic therapy modifies the negative impact of poor hydration. To inform the stroke registry established at our institution, we conducted a retrospective study to determine if dehydration remains a negative prognostic factor after IS patients treated with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).

Methods: Between 2007 and 2012, we recruited 382 subjects; 346 had data available and were divided into 2 groups on the basis of their blood urea nitrogen/creatinine (BUN/Cr) ratio.

Risk factor analysis for meralgia paresthetica: A hospital-based study in Taiwan.

Recognizing the cause is essential for the management of meralgia paresthetica (MP), also known as lateral femoral cutaneous neuropathy. The aim of this study was to investigate the etiologies of MP and their influence on each other. This retrospective study enrolled referral patients with electromyographic studies who fulfilled the clinical and electrodiagnostic criteria of MP from January 2003 to December 2013.

Derivation and Validation of a Scoring System for Intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator Use in Asian Patients.

Background And Purpose: As Chinese Asian populations have an increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) after intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA), we aimed to design a rapid, clinically applicable risk scoring system to predict ICH and functional outcomes after IV tPA treatment in Asian ischemic stroke patients.

Methods: From January 2009 to December 2012, consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV tPA recruited from the Stroke Registry in Chang Gung Healthcare System (SRICHS) in Taiwan and the National University Hospital of Singapore (NUHS) acute stroke database were used to create and validate a scoring system. Nomogram was created for ICH and 3-month mortality.

Association between Atrial Fibrillation and Three-Year Mortality in Nondiabetic Patients with Acute First-Ever Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF) and is known to be an important risk factor for death from stroke. The influence of AF on long-term outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke remains controversial. To clarify the exact influence of AF on stroke outcome and exclude the effect from DM, we investigated the influence of AF on the 3-year outcomes of nondiabetic patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke.

Timing of Symptomatic Infarct Swelling Following Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction: A Case-Control Study.

Background: The risk of symptomatic infarct swelling has been reported to be higher in patients treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the timing of symptomatic infarct swelling after rt-PA treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 14 868 patients with acute ischemic stroke from a stroke registry databank.

Association between pneumonia in acute stroke stage and 3-year mortality in patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke.

The influence of pneumonia in acute stroke stage on the clinical presentation and long-term outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke is still controversial. We investigate the influence of pneumonia in acute stroke stage on the 3-year outcomes of patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke. Nine-hundred and thirty-four patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke were enrolled and had been followed for 3years.

Association between renal dysfunction and 3-year mortality in patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke.

Objective: The influence of renal dysfunction on the clinical presentation and outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke is still controversial. We investigate the influence of renal dysfunction on the outcomes of patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke.

Methods: Nine-hundred thirty-four patients with acute first-ever ischemic stroke were enrolled and followed for 3 years.

Coexisting diseases of moyamoya vasculopathy.

Background: Several coexisting diseases have been reported in patients with moyamoya vasculopathy (MMV), but studies of quasi-moyamoya disease (quasi-MMD) are rare. This study aims to investigate the frequency of known coexisting diseases in patients with quasi-MMD and to compare quasi-MMD with moyamoya disease (MMD).

Methods: Between 2000 and 2011, we retrospectively screened patients with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code of 4375 (MMD) in the Health Information System of our hospital.

Long-term Aβ exposure augments mCa2+-independent mROS-mediated depletion of cardiolipin for the shift of a lethal transient mitochondrial permeability transition to its permanent mode in NARP cybrids: a protective targeting of melatonin.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ)-induced neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated whether mtDNA T8993G mutation-induced complex V inhibition, clinically associated with neurological muscle weakness, ataxia, and retinitis pigmentosa (NARP), is a potential risk factor for AD and the pathological link for long-term exposure of Aβ-induced mitochondrial toxicity and apoptosis in NARP cybrids. Using noninvasive fluorescence probe-coupled laser scanning imaging microscopy and NARP cybrids harboring 98% mutant genes along with its parental 143B osteosarcoma cells, we demonstrated that Aβ-augmented mitochondrial Ca(2+) (mCa(2+))-independent mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) formation for a cardiolipin (CL, a major mitochondrial protective phospholipid)-dependent lethal modulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT).

mtDNA T8993G mutation-induced F1F0-ATP synthase defect augments mitochondrial dysfunction associated with hypoxia/reoxygenation: the protective role of melatonin.

Background: F1F0-ATP synthase (F1F0-ATPase) plays important roles in regulating mitochondrial function during hypoxia, but the effect of F1F0-ATPase defect on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/RO) is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate how mtDNA T8993G mutation (NARP)-induced inhibition of F1F0-ATPase modulates the H/RO-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, the potential for melatonin, a potent antioxidant with multiple mitochondrial protective properties, to protect NARP cells exposed to H/RO was assessed.

Hypoxic preconditioning-induced mitochondrial protection is not disrupted in a cell model of mtDNA T8993G mutation-induced F1F0-ATP synthase defect: the role of mitochondrial permeability transition.

Transient opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore plays a crucial role in hypoxic preconditioning-induced protection. Recently, the cyclophilin-D component of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore has been shown to interact with and regulate the F1F0-ATP synthase. However, the precise role of the F1F0-ATP synthase and the interaction between cyclophilin-D and F1F0-ATP synthase in the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and hypoxic preconditioning remain uncertain.

The impact of intracranial carotid artery calcification on the development of thrombolysis-induced intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: We aimed to assess whether intracranial carotid artery calcification (ICAC) evident on head computed tomography is a risk factor for symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) following tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) treatment for acute stroke.

Methods: We classified 297 consecutive patients into 2 groups (no to mild ICAC and moderate to severe ICAC) according to ICAC severity. Outcome measures included detection of intracerebral hemorrhage and assessment using a modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 1 month and 1 year after stroke.

Rapid progression and brain atrophy in anti-AMPA receptor encephalitis.

Anti-α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor encephalitis is an anti-neuronal surface antigen autoimmune encephalitis that is rarely reported. Our study evaluated the first known patient who developed anti-AMPA receptor encephalitis during pregnancy. Initial brain MRI revealed bilateral limbic encephalitis.

Dual phases of respiration chain defect-augmented mROS-mediated mCa 2+ stress during oxidative insult in normal and ρ 0 RBA1 astrocytes.

Mitochondrial respiratory chain (RC) deficits, resulting in augmented mitochondrial ROS (mROS) generation, underlie pathogenesis of astrocytes. However, mtDNA-depleted cells (ρ (0)) lacking RC have been reported to be either sensitive or resistant to apoptosis. In this study, we sought to determine the effects of RC-enhanced mitochondrial stress following oxidative insult.

Less favorable neurological recovery after acute stroke in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of hypercholesterolemia on recovery after acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: Data of 3048 patients admitted for acute ischemic stroke from January to December 2009 were collected from the Stroke Registry in the Chang Gung Healthcare System. Baseline characteristics of patients with and without hypercholesterolemia were compared.