Rehabilitation Services Improve Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Capability in Patients After Discharge From Convalescent Rehabilitation Wards.

Background/objectives: There is a notable lack of evidence regarding the long-term effects of rehabilitation services, particularly concerning functional recovery and daily living activities of patients following discharge from convalescent rehabilitation wards. This study aimed to clarify the longitudinal changes in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living of patients after discharge from a convalescent rehabilitation ward and the association between the use of rehabilitation services and clinical outcomes.

Methods:  Patients discharged from Japanese convalescent rehabilitation wards in August 2021 were included.

Predictive ability of hand-grip strength and muscle mass on functional prognosis in patients rehabilitating from stroke.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between muscle strength and adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) in patients who have had strokes with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the probability of being discharged.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted for older patients who have had strokes admitted to convalescent rehabilitation wards between January 2017 and October 2020. Hand-grip strength (HGS) was used to assess muscle strength.

Pseudohypoxic Brain Swelling after Unilateral Burr Hole Drainage: A Novel Case Report.

An 85-year-old man underwent emergency right trepanation and drainage for a symptomatic chronic subdural hematoma. Pseudohypoxic brain swelling (PHBS) was suspected because magnetic resonance imaging revealed diffuse brain swelling. Although cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage was not obvious during or after surgery, most of the reported PHBS cases have leaked CSF during craniotomy or spine surgery.

Impact of Pre-operative Embolization With Onyx for Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Surgery.

Objective: To clarify the safety and efficacy of pre-operative embolization using Onyx liquid embolic agent (Onyx; ev3) compared with -butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA; Cordis Neurovascular, Inc.) or coils in cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) surgery.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of a prospectively collected clinical database of brain AVMs treated at our institute from January 2005 to March 2021.

Usefulness of the Atherosclerosis Risk Score for Patients With Acute Infarction in the Lenticulostriate Artery Region.

Background and purpose Internal carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are risk factors of cerebrovascular disease and coronary artery disease. They are known as independent predictors of arteriosclerotic disease. It has been reported that IMT and PWV are useful factors for predicting stroke subtype and/or outcome.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Coexistence of Malnutrition and Sarcopenia in Geriatric Rehabilitation.

Malnutrition and sarcopenia often coexist in rehabilitation patients, although they are often overlooked and undertreated in clinical practice. This cross-sectional study aimed to clarify the prevalence of the coexistence of malnutrition and sarcopenia (Co-MS) and its associated factors in convalescent rehabilitation wards in Japan. Consecutive patients aged ≥ 65 years in convalescent rehabilitation wards between November 2018 and October 2020 were included.

Effect of Improvement in Sarcopenia on Functional and Discharge Outcomes in Stroke Rehabilitation Patients.

This cross-sectional study investigated the proportion of patients' recovery from sarcopenia status and the relationship between improvement in sarcopenia (IS) and function and discharge outcome in hospitalized patients with stroke. This study included patients with stroke, aged 65 years or more, with a diagnosis of sarcopenia, who were admitted to a convalescent rehabilitation ward. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria.

Moyamoya Disease Associated with Graves' Disease and Down Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: Moyamoya vessels are cerebral vasculopathies characterized by net-like collateral vessel formation at the cerebral basal area and stenosis of the terminal internal carotid artery, proximal middle cerebral artery, and anterior cerebral artery. A diagnosis of Moyamoya disease depends on the bilateral presence of Moyamoya vessels. Moyamoya disease associated with Graves' disease has rarely been reported to be a cause of ischemic events due to hyperthyroidism.

A Case of Cerebral Hyperperfusion Showing Unique Characteristics on Susceptibility-weighted MR Imaging after Carotid Endarterectomy.

Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) is a potentially devastating complication of carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Early detection and treatment of hyperperfusion are important before the condition develops into CHS. We herein present a case involving a 65-year-old female with severe right internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis, who experienced hyperperfusion after right CEA.

[A case report of dolichoectasia of the anterior cerebral artery].

Dolichoectasia of the intracranial arteries is a rare condition, and the vertebrobasilar system and the internal carotid artery is most commonly involved. We describe a rare case of a 60-year-old man with dolichoectasia of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA). The patient presented with continuous vertigo and nausea.

[A case of cerebral amyloid angiopathy in which a restricted subarachnoid hemorrhage recurred in the cortical sulcus following a subcortical hemorrhage].

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is predominantly recognized in elderly people and repeatedly causes a huge subcortical hemorrhage. Some cases of CAA can cause secondary subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but cases in which it causes primary SAH is very rare. We describe a valuable reference case of a 75-year-old man in whom a restricted SAH recurred in the cortical sulcus following a huge subcortical hemorrhage.

[Subclavian steal phenomenon associated with hypervascular thyroid tumor].

Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS) is caused by hypoplasia of a vertebral artery or stenosis or occlusion of the subclavian artery or the brachiocephalic artery with subsequent retrograde filling of the subclavian artery via the contralateral vertebral artery. Symptoms of SSS are due to vertbrobasilar insufficiency or ischemia of the ipsilateral upper extremity, and they may include dizziness, syncope, ataxia, arm claudication, hand numbness or a decrease in brachial blood pressure on the affected side. However, most SSS cases are asymptomatic and they are classified as subclavian steal phenomenon (SSP).

De novo basilar head aneurysms--two case reports.

We describe two rare cases of de novo basilar head aneurysms. The first patient presented with a ruptured basilar tip aneurysm, which developed de novo 5 years after the clipping of a left middle cerebral artery aneurysm. The second patient presented with a right basilar artery-superior cerebellar artery aneurysm, which developed de novo 3 years after the clipping of a right A(1) aneurysm.

[A case of rapidly growing dumbbell-shaped convexity meningioma].

We have had more opportunities to treat incidental meningiomas owing to the recent development of neuroradiological imaging. Generally, most of them are treated conservatively unless they grow rapidly or change to symptomatic. Rapidly growing meningiomas are unusual because meningiomas are generally benign and slow-growing tumors.

Reversible clinical and magnetic resonance imaging of central pontine myelinolysis following surgery for craniopharyngioma: serial magnetic resonance imaging studies.

An 18-year-old girl presented with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) following surgery for craniopharyngioma. Postoperatively, the patient developed diabetes insipidus with remarkable fluctuation of serum sodium level, suffered a seizure, and developed mental state changes and quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging obtained soon after the development of the symptoms showed no significant abnormalities.

[Case of reversible ischemic neurological deficit presented as hemiballism].

Ballism is characterized by continuous, coarse, flinging involuntary movements involving the limbs. Although persistent involuntary movements caused by cerebrovascular diseases mostly in middle-aged patients are well known, transient involuntary movements are an unusual manifestation of cerebrovascular diseases. We describe a rare case of reversible ischemic neurologic deficit (RIND) presented as hemiballism.

Papillary tumor of the pineal region.

A 48-year-old female presented with an extremely rare primary tumor of the pineal region with papillary features manifesting as morning headaches persisting for 1 month. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-defined mass, with some cystic components, in the region of the pineal gland. The tumor was completely removed through an occipital transtentorial approach in the prone position.

Inhibition of tumor growth and prolonged survival of rats with intracranial gliomas following administration of clotrimazole.

Object: Clotrimazole, an imidazole derivative and inhibitor of cytochrome P-450, inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells by downregulating the movement of intracellular Ca++ and K+ and by interfering with the translation initiation process. Clotrimazole inhibits the proliferation of human glioblastoma multiforme cells; it induces morphological changes toward differentiation and blocks the cell cycle in the G1/G1 phase. In vitro, clotrimazole enhances the antitumor effect of cisplatin by inducing wild-type p53-mediated apoptosis.

Immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin in metastatic brain tumors.

The adhesion molecule E-cadherin has been shown to influence malignant transformation of tumors, including local and distant metastases. We examined the expression of E-cadherin to determine its relationship to the development of metastasis in metastatic brain tumors. Immunohistochemistry for E-cadherin and Ki-67 was carried out in 76 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival specimens of metastatic brain tumors and in 14 corresponding available primary tumors from patients who received treatment for metastatic brain tumors.

Relationship between expression of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, glutathione-S-transferase pi in glioblastoma and the survival of the patients treated with nimustine hydrochloride: an immunohistochemical analysis.

Drug resistance is one of the important factors that determine tumor response to chemotherapy. Several candidates for resistance to various chemotherapeutic agents have been elucidated. O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) removes methylation damage induced by nitrosourea from the O6 position of DNA guanines before cell injury.

[A case of pituitary apoplexy with severe consciousness disturbance following mild head trauma].

A rare case of pituitary apoplexy following mild head trauma is reported. A 56-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for loss of consciousness following a traffic accident. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed a large suprasellar tumor containing a low intensity area on the T 1-, T 2-weighted images and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) image.