ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To discuss the clinical efficacy and safety of balloon-expandable stent in the treatment of symptomatic atherosclerotic cerebral artery stenosis in the middle cerebral artery(MCA), and to assess the appropriate methods of postoperative follow-up auxiliary examination. METHODS: A total of 67 patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic cerebral artery stenosis in the MCA were treated with balloon-expandable stent. The clinical data and follow-up data were collected and then analyzed retrospectively.RESULTS: the success rate of the surgical treatment with balloon-expandable stent was 98.51%(66/67). The incidence of symptomatic perioperative complications was 4.48%(3/67). All patients received clinical follow-up, and the auxiliary examination methods of the internal condition lesion of the stent included transcranial Doppler(TCD) or digital subtraction angiography(DSA). The incidence of in-stent restenosis or occlusion was 8.96%(6/67), and the consistency rate of stent restenosis or occlusion between TCD and DSA was75.00%, and the incidence of symptomatic in-stent restenosis or occlusion was 2.99%(2/67). It was found that there were two patients with recurrent stroke in cerebrovascular stent related region but without in-stent restenosis, and within 1 year of follow-up, the incidence of symptomatic stroke in stent-associated areas after operation was 10.44%(7/67). CONCLUSION: The treatment with balloonexpandable stent for symptomatic MCA stenosis has good clinical effect. The incidence of perioperative complications is low and the incidence of stroke in stent-associated areas after operation is low. TCD is an effective way of follow-up after the arterial stenting in the brain, which can play a role in the early detection of the in-stent restenosis, and its consistency with DSA is high.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhuEPO) on p-Akt and caspase-9 expressions in the hippocampus of rats with status epilepticus (SE) and explore the neuroprotective mechanism of rhuEPO.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Adult male SD rats were randomized into control, PTZ, rHuEPO, LY294002 group, and DMSO groups and treated with normal saline (NS), PTZ, PTZ+rHuEPO, PTZ+LY294002+rHuEPO, and PTZ+DMSO+rHuEPO, respectively. The behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) changes of the rats were recorded, and the expressions of p-Akt and caspase-9 were detected using immunohistochemistry. The hippocampal expression of caspase-9 mRNA was detected using RT-PCR, and the expressions of Akt and p-Akt proteins were determined with Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The p-Akt-positive cell and p-Akt protein expression increased significantly while the caspase-9-positive cell and caspase-9 mRNA expression decreased in rHuEPO group as compared with those in PTZ group (P<0.05). LY294002 treatment prior to rHuEPO injection significantly abolished the effects of rHuEPO on caspase-9 and p-Akt immunohistochemical positivity and caspase-9 mRNA and p-Akt protein expressions (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Administration of rHuEPO activates the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in SE rats and increases the expression of p-Akt protein to regulate the expression of caspase-9, a regulatory factor of the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway, and therefore provides anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective effects.</p>