ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effect of low-dose dexamethasone after acute and subacute cerebral infarct.Methods One hundred and forty patients with acute ischemic stroke were randomly divided into acute ischemic stroke group (acute stage group),subacute ischemic stroke group (subacute stage group),placebo and control groups.Subjects in acute stage groups received conventional therapy and 1 mL (5 mg) dexamethasone injection from 1 day to 3 day after admission and in subacute stage group,received the same treatment as acute stage group from 4 day to 6 day after admission.In control and placebo groups,subjects received conventional therapy and conventional therapy + 1 mL normal saline for injection respectively.One week after treatments,complete blood count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were tested.One month and three month after treatments,neurological function were evaluated by Barthel Index and modified Rankin Scale (mRS).Results The valuate of erythrocyte sedimentation rate in acute stage group were significantly different from it of placebo and control groups (P ＜ 0.05).Moreover,neurological function of subjects in acute stage group was significantly improved than that in placebo and control groups in by Barthel Index and mRS (P ＜ 0.05).However that in subacute stage group was not different from that placebo and control groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Low-dose dexamethasone plays a neuroprotection role after acutc cerebral ischemia.