Advance in Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Mild Cognitive Impairment after Stroke(review) / 中国康复理论与实践

@#This paper reviewed the Methods of evaluation and rehabilitation of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after stroke. The Results showed that the Methods of evaluation included Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE), three Methods designed by The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke(NINDS) and The Canadian Stroke Network(CSN), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and category test. The MoCA as the focus is brief, practical and effective as the major advantages. Many Methods of rehabilitation existed are still lack of evidence to support their efficacy.

Silent Microbleeds and Hemorrhagic Conversion of an Embolic Infarction

We report a patient with multiple simultaneous embolic infarctions with localized hemorrhagic conversion. A 75-year-old male patient had several silent microbleeds (SMBs) exclusively in the cerebral cortex, and underwent angioplasty and stenting for bilateral carotid stenosis. He subsequently experienced embolic infarctions in the cortex and the striatum: the cortical infarction, where an SMB had been present, showed hemorrhagic conversion, whereas the striatal infarction did not. This case suggests that SMBs are indicators of an underlying hemorrhage-prone state.

Silent Microbleeds and Hemorrhagic Conversion of an Embolic Infarction

We report a patient with multiple simultaneous embolic infarctions with localized hemorrhagic conversion. A 75-year-old male patient had several silent microbleeds (SMBs) exclusively in the cerebral cortex, and underwent angioplasty and stenting for bilateral carotid stenosis. He subsequently experienced embolic infarctions in the cortex and the striatum: the cortical infarction, where an SMB had been present, showed hemorrhagic conversion, whereas the striatal infarction did not. This case suggests that SMBs are indicators of an underlying hemorrhage-prone state.

Comparison of the NIH Stroke Scale and the Modified NIH Stroke Scale by Classification and Location of Cerebral Infarction

BACKGROUND: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is regarded as a valid and reliable tool to measure the severity of neurological deficits in acute stroke, but has been criticized for its complexity and variability. Therefore, the modified NIHSS (mNIHSS) was developed, eliminating redundant and less reliable items from the full version of the NIHSS. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity of the mNIHSS according to the subtypes of stroke and the location of affected arterial territories. METHODS: The severity of stroke in 155 patients with acute cerebral infarction was measured. Each patient was evaluated by two neurologists using both the NIHSS and mNIHSS, and the stroke subtype was determined according to the TOAST classification. The vascular territory of lesion was classified into an anterior and posterior circulation. The criterion-related validity was evaluated by the Pearson Correlation Coefficient between the NIHSS and mNIHSS scores. RESULTS: When considering the NIHSS scores as the gold criteria, the Pearson correlation coefficients of the mNIHSS were 0.96 in the subtype of large artery atherosclerosis, 0.91 in small vessel occlusion, 0.98 in cardioembolism, and 0.99 in undetermined etiology. On the other hand, the correlation coefficient was 0.98 in patients with an anterior circulation infarction, and was 0.94 in patients with a posterior circulation infarction. CONCLUSIONS: The criterion-related validity of the mNIHSS scoring system was very high in general. However, the correlations were relatively low in patients with the TOAST subtype of small vessel occlusion and also a posterior circulation infarction.

Validity and Reliability of Retrospective NIH Stroke Scale Assessment for Initial Stroke Severity

BACKGROUND: The retrospective severity scoring system of NIHSS for acute stroke patients was found to be valid and reliable by using patients' medical records in studies abroad. However, in Korea, medical records are often summarized and contain missing information which makes it difficult to conduct a restropective outcome study. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the retrospective NIHSS scoring system according to patients' medical records with written clinical histories and physical admission notes. METHODS: An algorithm for the retrospective NIHSS scoring system was developed and applied to 75 patients with acute ischemic stroke. Missing data on physical examination results were scored as normal. One neurologist who was blinded to this study measured the NIHSS score prospectively on the initial patient examination. After the patient's discharge, two other neurologists, blinded to the patient's clinical condition, evaluated the NIHSS score independently based on the information collected from the patient's physical admission notes. The criterion-related validity was evaluated by the Pearson Correlation Coefficient, and the measure of agreement between two raters was evaluated by the Kappa Statistic. RESULTS: The criterion-related validities of the retrospective NIHSS scoring system were high in the total and each itemized scores, except for the items of LOC command, limb ataxia, dysarthria, and neglect. The interrater reliabilities were also high except for the items of LOC command, limb ataxia, and dysarthria. CONCLUSIONS: The retrospective NIHSS scoring algorithm was found to be a reliable and unbiased tool even when some physical examination elements are missing from the written medical records.

Diffusion Weighted MRI and Tc99m-ECD SPECT inAcute Middle Cerebral Artery Territory Infarction: Comparison with Clinical Status and Outcome Using Volumetric Analysis"

BACKGROUND: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can demonstrate ischemic brain injury within the first several hours after the onset of symptoms. We investigated the utility of combined DWI and SPECT in the assessment of acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: Nineteen patients with acute middle cerebral artery territory infarction underwent DWI and SPECT within 12 hours of symptom onset (mean, 9.6 hour). In SPECT, we defined abnormality as a perfusion defect region (perfusion ??30% compared to a normal cortex) and an ischemic region (perfusion difference ??10% compared to a contralateral normal hemisphere). The initial DWI and SPECT lesion volume ratios (lesion volume / hemispheric volume) were analyzed with subsequent neurological deficits as determined by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and Barthel index (BI). RESULTS: There was a high correlation between clinical scores within 7 days and lesion volumes determined by DWI and SPECT respectively (p<0.05). The lesion volumes detected by DWI and SPECT significantly correlated with each other (p<0.01). Ischemic lesions on SPECT were larger in the group (n=10) with ICA occlusions than in the other group (p=0.034). In 15 patients with cortical lesions, the ratio of perfusion defect volumes on SPECT to lesion volumes on DWI was higher in the group with favorable outcome than in the group with unfavorable outcome (p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Both DWI and SPECT are highly correlated with the severity of neurological deficit in acute cerebral infarction. Furthermore, combined use of DWI and SPECT would be more powerful than either study alone in predicting clinical outcome. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(2):88~95, 2001)

Diffusion Weighted MRI and Tc99m-ECD SPECT inAcute Middle Cerebral Artery Territory Infarction: Comparison with Clinical Status and Outcome Using Volumetric Analysis"

BACKGROUND: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can demonstrate ischemic brain injury within the first several hours after the onset of symptoms. We investigated the utility of combined DWI and SPECT in the assessment of acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: Nineteen patients with acute middle cerebral artery territory infarction underwent DWI and SPECT within 12 hours of symptom onset (mean, 9.6 hour). In SPECT, we defined abnormality as a perfusion defect region (perfusion ??30% compared to a normal cortex) and an ischemic region (perfusion difference ??10% compared to a contralateral normal hemisphere). The initial DWI and SPECT lesion volume ratios (lesion volume / hemispheric volume) were analyzed with subsequent neurological deficits as determined by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and Barthel index (BI). RESULTS: There was a high correlation between clinical scores within 7 days and lesion volumes determined by DWI and SPECT respectively (p<0.05). The lesion volumes detected by DWI and SPECT significantly correlated with each other (p<0.01). Ischemic lesions on SPECT were larger in the group (n=10) with ICA occlusions than in the other group (p=0.034). In 15 patients with cortical lesions, the ratio of perfusion defect volumes on SPECT to lesion volumes on DWI was higher in the group with favorable outcome than in the group with unfavorable outcome (p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Both DWI and SPECT are highly correlated with the severity of neurological deficit in acute cerebral infarction. Furthermore, combined use of DWI and SPECT would be more powerful than either study alone in predicting clinical outcome. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(2):88~95, 2001)