The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on awakening and neural function in patients with brain injury / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective:To investigate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on awakening of cerebrum frontal lobe area and neural function in the patients with brain injury.Methods:The clinical data of 70 patients with brain injury in Zhejiang Xin′an International Hospital from March 2020 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 34 cases were treated with conventional awakening rehabilitation (control group), and 36 cases were treated with rTMS combined with conventional awakening rehabilitation (observation group). The efficacy was evaluated after treatment, the cure and effective were taken as total effective. The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was used to evaluate the conscious state; the modified coma recovery scale (CRS-R) was used to evaluate the neural function; the brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) classification criteria was used to evaluate the conscious state, the electroencephalogram powers of five channels FP1, F3, C3, F7 and T3 were measured; and the adverse reactions were recorded.Results:The total effective rate in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group: 94.44% (34/36) vs. 76.47% (26/34), and there was statistical difference ( χ2 = 4.61, P<0.05). The eye opening response, motor response, language response and total score of GCS after treatment in observation group were significantly higher than those in control group: (4.28 ± 0.57) scores vs. (3.03 ± 0.59) scores, (4.57 ± 0.85) scores vs. (3.24 ± 0.67) scores, (3.99 ± 0.92) scores vs. (3.01±0.48) scores and (12.85 ± 2.01) scores vs. (10.47 ± 1.95) scores, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01). The CRS-R score after treatment in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group: (15.28 ± 3.17) scores vs. (12.33 ± 3.09) scores, and there was statistical difference ( P<0.01). The BAEP classification after treatment in observation group was significantly better than that in control group, and there was statistical difference ( P<0.05). The powers of F3, C3, F7 and T3 after treatment in observation group were significantly lower than those in control group: (41.25 ± 6.35) μV 2/Hz vs. (53.19 ± 10.37) μV 2/Hz, (39.17 ± 5.61) μV 2/Hz vs. (48.94 ± 6.63) μV 2/Hz, (63.94 ± 7.57) μV 2/Hz vs. (69.85 ± 7.35) μV 2/Hz and (51.76 ± 6.84) μV 2/Hz vs. (62.47 ± 7.62) μV 2/Hz, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01); there was no statistical difference in power of Fp1 after treatment between two groups ( P>0.05). No serious complications such as epilepsy occurred in two groups. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The rTMS can improve the excitability of brain cells and the degree of brain injury in patients with brain injury, improve the CRS-R score, promote waking up and the recovery of cognitive functions, with safety and efficiency.

Validation of Korean Version of Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (K-CRSR)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (K-CRSR) for evaluation of patients with a severe brain lesion. METHODS: With permission from Giacino, the developer of the Coma Recovery Scale Revised (CRSR), the scale was translated into Korean and back-translated into English by a Korean physiatrist highly proficient in English, and then verified by the original developer. Adult patients with a severe brain lesion following traumatic brain injury, stroke, or hypoxic brain injury were examined. To assess the inter-rater reliability, all patients were tested with K-CRSR by two physiatrists individually. To determine intra-rater reliability, the same test was re-administered by the same physiatrists after three days. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability (k=0.929, p < 0.01) and intra-rater reliability (k=0.938, p < 0.01) were both high for total K-CRSR scores. Inter- and intra-rater agreement rates were very high (94.9% and 97.4%, respectively). The total K-CRSR score was significantly correlated with K-GCS (r=0.894, p < 0.01), demonstrating sufficient concurrent validity. CONCLUSION: K-CRSR is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of patients with brain injury by trained physiatrists. This scale is useful in differentiating patients in minimally conscious state from those in vegetative state.

Visual Fixation Assessment in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness Based on Brain-Computer Interface / 神经科学通报·英文版

Visual fixation is an item in the visual function subscale of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Sometimes clinicians using the behavioral scales find it difficult to detect because of the motor impairment in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). Brain-computer interface (BCI) can be used to improve clinical assessment because it directly detects the brain response to an external stimulus in the absence of behavioral expression. In this study, we designed a BCI system to assist the visual fixation assessment of DOC patients. The results from 15 patients indicated that three showed visual fixation in both CRS-R and BCI assessments and one did not show such behavior in the CRS-R assessment but achieved significant online accuracy in the BCI assessment. The results revealed that electroencephalography-based BCI can detect the brain response for visual fixation. Therefore, the proposed BCI may provide a promising method for assisting behavioral assessment using the CRS-R.