ABSTRACT
Introduction: Despite the rapid growth of interdisciplinary resilience research in Chinese contexts, no study has systematically reviewed individual-level measurement scales for Chinese-speaking populations. We report a systematic review of scales developed for or translated/adapted to Chinese-speaking contexts, where we assessed how widely used scales fare in terms of their psychometric qualities. Methods: Studies included in this review must have been published in peer-reviewed English or Chinese journals between 2015-2020 and included self-reported resilience scales in Chinese-speaking populations. Searches were conducted in PsycINFO, CNKI (completed in May 2021), and PubMed (completed in January 2024). We developed coding schemes for extracting relevant data and adapted and applied an existing evaluation framework to assess the most frequently used resilience scales by seven methodological criteria. Results: Analyses of 963 qualified studies suggested that Chinese resilience scales were used in a diverse range of study contexts. Among 85 unique kinds of resilience measures, we highlighted and evaluated the three most frequently used translated scales and three locally developed scales (nine scales in total including variations such as short forms). In short, resilience studies in Chinese contexts relied heavily on the translated 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, which scored moderately on the overall quality. The locally developed Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents and Essential Resilience Scale received the best ratings but could use further development. Discussion: We discussed how future work may advance widely used scales, and specified seven methodological recommendations for future resilience scale development with existing and new scales in and beyond the Chinese study contexts. We further addressed issues and challenges in measuring resilience as a process and called on researchers to further develop/evaluate process measures for Chinese-speaking populations.
ABSTRACT
Ischemic stroke is a life-threatening cerebral vascular disease and accounts for high disability and mortality worldwide. Currently, no efficient therapeutic strategies are available for promoting neurological recovery in clinical practice, except rehabilitation. The majority of neuroprotective drugs showed positive impact in pre-clinical studies but failed in clinical trials. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for new promising therapeutic approaches for ischemic stroke treatment. Emerging evidence suggests that exosomes mediate communication between cells in both physiological and pathological conditions. Exosomes have received extensive attention for therapy following a stroke, because of their unique characteristics, such as the ability to cross the blood brain-barrier, low immunogenicity, and low toxicity. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated positively neurorestorative effects of exosome-based therapy, which are largely mediated by the microRNA cargo. Herein, we review the current knowledge of exosomes, the relationships between exosomes and stroke, and the therapeutic effects of exosome-based treatments in neurovascular remodeling processes after stroke. Exosomes provide a viable and prospective treatment strategy for ischemic stroke patients.
