Early clinical predictors of post stroke spasticity.

Background and Purpose: Up to 40% of stroke patients with paresis develop post-stroke spasticity (PSS), which induces difficult complications including pain, contracture, posture disorder. The most important factor for PSS management is its early initiation, so that early recognition of PSS is required in clinical practice.Methods: This prospective observational cohort study was conducted with a high standard of PSS assessment and a comprehensive protocol investigating possible predictive factors to identify early predictors of PSS already in the acute phase following stroke (<7 days). PSS was assessed with the Resistance to Passive movement Scale (REPAS) for major joint movements in upper- and lower limbs, based on Ashworth scale, within 7 days following stroke and after 3 months. Binary logistic regression analysis with significant clinical parameters was applied with 95% of confidence intervals (CI) to find predictors of PSS.Results: Of 145 consecutive first-ever stroke patients, 34 patients (23.4%) exhibited PSS. The Modified Rankin Scale (MRS), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were revealed as strong clinical predictors of PSS. The combination of an MRS >2 (Odds Ratio (OR): 56.538, 95% CI: 17.150-186.394), NIHSS >2 (OR: 57.137, 95% CI:15.685-208.142) and MMSE <27 (OR: 6.133, 95% CI:2.653-14.178) showed positive predictive (95.2%) value for prediction of PSS (sensitivity 94.4%, specificity 93.3%).Conclusions: Besides evaluating PSS itself with a reliable and valid rating scale the common clinical scales in stroke units practice (NIHSS, MRS, MMSE) allow early identification of patients at high risk for PSS.

Omental Approach to Functional Recovery After Cerebrovascular Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To review and synthesize the clinical literature regarding risks and benefits of omentum transplantation and transposition surgery in patients with ischemic stroke of other etiology (non-MMD) and Moyamoya disease (MMD), and to evaluate the evidence for biological underpinnings of the presumed physiologic effects of omentum transplantation and transposition on vascularization of brain parenchyma. METHODS: Articles were searched on scientific databases using predefined key terms. Data abstraction was based on the clinical course as reported in the articles. For further analysis, patients were divided into groups according to their diagnosis (MMD or non-MMD). Descriptive statistics were computed for better integration of the results. RESULTS: The final literature review contained 15 articles (11 case series, 4 single case studies) with data on 93 patients (29 non-MMD, 64 MMD). At post-assessment 56% of patients showed substantial gains in functional domains (24% in the non-MMD group, 71% in the MMD group) and 92% demonstrated improvements of cerebral vascularization (55% in the non-MMD group, 98% in the MMD group). Differences in improvement became apparent with regard to the initial symptomatology wherein transient ischemic attacks were related to superior recovery rates and language pathologies showed least improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical revascularization using omental tissue has shown good success rates, particularly for recurrent transient ischemic attacks and prevention of further strokes and should be considered as treatment option for selected patients. Experimental data on the physiologic basis for postoperative improvement delivered convincing evidence for its arteriogenic potential and recent developments in omental stem cell research suggest a role in recovery from long-standing neurological deficits.