BackgroundIschemic stroke is the second most common cause of death and the primary cause of disability throughout the world. Acupuncture is frequently advocated as an adjunct treatment during stroke rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to update the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture for cerebral infarction.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCT) on acupuncture treating cerebral infarction were searched from the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CMB and VIP from inception to October 2013. The data of RCTs meeting the inclusive criteria were extracted according to Cochrane methods. The meta-analyses were conducted using Rev Man 5.0 software.ResultsA total of 25 trials involving 2224 patients were included. The results of this meta-analysis showed that the groups receiving acupuncture (observation group) were superior to the comparison groups (control group), with significant differences in the Clinical Efficacy Rates [OR = 4.04, 95%CI (2.93, 5.57), P<0.001], Fugl-Meyer Assessment [MD = 11.22, 95%CI (7.62, 14.82), P<0.001], Barthel Index Score [MD = 12.84, 95%CI (9.85, 15.82), P<0.001], and Neurological Deficit Score [MD = −2.71, 95% CI (−3.84, −1.94), P<0.001]. Three trials reported minor adverse events.ConclusionCurrent evidence provisionally demonstrates that acupuncture treatment is superior to either non-acupuncture or conventional therapy for cerebral infarction. Despite this conclusion, given the often low quality of the available trials, further large scale RCTs of better quality are still needed.

Stroke research and rehabilitation have traditionally focused on the physical and functional impact of a stroke. Less attention has been given to the psychosocial factors associated with this chronic condition. By the few studies that have specifically focused on psychosocial factors in the context of stroke, poststroke depression is demonstrated to significantly influence stroke outcomes. Associations of stroke with psychological symptoms other than depression have rarely been evaluated. This study was aimed to investigate the changes of psychological stress, social support and medication adherence in patients with ischemic stroke in the mainland of China. In this study, 90 patients with hemiplegia one year after first-ever middle cerebral artery infarction (stroke group) in the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from June 2008 to June 2011 were recruited for interview. Ninety age- and sex-matched normal volunteers (control group) were also examined at the same period. The psychological distress was assessed by the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), the social support by the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and medication adherence by Morisky's self-reported inventory, respectively. Group differences were analyzed using unpaired-t test and chi-squared test. The results showed that total mean scores of the SCL-90 in the stroke group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). Except two dimensions, paranoid ideation and psychoticism, mean scores of the rest dimensions (including somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, and phobic anxiety) of SCL-90 were significantly higher in the stroke group than those in the control group (P<0.05, or P<0.01). The objective support, subjective support, support availability and total social support scores in the stroke group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05, or P<0.01). Those in the "SCL-90 total scores >150 group" were significantly higher than in the "SCL-90 total scores <100 group" and the "SCL-90 total scores between 100 to 150 group" (P<0.05, or P<0.01). Those in the "SCL-90 total scores between 100 to 150 group" were significantly higher than in the "SCL-90 total scores <100 group" (P<0.05). In 90 patients with ischemic stroke, 26 (28.89%) patients obtained high medication adherence, 47 (52.22%) patients medium medication adherence, and 17 (18.89%) patients low medication adherence, respectively. Among these stroke patients, there were 17 (50.00%) patients with high medication adherence in the "SCL-90 total scores >150 group", 28 (75.67%) patients with medium medication adherence in the "SCL-90 total scores between 100 to 150 group", and 12 (61.16%) patients with low medication adherence in the "SCL-90 total scores <100 group", respectively. There was significant difference in the medication adherence rate among the different SCL-90 scores groups in these stroke patients (P<0.05 or P<0.01). It was led to conclude that ischemic stroke patients one year after hemiplegia have ps...

No abstract

Abstract:The paper is to summarize and analyze clinical characteristics of contrast-induced encephalopathy (CIE) with clinical manifestation of cerebral hemorrhage, and then provide basis for early intervention of CIE. When the Renmin Hospital implemented coronary arteriography for the patients with coronary heart disease hospitalized from

No abstract