• Journal of Biomedical and Translational Research
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.110-115
• /
• 2018

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) indicates high risk for major stroke and is considered a medical emergency. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) enables detection of acute ischemic lesions. The clinical significance of DWI positive lesions in TIA is obscure and its prevalence, clinical features are not established. Therefore, we performed a clinical, etiological and prognostic analysis through a cross-sectional analysis of 235 TIA patients, grouped according to presence of DWI lesion. Clinical features, underlying risk factors for stroke, outcome and rate of recurrence were analyzed. 3 months follow-up of modified Rankin Scales (mRS) were done with telephone survey. DWI positive lesions were present in 14.0% of patients. Etiological factors significantly associated with DWI lesions in TIA patients were male sex (p = 0.038), stroke history (p = 0.012) and atrial fibrillation (p < 0.001). Presence of at least one medium or high risk of cardioembolism from TOAST classification were not associated with lesions when excluding association to atrial fibrillation (p = 0.108). Clinical features showed no significant difference. Whether the patients had lesion-positive DWI was not related to an increase in mRS score during the hospital stay or at the 3-month follow-up after discharge. Future studies should include multi-center samples with large numbers, considering each unique medical environment. Routine acquisition of follow-up DWI for proper evaluation of the tissue-based definition of TIA should also be considered.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.105-114
• /
• 2023

Purpose : This study systematically reviewed occupational therapy programs for upper extremity functions in subacute patients implemented over the last decade at home and abroad to utilize the findings as the basis for intervention protocols. Methods : This study was conducted with domestic and foreign randomized controlled experimental studies published from January 2013 to May 2023. Acute or subacute, CVA or stroke, upper extremity function, and program or therapy were used as search keywords in the search databases Scopus, PubMed, Riss, and DBpia. A total of 3,723 documents were retrieved, and 1,007 duplicate papers were excluded. In addition, 2,640 papers that did not meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria were excluded by the researcher examining the titles and abstracts. Thereafter, the full texts were checked. Consequently, 67 documents were excluded, and nine documents were finally used for analysis. Results : Due to the evaluation of the quality of the documents of nine studies, five items were rated "low," and two items were rated "unclear" in many studies. Males predominated the genders, and infarction predominated the types. The average age was over 50 but under 60 years, and the number of days after onset was predominantly fewer than one month. Occupational therapy programs were classified into mental programs, mirror therapy, music programs, and virtual reality programs, and virtual reality programs were frequently used. The intervention periods were predominantly 15-30 sessions for less than 30 minutes, and the Fugl-Meyer assessment-upper extremity was predominantly applied as an evaluation tool. Conclusion : This study is significant because it attempted to present the direction of intervention protocols for upper extremity functions in subacute stroke patients in clinical settings. Studies should be conducted with an expanded scope for a literature review.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.43-50
• /
• 2024

Objectives : Samanhyeol is a combination of acupoints located in the cubital and popliteal fossa. It is commonly used in clinical practice to treat acute illnesses such as summerheat stroke, vomiting, diarrhea, and hemorrhagic diseases. There are two types of Samanhyeol in literature: BL40 and LU5, and BL40 and PC3. We investigated which acupoint is representative of Samanhyeol, and more closely fits the definition of Samanhyeol between LU5 and PC3. Methods : We searched for literature related to Samanhyeol, compared the anatomical locations of LU5, PC3, and BL40, examined their indications associated with the effectiveness of Samanhyeol, and checked cases in the literature where LU5 or PC3 was used concurrently with BL40. Results : BL40, one of the Samanhyeol, has been used to treat summerheat stroke, vomiting, diarrhea, and epistaxis in acupuncture texts, and there are many references in the literature to BL40 being used for bloodletting. And BL40 is located in the midpoint of the traverse crease of the popliteal fossa. From this perspective, LU5 may be a more suitable than PC3 because it is located in the midpoint of the cubital crease. However, Samanhyeol is a combination of acupoints used to treat heat stroke, vomiting and diarrhea, and hemorrhagic diseases. Upon analyzing the literature, it was found that LU5 and PC3 have similar efficacy. However, PC3 was used more frequently in cases of severe fever, unconsciousness or syncope. Conclusions : Literature suggests that BL40 is the representative acupoint for Samanhyeol. And PC3 is more appropriate than LU5 for Samanhyeol because its effects are more stronger on heat stroke although both LU5 and PC3 can treat symptoms related to Samanhyeol.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.71-81
• /
• 2014

Objective: The purpose of this study is to ob serve effects of CPM(Continuous Passive Motion) on hand functional and upper-extremity muscular strength rehabilitation for stroke patients. Method: Objects of this study, three patients have the symptoms of hemiplegia due to stroke. These are acute patients, within a 18 months after treatment and correspond in Brunnstrom stage 4~6. This study used single subject (A-B) design for three patients with a stroke and the effect of CPM was measured using Jebsen-Taylor hand function test, Purdue Pegboard test, hand muscular strength test. They received CPM for 3 weeks, 2 per day, 30 minutes for each, total 30 times. Results: Two patients' results of fingertip grip test in hand strength measurements did not change. Results of Jebsen-Taylor hand function test, Purdue Pegboard test and other hand muscular strength test were improved. To validate statistical results nonparametric statistical method, Wilcoxon signed ranks test was performed. P-Values are greater than 0.05 so difference between be fore and after treatment is not statistically significant result. Conclusion: Despite of limitation of short program period and fewer participants, CPM which has been conducted for stroke patients showed the effect on improvement of hand function and muscle strength. This study shows that CPM which is mainly used to treate lower-extremity rehabilitation can be use to improve performance of hand function and strength for patients with stroke.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.72-81
• /
• 1997

The causes of stroke are presumed hypertension, atherosclerosis,. cardiac disease, diabetes mellitus and old age and risk factors of stroke are suggested hypertension, hyperlipidemia. obesity, smoking and drinking etc. Especilly, hypertension is one of the most important cause and risk factor of stroke, therfore without therapy hypertension leads to stroke. The frequence of hypertension is significantly higher in hemorrhage patients of intracranial hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Antihypertensive therapy has an impact not only on the primary prevention of stroke but also on stroke recurrence and the declining of stroke motality has been attributed to the widespread availability and use of antihypertensive therapy. The goals of antihypertensive therapy decrease the complications and motalitv of cardiovascular system and prevent the promoting arteriosclerosis. In this study, we observed the blood pressure change of cb-hemorrhagic patients with hypertension who were hospitalized from 1996. 3. 1 to 1997. 2 .26 in Wonkwang Oriental Hospital. These patients had no antihypertensive therapy and were supplied herb med(Jaum sikpoongtang, Chungrijagamtang, Gojinumja) in medication. Our results suggested as follows. 1. Systolic and diastolic average BP at admission is $150.71{\pm}15.61mmHg$ and $95.00{\pm}8.8mmHg$ and this is hypertension state defining WHO 2. During one week in admission, the blood pressure demostrated a marked declination by SBP 8.97mmHg and DBP 6.22mmHg. 3. During two week in admission, the declination of SBP was significant in paired t-test(p<0.05) but, the declination of DBP was non-significant in paired t-test. 4. The blood pressure during third and fourth weeks gradually declined but, non-significant in test. According to the above results, we suggested that the BP declination Was affected by $Jamyang{\cdot}Jaum$ prescriptions in acute stage of cerebral hemorrhage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.332-337
• /
• 2011

Background: The optimal timing of surgery for infective endocarditis complicated by embolic stroke is unclear. We compared early versus delayed surgery in these patients. Materials and Methods: Between 1992 and 2007, 56 consecutive patients underwent open cardiac surgery for the treatment of infective endocarditis complicated by acute septic embolic stroke, 34 within 2 weeks (early group) and 22 more than 2 weeks (delayed group) after the onset of stroke. Results: The mean age at time of surgery was $45.7{\pm}14.8$ years. Stroke was ischemic in 42 patients and hemorrhagic in 14. Patients in the early group were more likely to have highly mobile, large (>1 cm in diameter) vegetation and less likely to have hemorrhagic infarction than those in the delayed group. There were two (3.7%) intraoperative deaths, both in the early group and attributed to neurologic aggravation. Among the 54 survivors, 4 (7.1%), that is, 2 in each group, showed neurologic aggravation. During a median follow-up of 61.7 months (range, 0.4~170.4 months), there were 5 late deaths. Overall 5-year neurologic aggravation-free survival rates were $79.1{\pm}7.0%$ in the early group and $90.9{\pm}6.1%$ in the delayed group (p=0.113). Conclusion: Outcomes of early operation for infective endocarditis in stroke patients were similar to those of the conventional approach. Early surgical intervention may be preferable for patients at high risk of life-threatening septic embolism.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.119-122
• /
• 2016

Thalamic pain is a primary cause of central post-stroke pain (CPSP). Clinical symptoms vary depending on the location of the infarction and frequently accompany several pain symptoms. Therefore, correct diagnosis and proper examination are not easy. We report a case of CPSP due to a left acute thalamic infarction with central disc protrusion at C5-6. A 45-year-old-male patient experiencing a tingling sensation in his right arm was referred to our pain clinic under the diagnosis of cervical disc herniation. This patient also complained of right cramp-like abdominal pain. After further evaluations, he was diagnosed with an acute thalamic infarction. Therefore detailed history taking should be performed and examiners should always be aware of other symptoms that could suggest a more dangerous disease.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.88-94
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging can be obtained faster with shorter repletion time (TR), but it gets noisier. We hypothesized that shorter-TR FLAIR obtained at 3 tesla (3T) with a 32-channel coil may be comparable to conventional FLAIR. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value between conventional FLAIR (TR = 9000 ms, FLAIR9000) and shorter-TR FLAIR (TR = 6000 ms, FLAIR6000) at 3T in terms of diffusion-weighted imaging-FLAIR mismatch. Materials and Methods: We recruited 184 patients with acute ischemic stroke (28 patients < 4.5 hours) who had undergone 5-mm diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and two successive 5-mm FLAIR images (no gap; in-plane resolution, $0.9{\times}0.9mm$) at 3T with a 32-channel coil. The acquisition times for FLAIR9000 and FLAIR6000 were 108 seconds (generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions [GRAPPA] = 2) and 60 seconds (GRAPPA = 3), respectively. Two radiologists independently assessed the paired imaging sets (DWI-FLAIR9000 and DWI-FLAIR6000) for the presence of matched hyperintense lesions on each FLAIR imaging. The signal intensity ratios (area of DWI lesion to contralateral normal-appearing region) on both FLAIR imaging sets were compared. Results: DWI-FLAIR9000 mismatch was present in 39 of 184 (21.2%) patients, which was perfectly the same on FLAIR6000. Three of 145 patients (2%) with DWI-matched lesions on FLAIR9000 had discrepancy on FLAIR6000, showing no significant difference (P > 0.05). Interobserver agreement was excellent for both DWI-FLAIR9000 and DWI-FLAIR6000 (k = 0.904 and 0.883, respectively). Between the two FLAIR imaging sets, there was no significant difference of signal intensity ratio (mean, standard deviation; $1.25{\pm}0.20$; $1.24{\pm}0.20$, respectively) (P > 0.05). Conclusion: For the determination of mismatch or match between DWI and FLAIR imaging, there is no significant difference between FLAIR9000 and FLAIR6000 at 3T with a 32-channel coil.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.65 no.5
• /
• pp.652-664
• /
• 2022

The Kernohan-Woltman notch phenomenon (KWNP) refers to an intracranial lesion causing massive side-to-side mass effect which leads to compression of the contralateral cerebral peduncle against the free edge of the cerebellar tentorium. Diagnosis is based on "paradoxical" motor deficit ipsilateral to the lesion associated with radiologic evidence of damage to the contralateral cerebral peduncle. To date, there is scarce evidence regarding KWNP associated neuroimaging patterns and motor function prognostic factors. A systematic review was conducted on Medline database from inception to July 2021 looking for English-language articles concerning KWNP, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The research yielded 45 articles for a total of 51 patients. The mean age was 40.7 years-old and the male/female sex ratio was 2/1. 63% of the patients (32/51) suffered from head trauma with a majority of acute subdural hematomas (57%, 29/51). 57% (29/51) of the patients were in the coma upon admission and 47% (24/51) presented pupil anomalies. KWNP presented the neuroimaging features of compression ischemic stroke located in the contralateral cerebral peduncle, with edema in the surrounding structures and sometimes compression stroke of the cerebral arteries passing nearby. 45% of the patients (23/51) presented a good motor functional outcome; nevertheless, no predisposing factor was identified. A Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of more than 3 showed a trend (p=0.1065) toward a better motor functional outcome. The KWNP is a regional compression syndrome oftentimes caused by sudden and massive uncal herniation and leading to contralateral cerebral peduncle ischemia. Even though patients suffering from KWNP usually present a good overall recovery, patients with a GCS of 3 may present a worse motor functional outcome. In order to better understand this syndrome, future studies will have to focus on more personalized criteria such as individual variation of tentorial notch width.

• Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2023

Objective: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is an effective treatment for patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke secondary to large vessel occlusion. However, recanalization failure rates of interventions were about 20% in literature studies. We report our experience of unsuccessful MT with a focus on technical reasons. Methods: From December 2010 to June 2021, six hundred eight patients with acute ischemic stroke due to large artery occlusion received MT using a stent retriever with or without an aspiration catheter in our institution. We divided the reasons for failure into six categories. We analyzed the reasons for failure by dividing our experience time into 3 periods. Results: A total of 608 cases of thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion were identified in the study period. The successful recanalization rate was 90.4%. In most of the cases (20/57, 35%), the thrombus persisted despite several passes, and the second most common cause was termination of the procedure even after partial recanalization (10/57, 18%). Similar proportions of in-stent occlusion, distal embolization, and termination due to vessel rupture were observed. On analysis of three periods, the successful recanalization rate improved over time. Conclusions: MT fails due to various reasons, and intracranial artery stenosis is the main cause of MT failure. With the development of rescue techniques, the failure rate has gradually decreased. Further development of new devices and techniques could improve the recanalization rates.