Development of an Italian version of the functional communication measures and preliminary observations in patients with severe acquired brain injury and emerging from a prolonged disorder of consciousness.

A proper assessment tool targeting communicative abilities in patients with severe acquired brain injury (sABI), and particularly for patients recovering from prolonged disorders of consciousness (pDoC), is lacking. The Functional Communication Measures (FCM) consists of a series of rating scales, ranging from 1 (least functional) to 7 (most functional), assessing cognitive requirements for communication and communicative abilities in patients with brain injury. Here we presented exploratory data concerning an Italian adaptation of FCM administered to patients with sABI. After the translation into Italian language, the FCM was blindly administered by 2 independent speech therapists to 19 patients (10 males; median age = 58; IQR = 25) admitted to neurorehabilitation unit after sABI with a level of cognitive functioning between 4 and 8. Two further patients who presented a pDoC after sABI and emerged from the minimally conscious state (a 64-year-old female and a 74-year-old female) were also evaluated by means of the FCM, the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised, and the Disability Rating Scale. Inter-rater agreement was almost perfect for attention, memory, and swallowing items, and substantial for communicative-augmentative communication, motor speech, spoken language expression, and spoken language comprehension. Importantly, in the two pDoC patients, the FCM identified two different functioning profiles in the attention, swallowing, motor speech, and spoken language expression scales, notwithstanding the two patients achieved the same scores on scales for functional disability and consciousness level. The FCM might be a promising and easy-to-administer tool to assess communicative functions in patients with sABI, independently from evaluation of functional disability.

Systemic Oxidative Stress in Subacute Stroke Patients Undergoing Rehabilitation Treatment.

The imbalance in oxidative stress in acute stroke has been extensively studied; on the contrary, its investigation in the subacute phase is limited. The aim of this study was to analyse the variation in the systemic oxidative status in subacute post-stroke patients before (T0) and after a six-week rehabilitation treatment (T1) and to investigate the relationship between systemic oxidative status and rehabilitation outcomes. We enrolled 109 subjects in two different centres, and we analysed their serum hydroperoxide levels (d-ROMs), biological antioxidant power (BAP), thiol antioxidant components (-SHp), and relative antioxidant capacity (OSI and SH-OSI indices). Activity of Daily Living (ADL), hand grip strength, and walking endurance were evaluated using the modified Barthel Index, the Hand Grip test, and the 6-min walk test, respectively. At T0, most of the patients showed very high levels of d-ROMs and suboptimal levels of the BAP, OSI, and SH-OSI indices. Comparing the T1 and T0 data, we observed an improvement in the rehabilitation outcomes and a significant decrease in d-ROMs (549 ± 126 vs. 523 ± 148, p = 0.023), as well as an improvement in the OSI and SH-OSI indices (4.3 ± 1.3 vs. 4.7 ± 1.5, p = 0.001; 11.0 ± 0.4 vs. 1.2 ± 0.4, p < 0.001). In addition, significant correlations were seen between the oxidative stress parameters and the rehabilitation outcomes. These results suggest monitoring the systemic oxidative stress status in post-stroke patients in order to plan a tailored intervention, considering its relationship with functional recovery.

Glucose metabolism and coronary heart disease in patients with normal glucose tolerance.

CONTEXT: Several investigations as well as prospective studies have shown a significant correlation between glucose metabolism and atherosclerosis in patients without diabetes, but differences in parameters of glucose metabolism among the various degrees of coronary disease in such patients have not been specifically evaluated. OBJECTIVE: To investigate glucose metabolism in patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and coronary heart disease (CHD). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study of 234 men (mean [SD] age, 56.2 [6.1] years) with NGT and suspected CHD who were admitted from January 1 through June 30, 2001, to an academic medical center in Italy for coronary angiography. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Correlation of glucose metabolic factors and extent of atherosclerosis determined by coronary angiography. Factors included levels of fasting and postload glucose and insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and lipids, as well as insulin resistance measured by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). RESULTS: Patients were divided into 4 groups based on coronary angiography: no significant stenosis (n = 42), 1-vessel disease (n = 72), 2-vessel disease (n = 64), and 3-vessel disease (n = 56). Simple correlation analysis showed that the factors correlated with the extent of atherosclerosis were levels of postload glucose (r = 0.667), HbA1c (r = 0.561), postload insulin (r = 0.221), and fasting insulin (r = 0.297), as well as HOMA-IR (r = 0.278) (P<.001 for all). Multiple stepwise regression analysis suggested that the factors independently associated with the number of stenosed coronary arteries were levels of postload plasma glucose (r = 0.572), HbA1c (r = 0.413), postload insulin (r = 0.267), and fasting insulin (r = 0.174), as well as HOMA-IR (r = 0.250) (P<.001 for all). Similar results were obtained after grouping patients by Duke Myocardial Jeopardy Score. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with NGT and different extents of atherosclerotic disease, postload glycemia and HbA1c level are not equally distributed but are significantly higher in those with more severe disease. This suggests that the glycemic milieu correlates with the cardiovascular risk according to a linear model.

Coronary Artery RIsk MAnagement Programme (CARIMAP) delivered by a rehabilitation day-hospital: impact on patients with coronary artery disease.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown that correct management of different coronary risk factors can reduce coronary event rates. However, significant undertreatment of hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension is still found during clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an individualized management program to modify coronary disease risk profile. METHODS: One hundred sixty-eight patients discharged from a cardiac rehabilitation department after acute coronary events were prospectively randomized into 2 management strategies: 84 started usual community care and 84 entered a Coronary Artery RIsk MAnagement Programme (CARIMAP) delivered by the rehabilitation day-hospital. Coronary risk profile, optimized therapy, and management were evaluated after the acute event and again after a followup of 9 ± 4 months in both groups. RESULTS: Patients accessed the day-hospital an average of 4 ± 1 months (range, 1-13 months) after the acute event. The duration of the CARIMAP was 5 ± 2 months and the individual number of accesses to the day-hospital was 4 ± 3.8. After the CARIMAP, patients received better-optimized therapy (ß-blockers 57% vs 85%, P < .0001; angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors 54% vs 84%, P < .00001; statins 38% vs 78%, P < .0001; and amlodipine 22% vs 51%, P < .0001) and had a better risk profile (low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol < 100 mg/dL 30% vs 42%, P < .0001; blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg 63% vs 88%, P < .00001). CONCLUSION: The CARIMAP of secondary prevention delivered by a rehabilitation day-hospital to patients who had undergone an acute coronary event, enabled individually titrated therapy and better control of coronary artery risk factors.