[Effect of intravenous laser irradiation on some blood biochemical indicators in the acute stage of lacunar infarcts].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the dynamics of lipid metabolism, C-reactive protein (CRP), lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in lacunar infarction (LI) in chronic cerebral ischemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two groups of patients were studied. The main group included 31 patients who received intravenous laser irradiation of blood (ILIB) with semiconductor laser (wavelength - 0.67 microns, the power output - 3-2 mW) in addition to standard treatment. Patients of the control group (n=22) received only standard treatment. RESULTS: A statistically significant decrease in total cholesterol levels to normal values due to the significant reduction of the content of antiatherogenic fraction of cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein and atherogenic low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) was found in the main group after treatment. The reduction in atherogenic cholesterol fractions in both groups was associated with the decrease in apolipoprotein B level. The level of CRP was higher than normal in the main and control groups of patients before and after treatment, which indicated the risk of vascular diseases in patients with LI. After treatment, superoxide dismutase activity returned to normal values. In patients of the main group, the catalase activity increased while the level of reduced glutathione did not change and lipid peroxidation products remained on the high level. CONCLUSION: Additional antioxidant therapy is needed for these patients.

[Clinical analysis of syndrome-relative biological indices in acute lacuna encephalon infarction patients of upper hyperactivity of Gan Yang syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and summarize changes of syndrome-related biological indices in acute lacuna encephalon infarction patients of upper hyperactivity of Gan yang syndrome (UHGYS), thus providing objective evidence for syndrome typing and disease identification. METHODS: Recruited were 50 patients at Department of Encephalopathy, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, who were in line with diagnostic criteria of UHGYS as the experimental group in this study. Another 40 healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group from May 2010 to July 2012. Blood routines (including WBC, RBC, Hb, NEUT%, and LY%), hepatic and renal functions tests (including ALT, AST, TBIL, TP, ALB, Cr, and BUN) were performed by automatic whole blood analyzer and colorimetric technique. The levels of fasting blood glucose, HbAlc, blood lipids (including TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, and VLDL-C), and coagulation functions (including AT-III, PT, PTA, INR, TT, APTT, and FBG, reaction time), renin, angiotensin II, hs-CRP, and Hcy were also measured. The thyroid functions (including FT3, FT4, T3, T4, and TSH) were detected by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-6 and IL-1 in serum were measured by ELISA and radioimmunoassay respectively. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, RBC, LY%, ALT, TP, ALB, HDL-C, AT-III activities, contents of PTA and FT4 obviously decreased, TBIL, BUN, Glu, HbAlc, TSH, hs-CRP, renin, Ang II, TNF-alpha, IL-1 and IL-6 significantly increased in the experimental group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The pathological process of acute lacuna encephalon infarction patients of UHGYS was closely correlated with thyroid functions, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, the extrinsic and intrinsic coagulation systems, as well as inflammation reaction.

Vitamin B12 and progression of white matter lesions. A 2-year follow-up study in first-ever lacunar stroke patients.

In cross-sectional studies periventricular white matter lesions (WML) were related to low plasma levels of vitamin B12. Whether low vitamin B12 levels are also related to progression of WML is still unknown. We studied baseline vitamin B12 levels and its association with progression of WML over 2 years of follow-up in first-ever lacunar stroke patients. In 107 first-ever lacunar stroke patients in whom baseline brain MRI and vitamin B12 status were available, we obtained a follow-up brain MRI after 2 years. We assessed progression of periventricular WML (pWML) and deep WML (dWML) using a visual WML change scale. We studied the relationship between baseline levels of plasma vitamin B12 and progression of WML after 2 years of follow-up by binary logistic regression analyses. Vitamin B12 deficiency was more frequent in patients with progression of pWML compared to those without progression (41.9% and 19.7% respectively, p = 0.02). Corrected for sex and age, progression of pWML was associated with lower baseline levels of vitamin B12 (OR 1.42 per 50 unit decrease, 95% CI 1.00-1.92). Vitamin B12 levels were not associated with progression of dWML. In conclusion progression of pWML after 2 years of follow-up relates to low levels of vitamin B12 at baseline in first-ever lacunar stroke patients. Whether this population could benefit from vitamin B12 supplementation is unknown and requires further investigation.