Intermittent theta burst stimulation enhances upper limb motor function in patients with chronic stroke: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a form of repetitive transcranial stimulation that has been used to enhance upper limb (UL) motor recovery. However, only limited studies have examined its efficacy in patients with chronic stroke and therefore it remains controversial. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled patients from a rehabilitation department. Twenty-two patients with first-ever chronic and unilateral cerebral stroke, aged 30-70 years, were randomly assigned to the iTBS or control group. All patients received 1 session per day for 10 days of either iTBS or sham stimulation over the ipsilesional primary motor cortex in addition to conventional neurorehabilitation. Outcome measures were assessed before and immediately after the intervention period: Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Box and Block test (BBT), and Motor Activity Log (MAL). Analysis of covariance was adopted to compare the treatment effects between groups. RESULTS: The iTBS group had greater improvement in the MAS and FMA than the control group (η2 = 0.151-0.233; p < 0.05), as well as in the ARAT and BBT (η2 = 0.161-0.460; p < 0.05) with large effect size. Both groups showed an improvement in the BBT, and there were no significant between-group differences in MAL changes. CONCLUSIONS: The iTBS induced greater gains in spasticity decrease and UL function improvement, especially in fine motor function, than sham TBS. This is a promising finding because patients with chronic stroke have a relatively low potential for fine motor function recovery. Overall, iTBS may be a beneficial adjunct therapy to neurorehabilitation for enhancing UL function. Further larger-scale study is warranted to confirm the findings and its long-term effect. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered under ClinicalTrials.gov ID No. NCT01947413 on September 20, 2013.

Post-Acute Care for Traumatic Brain Injury Patients in Taiwan.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in functional impairments. Many patients with TBI require post-acute care to improve their functional skills and allow for greater self-independence and a better quality of life. Taiwan's National Health Insurance proposed a nationwide post-acute care program in 2017 for patients with traumatic brain injury. The program's goal was to maximize patients' functional recovery and make it possible for them to return to their homes and communities. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of such programs in Taiwan. Methods: This pilot study retrospectively evaluated a de-identified database that contained the scores of various assessments evaluated at admission and discharge. It used the data to determine the functional improvement of patients with traumatic brain injury after participating in post-acute care programs. Results: This study collected complete data from 27 patients. After an average of 45.11 days in the program, the patients showed significant improvement in the Barthel Activity Daily Living Index, the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activity Daily Living Scale, the Mini Nutrition Assessment, the EuroQol Five Dimensions Questionnaire, the Berg Balance Scale, the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test, the Rancho Los Amigos Scale, the Concise Chinese Aphasia Test, and the Mini Mental State Examination. After discharge, 96% of the patients could return to their community. Conclusion: This pilot study concluded that the program significantly promoted functional recovery for patients and could help patients with traumatic brain injury return to their communities and reduce the risk of institutionalization. Thus, patients with the potential for functional recovery could receive post-acute care in regional or community hospitals immediately after being discharged from acute wards. In the future randomized controlled trials are needed to further confirm the clinical impact of this program.

A dataset of the mid-brunhes period at site MD05-2925, Solomon Sea: Surface-subsurface planktonic foraminifera stable C-O isotope and Mg/Ca ratios.

Here we present derived thermal-hydrological variations data during the Marine isotope stages (MISs) 10-12 using surface and subsurface dwelling planktonic foraminiferal geochemical proxies of a sedimentary core of MD05-2925 (9.3oS, 151.5oE, water depth 1661 m, core depth 1842-2430 cm), Solomon Sea. Globigerinoides ruber (s.s., white, 250-300 µm) and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata (355-425 µm) tests were hand-picked and cleaned for stable carbon and oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca analyses. Composite benthic foraminifera tests (>250 µm, Uvigerina spp., and Bulimina spp.) are also hand-picked and cleaned for stable oxygen isotope stratigraphy. In total, 235 and 148 measurements for C-O stable isotopes and Mg/Ca ratios for planktonic foraminifera in 2-5 cm resolution for the period from 352.1 to 462.3 ka are presented in this data report, respectively. Age model is established by tuning composite benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotope to global composite benthic foraminifera oxygen isotope stack LR04. Surface and subsurface temperatures and seawater oxygen isotopes (δ18OW, without ice volume correction) were calculated.

Clinical and functional characteristics of lung surgery-related vocal fold palsy.

BACKGROUND: Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) caused by lung surgery is associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased postoperative comorbidities. We evaluated lung surgery-related UVFP and compared its characteristics with UVFP caused by esophageal and thyroid surgeries, as the most common surgical causes of UVFP. We also evaluated the outcomes of intracordal hyaluronate injection laryngoplasty in these patients. METHODS: Patients with surgery-related UVFP were evaluated by quantitative laryngeal electromyography, videolaryngostroboscopy, voice acoustic analysis, Voice Outcome Survey (VOS) questionnaire, and Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) quality-of-life questionnaire. Data for the lung, esophageal, and thyroid surgery groups were compared and changes in outcome measurements induced by hyaluronate injection were compared among the three groups. RESULTS: A total of 141 patients were recruited, including 21, 46, and 74 in the lung, esophageal, and thyroid surgery groups, respectively. Compared with the other two groups, lung surgery patients had predominantly left-sided UVFP, less involvement of the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, and higher jitter. Most outcome measurements improved in all three groups after office-based hyaluronate injection, with the greatest improvement in jitter in the lung surgery group. CONCLUSIONS: Lung surgery-related UVFP showed a distinct disease presentation, and patients' voice parameters and quality of life recovered dramatically after office-based hyaluronate injection. We recommend evaluation of lung surgery-related UVFP and early intervention, such as office-based hyaluronate injection, to improve patients' voice function and quality of life.

Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome in a Young Baseball Pitcher: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES) is a rare disease in young adults and is thought to be under-diagnosed, and its main cause is the abnormal structure between the popliteal artery and gastrocnemius muscle. The patients experience symptoms after the blood vessels are compressed. Failure to diagnose and treat PAES can cause serious sequelae. CASE: A 19-year-old male baseball pitcher with PAES type 2 suffered from left calf muscle tension and foot numbness and was mis-diagnosed for nearly a year. Finally, the lesion was detected by ultrasonography and confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. After surgical intervention, he quickly returned to sport. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: PAES has 6 types. Type 2 (25%) and type 3 (30%) are the most common. Patients with this syndrome suffer from aching pain, numbness, and cramping in the calf area when they exercise. It is necessary to include this disease in differential diagnosis to implement early diagnosis, and ultrasonography is a more cheap and simple method for early detection.

Voice Range Change After Injection Laryngoplasty for Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) caused by nerve injury manifest with voice changes. This study investigated vocal performance measured by voice range profile (VRP) in patients with UVFP and changes in VRP in response to intracordal hyaluronate injection. METHODS: Eighty-five patients with UVFP were enrolled prospectively, among whom 68 received intracordal hyaluronate injections. The outcome measurements included VRP, acoustic and aerodynamic analyses, peak turn frequency of thyroarytenoid-lateral cricoarytenoid muscle complex (TA-LCA) measured by laryngeal electromyography, and normalized glottal gap area by videolaryngostroboscopy. RESULTS: The peak turn frequency of the paralyzed TA-LCA showed a modest correlation with max fundamental frequency (F0) and F0 range. Closed-phase normalized glottal gap area showed modest negative correlations with max F0 and F0 semitone range. Regarding conventional acoustic and aerodynamic analyses, the paralyzed TA-LCA peak turn frequency was only correlated with maximal phonation time. Intracordal hyaluronate injection improved VRP performance by increasing max F0, decreasing min F0, increasing F0 range, and increasing semitone range (all P <0.01) with small or medium strength of effect size (Cohen d, 0.39-0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Change in voice pitch in patients with UVFP can partly predict impairment of neuromuscular functions and glottal gap. VRP provides a more sensitive reflection of the severity of neuromuscular impairment, compared with conventional voice analysis. The validity of VRP is further supported by a robust response to voice improvements following injection laryngoplasty.