中青年急性脑梗死患者血浆同型半胱氨酸水平和超敏C反应蛋白与颈动脉粥样硬化的关系

目的探讨中青年急性脑梗死(ACI)患者血浆同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)水平和超敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)与颈动脉粥样硬化(CAS)斑块及其硬化程度的关系。方法对入选144例中青年ACI患者进行颈动脉超声,测量颈动脉内中膜厚度(IMT)并观察有无斑块之间的相关性分析。结果中青年急性脑梗死(ACI)合并颈动脉粥样硬化的患者血清Hcy、hs-CRP明显高于无颈动脉硬化患者(P<0.05)。有CAS斑块的患者血清Hcy、hs-CRP显著高于颈动脉内中膜正常与增厚患者(均为P<0.05)。CAS程度:0级组、1级组分别与3级组,0级组、1级组、2级组分别与4级组的血清Hcy、hs-CRP水平比较差异有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。结论血清Hcy、hs-CRP水平与中青年急性脑梗死(ACI)患者颈动脉粥样硬化的发生有一定相关性,CAS程度愈重,其相关性愈大。     

血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP检测在急性脑梗死诊断中的应用价值

目的探讨血清神经元特异性烯醇化酶(NSE)、同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)及心型脂肪酸结合蛋白(H-FABP)检测在急性脑梗死(ACI)诊断中的应用价值。方法分析100例ACI患者(观察组)和100例健康体检者(对照组)血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP水平差异,对比不同病灶直径及神经损伤程度ACI患者血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP水平;分析各指标对ACI的诊断价值。结果观察组血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP水平均显著高于对照组(P0.05)。随病灶直径的增加和神经损伤程度的加重,血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP水平也显著升高(P0.05)。ACI患者血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP水平与病灶直径及患者NIHSS评分均呈显著正相关(P0.05)。血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP诊断ACI的ROC曲线下面积分别为0.913、0.872、0.822,其诊断敏感度为72.0%、73.0%、77.0%,特异度为97.0%、88.0%、71.0%。结论血清NSE、Hcy及H-FABP水平随ACI患者病灶直径及神经损伤程度的加重而升高,三者可作为ACI临床诊断和评估病情的重要实验室指标。     

老年急性脑梗死患者血浆同型半胱氨酸水平与颈动脉粥样硬化的关系

目的探讨老年急性脑梗死(ACI)患者血浆同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)水平与颈动脉粥样硬化(CAS)斑块及其硬化程度的关系。方法93例确诊的ACI患者均接受颈动脉彩色多普勒超声仪检查,测量左右颈总动脉内-中膜厚度(IMT),根据测量结果分为有CAS斑块组(60例)和无CAS斑块组(33例);将患者CAS程度分为0～4级。采用循环酶法检测两组ACI患者血浆Hcy水平,对血浆Hcy水平与CAS的斑块及其硬化程度分级进行相关性分析。结果老年ACI患者有CAS斑块组血浆Hcy浓度[18.83(15.20～24.03)μmol/L]明显高于无CAS斑块组[12.30(9.70～15.10)μmol/L](P<0.05);且有CAS斑块组高Hcy血症发生率(36.67%)较无CAS斑块组(12.12%)显著增高(P<0.05)。CAS程度:0级组、1级组分别与3级组,0级组、1级组、2级组分别与4级组的血浆Hcy水平比较差异有统计学意义(均P<0.005)。结论老年ACI患者中,CAS斑块形成可能与血浆Hcy水平升高有关;CAS程度愈高,其相关性愈大。     

老年急性脑梗死患者血清MMP-9 IL-17 hs-CRP的表达及与颈动脉粥样硬化斑块的关系研究

目的探讨老年急性脑梗死(acute cerebral infarct,ACI)患者血清基质金属蛋白酶-9(MMP-9)、白介素-17(IL-17)、高敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)的水平与其颈动脉粥样硬化(carotid atherosclerosis,CAS)斑块的关系。方法选取2014-10-01—2015-09-30于郑州大学第一附属医院就诊的老年急性脑梗死患者180例为研究对象,设为实验组,采用多普勒超声检查对颈动脉斑块性质进行检查,分为稳定斑块组(70例)、不稳定斑块组(90例)和无斑块组(20例);另选取40例健康体检老人为健康对照组。采用酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)对4组研究对象血清MMP-9、 IL-17、hs-CRP水平进行检测。结果实验组斑块检出率为88.89%,高于对照组的30.00%,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。实验组血清MMP-9、IL-17、hs-CRP水平高于健康对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。稳定斑块组、不稳定组血清MMP-9、IL-17、hs-CRP水平高于无斑块组,且不稳定组血清MMP-9、IL-17、hs-CRP水平高于稳定斑块组,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论老年ACI患者血清MMP-9、IL-17、hs-CRP水平与其CAS斑块的性质存在一定关联,血清因子水平越高,患者CAS斑块稳定性越差,出现急性脑梗死的概率越高。     

血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA与动脉粥样硬化型急性脑梗死患者颈动脉粥样硬化的关系

目的探讨血浆同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)、血管内皮细胞钙黏蛋白(VE-cadherin)、溶血磷脂酸(LPA)与动脉粥样硬化型(AT型)急性脑梗死(ACI)患者颈动脉粥样硬化(CAS)的关系。方法选取AT型ACI患者120例(ACI组),40例健康体检者为对照组。测定两组的血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量,并行颈动脉彩色多普勒超声检查颈动脉内中膜厚度(IMT)。结果 ACI组的血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量及IMT均显著高于对照组(P0.01);随着病情加重,ACI患者的血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量及IMT呈显著增高趋势(P0.01);IMT与NIHSS评分、血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量均呈显著正相关(r=0.444、0.661、0.621、0.563,P0.01),且VE-cadherin与Hcy、LPA呈显著正相关(r=0.623、0.521,P0.01);检出CAS斑块组的NIHSS评分、血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量及IMT均显著高于非CAP组(P0.05)。结论 AT型ACI患者IMT明显增厚,血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量明显升高,且血浆Hcy、VE-cadherin、LPA含量与IMT厚度具有显著相关性。     

合并OSAHS的老年急性脑梗死患者同型半胱氨酸和胰岛素抵抗临床分析

目的研究合并阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征(OSAHS)的老年急性脑梗死(ACI)患者血清同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)及稳态模型胰岛素抵抗指数(HOMA-IR)水平,分析老年ACI患者OSAHS、Hcy和HOMA-IR相互关系。方法根据年龄和睡眠呼吸监测数据,将患者分为老年ACI+OSAHS组(n=21)、老年ACI组(n=30)、中年ACI+OSAHS组(n=28)和中年ACI组(n=34),检测并比较各组血清Hcy、胰岛素抵抗指数(HOMA-IR)等各指标。结果老年ACI+OSAHS组较其余3组的Hcy和HOMA-IR均升高,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);中年ACI+OSAHS组较中年ACI组Hcy和HOMA-IR增高,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。Hcy与年龄、AHI、平均腰围、BMI、HOMAIR均呈正相关;多元线性回归分析显示AHI与年龄、Hcy、HOMA-IR、BMI呈正相关。结论随年龄的增加,合并OSAHS的急性脑梗死患者Hcy和HOMA-IR水平随之升高;OSAHS可能通过升高Hcy及增加胰岛素抵抗导致ACI。     

Hs-CRP、Hcy及UA与颈动脉粥样硬化的相关性研究

目的探讨血清中超敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)及尿酸(UA)水平与颈动脉粥样硬化的关系。方法采用彩色多普勒超声对脑梗死患者双侧颈动脉进行筛查,根据颈动脉粥样硬化程度将患者分为轻度、中度及重度狭窄组;再根据斑块的不同性质将上述脑梗死患者分为稳定性斑块及不稳定性斑块两组;分别测定86例病例组与25例正常对照组血清hs-CRP、Hcy及UA水平。结果颈动脉斑块组血清hs-CRP、Hcy及UA水平均高于正常对照组。不稳定性斑块组血清hs-CRP与UA水平均高于稳定性斑块组。结论血清hs-CRP、Hcy、UA水平升高与颈动脉粥样硬化形成密切相关;血清中hs-CRP和UA水平异常升高与不稳定斑块形成密切相关。     

急性脑梗死患者血清视黄醇结合蛋白水平与颈动脉粥样硬化斑块的相关性研究

目的探讨急性脑梗死(ACI)患者颈动脉粥样硬化性斑块与视黄醇结合蛋白(RBP)含量的关系。方法选取96例ACI患者(ACI组)和95例正常对照者(对照组),检测血清RBP水平;同时检测ACI组和对照组患者血清尿酸(UA)和血浆D-二聚体(DD)、纤维蛋白原(FIB)水平。对于ACI患者结合其颈动脉超声检查结果,分为无斑块组(41例)、颈动脉稳定斑块组(28例)和颈动脉不稳定斑块组(27例);比较各组血清RBP水平。结果 ACI组血清RBP水平显著高于正常对照组(P0.05)。在ACI患者中,颈动脉稳定斑块组和不稳定斑块组的血清RBP水平较无斑块组明显升高(均P0.05);颈动脉不稳定斑块组血清RBP水平显著高于稳定斑块组(P0.05)。线性相关分析表明,RBP水平和UA、DD和FIB水平无明显相关性(r=0.192,r=0.088,r=0.096,均P0.05)。Logistic回归分析结果显示,RBP是发生颈动脉粥样斑块的危险因素(OR=2.769,95%CI 0.007-0.722)。结论血清RBP可能是动脉硬化形成的一个重要标志物,并且可能与ACI患者动脉粥样硬化斑块的稳定性密切相关。     

急性脑梗死患者血清促动脉硬化指数与颈动脉内膜中层厚度及氧化型低密度脂蛋白水平的研究

目的探讨急性脑梗死(ACI)患者血清氧化型低密度脂蛋白(ox-LDL)、促动脉硬化指数(AIP)水平与颈动脉粥样硬化的关系。方法连续性选取ACI患者120例作为研究对象,选择同期健康体检者60例作为对照组。分别检测两组的ox-LDL水平及血浆脂质代谢水平,后者包括甘油三酯(TG)、低密度脂蛋白(LDL-C)、高密度脂蛋白(HDL-C),并计算血浆促动脉硬化指数(AIP)。对ACI组患者进行颈部血管彩超检查,根据检查结果将其分为颈动脉内膜中层厚度(IMT)正常组(11例)、IMT增厚组(25例)和颈动脉粥样斑块形成(CAS)组(84例),比较各组ox-LDL和AIP水平。结果与对照组相比,ACI组斑块检出率、易损斑块检出率明显增高(P0.01);ACI组血清ox-LDL与AIP明显升高(P0.01)。在ACI患者中,CAS组血清ox-LDL及AIP较IMT增厚组明显增高(P0.01);IMT增厚组血清ox-LDL及AIP高于IMT正常组(P0.01,P0.05)。Pearson检验结果显示,ox-LDL水平与IMT水平呈正相关(r=0.720,P0.01);AIP值与IMT水平呈正相关(r=0.717,P0.01);血清AIP与ox-LDL水平之间有相关性(r=0.655,P0.01)。结论 ox-LDL和AIP与颈动脉粥样硬化形成、发展及急性脑梗死发生有密切关系。两者联合测定能够更全面评估缺血性脑卒中发生的风险。     

血浆同型半胱胺酸对急性脑梗死患者预后的预测价值探讨

目的评价血浆同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)对急性脑梗死(ACI)患者预后的预测价值。方法依照发病24h内Hcy水平将114例ACI患者分为Hcy正常组(n=38)和Hcy高水平组,其中Hcy高水平组分别给予常规治疗(n=38)和干预治疗(n=38);比较3组患者治疗前、治疗后1、3个月后的Hcy水平、Barthel指数、NIHSS评分。结果干预治疗组治疗3个月后的Hcy水平较治疗前显著降低(P0.05),与同时期常规治疗组比较也具有显著差异(P0.05);Hcy正常组和干预治疗组治疗3个月后的NIHSS评分、Barthel指数与常规治疗组比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论高Hcy水平的ACI患者的预后差,给予必要的干预治疗能够在一定程度上改善ACI患者预后。     

Hepatic Considerations in the Use of Antiepileptic Drugs

Summary: Virtually all of the major antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can cause hepatotoxicity, although fatal hepatic reactions are rare. The mechanisms, incidences, and risk profiles for such reactions differ from drug to drug. With carbamazepine and phenytoin, hepatotoxicity may be due to drug hypersensitivity. Although the profiles of patients at risk have not been well-defined for these two antiepileptic drugs, it would appear from reports in the literature that older adolescents and adults are at higher risk than children of developing serious or fatal hepatotoxicity. Once hepatotoxicity develops, mortality rates are 10–38% with phenytoin and 25% for carbamazepine. The risk profile for valproate fatal hepatotoxicity has been more clearly defined. Those at primary risk of fatal hepatic dysfunction are children under the age of 2 years who are receiving multiple anticonvulsants and also have significant medical problems in addition to severe epilepsy. The risk is considerably lower for patients over the age of 2 years on valproate monotherapy. In contrast to the risk profile with other AEDs, adults receiving valproate as monotherapy have the lowest risk of hepatotoxicity. Fatal hepatic dysfunction coincident with valproate may be the result of aberrant drug metabolism. Concomitant use of AEDs that induce microsomal P450 enzymes (e.g., phenytoin and phenobarbital) may enhance the production of a toxic metabolite, and hence the greater risk of hepatotoxicity with polypharmacy.     

Vascular Malformations and Epilepsy: Clinical Considerations and Basic Mechanisms

Summary: Vascular malformations (VMs) are associated with epilepsy. The natural history of the various VMs, clinical presentation, and tendency to provoke epilepsy determine treatment strategies. Investigations have probed the mechanisms of epileptogenesis associated with these lesions. Electrophysiologic changes are associated with epileptogenic cortex adjacent to VMs. Putative pathophysiologic mechanisms of epileptogenesis include neuronal cell loss, glial proliferation and abnormal glial physiology, altered neurotransmitter levels, free radical formation, and aberrant second messenger physiology.     

Diagnostic Difficulties and Treatment Implications

Summary: Differentiation between types of epileptic seizures has been aided in recent years by the introduction of intensive neurodiagnostic techniques and the development of increasingly detailed classification systems. Paradoxically, these developments have not simplified the task of matching the appropriate antiepileptic drug to a particular seizure type. It is reasonable to assume that anticonvulsant drugs will have different effects on different types of seizures, but faulty, circular reasoning can enter the picture if one also assumes that responses of seizures to different drugs signify different seizure types. There are several examples of differential diagnoses that can fall prey to this problem, including the diagnosis between partial seizures with secondary generalization and generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and the diagnosis between complex partial seizures and absence seizures with automatisms, among others. Considerations of etiology in future classification systems can further complicate the problem: should one then choose an anticonvulsant drug on the basis of individual seizure type or on the basis of the type of epilepsy? Ramifications of this issue extend even to the drug approval process. Official sanction is not given for use of a drug for a seizure type not included in the original efficacy studies, even if later scientific evidence shows that seizure type to be related to a type that is included. New trials must be undertaken. These problems arise from how we choose to classify seizures.     

Cognitive Dysfunction Associated with Antiepileptic Drug Therapy

Summary: Epilepsy is frequently associated with cognitive dysfunction. However, the reasons for this correlation are unclear. Possible influential factors include patient age; duration, frequency, etiology, and type of seizures; hereditary factors; psychosocial issues; and antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy. Whereas many of these factors are beyond the physician's control, AED therapy is one element that can be addressed in treatment decisions by recognizing the potential cognitive effects of particular AEDs. For example, phenobarbital impairs memory and concentration; phenytoin affects attention, problem solving ability, and performance of visuomotor tasks. In contrast, carbamazepine may affect concentration, while valproate would appear to have minimal effects on cognition. Moreover, cognitive effects of AEDs are amplified with coadministration of multiple anticonvulsants (polytherapy). A review of studies on the cognitive effects of monotherapy with AEDs, as opposed to those of polytherapy, provides evidence that drug-related cognitive dysfunction can be reversed if patients are switched to a simpler therapeutic regimen. Future research should be directed toward developing reliable measures for assessing and monitoring cognition, and understanding the particular cognitive side effects of each AED. Physicians also need to revise their opinions about which side effects are "tolerable" for epileptic patients.     

Epilepsy and anomalies of neuronal migration: MRI and clinical aspects

Neuronal migration disorders are the result of disturbed brain development. In such disorders, neurons are abnormally located. In diagnosing these conditions, magnetic resonance imaging is superior to any other imaging technique. This enables us to improve our knowledge of the clinical correlates of neuronal migration. With reference to migrational disorder, a retrospective study of all 303 patients with epileptic seizures referred for magnetic resonance imaging during a 3-year period was performed, 13 patients (aged 12-41, mean age 27) were identified. They represent 4.3% of the entire study group. Of the patients with known epilepsy, 6.7% and of the mentally retarded, 13.7% had migrational disorders. Four patients had schizencephaly as the dominant finding, one was classified as hemimegalencephaly, 2 had isolated heterotopias, and 6 had localized pachy- and/or poly-microgyria. The clinical pictures are complex. Ectopias of grey matter are recognised foci of epilepsy, but from an epileptological and a clinical viewpoint little attention has been given to these disorders. The present study shows that malmigration is not rare in epilepsy patients, especially not in the mentally retarded.     

Carbamazepine Efficacy and Utilization in Children

Summary: Carbamazepine is effective for preventing partial and generalized tonic-clonic seizures in children. Although absence epilepsies are more common in children than adults, an estimated 80% of children with epilepsy have seizure types or epilepsies that are potentially responsive to carbamazepine. The differential diagnosis of ictal staring is an especially important issue in children because absence and atypical absence seizures are more prevalent in children than adults. Age-related pharmacokinetic differences and drug interactions are major considerations in children. On average, children have higher clearance rates of carbamazepine, shorter half-lives, and higher ratios of carbamazepine-10, 11-epoxide to carbamazepine than adults. In addition, children with severe epilepsy are more likely to require multiple-drug therapy, which can lead to complex drug interactions. When carbamazepine is administered along with valproate, drug protein binding interactions can cause intermittent side effects.     

Carbamazepine Efficacy in Adults With Partial and Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures

Summary: Carbamazepine and phenytoin are drugs of choice in initial monotherapy for adult partial and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures. These designations reflect the results of the Veterans Administration Epilepsy Cooperative Study Group of 1985. An earlier comparative study of carbamazepine and phenytoin by Ramsay and associates found both drugs equally effective in controlling new-onset seizures. Among the advantages of carbamazepine is that it causes relatively few cognitive and dysmorphic side effects. Its disadvantages are its unavailability in parenteral formulation and its metabolic autoinduction. The latter must be compensated for by planned dosage increases to maintain therapeutic plasma steady-state levels during the first 2 or 3 months of treatment. Carbamazepine is judged a drug of choice in the treatment of these secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and the drug of choice in children, adolescents, and women susceptible to the dysmorphic side effects associated with other anticonvulsant agents.     

Etiologic and Preventive Aspects of Epilepsy in the Child–Bridging the Gap Between Laboratory and Clinic

Summary: Four broad categories of basic phenomena are pertinent to developing ways to prevent epilepsy. These include mechanisms of epileptogenesis, ictal initiation and temporary entrainment by the seizure discharge of normally functioning brain, seizure propagation, and control mechanisms that function both to restrain the cascade of epileptic events culminating in a seizure and to arrest the epileptic event and restore the interictal state. In newborns and children, hypoxia-ischemia is a major factor leading to epileptogenesis, and several schemes are proposed to classify, quantify, and prevent hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Control mechanisms must be better understood in order to develop prophylactic recommendations for epilepsy, and an experimental model of "kindling antagonism" may increase our understanding of these. Programs of prevention of seizures in children will evolve only if basic researchers and clinicians work productively together to develop an adequate understanding of factors important in epileptogenesis and antiepileptogenic control mechanisms.     

Classification of methods in transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES) and evolving strategy from historical approaches to contemporary innovations

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES) encompasses all methods of non-invasive current application to the brain used in research and clinical practice. We present the first comprehensive and technical review, explaining the evolution of tES in both terminology and dosage over the past 100 years of research to present day. Current transcranial Pulsed Current Stimulation (tPCS) approaches such as Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) descended from Electrosleep (ES) through Cranial Electro-stimulation Therapy (CET), Transcerebral Electrotherapy (TCET), and NeuroElectric Therapy (NET) while others like Transcutaneous Cranial Electrical Stimulation (TCES) descended from Electroanesthesia (EA) through Limoge, and Interferential Stimulation. Prior to a contemporary resurgence in interest, variations of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation were explored intermittently, including Polarizing current, Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS), and Transcranial Micropolarization. The development of these approaches alongside Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and pharmacological developments are considered. Both the roots and unique features of contemporary approaches such as transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) and transcranial Random Noise Stimulation (tRNS) are discussed. Trends and incremental developments in electrode montage and waveform spanning decades are presented leading to the present day. Commercial devices, seminal conferences, and regulatory decisions are noted. We conclude with six rules on how increasing medical and technological sophistication may now be leveraged for broader success and adoption of tES.     

Treatment Considerations in Anticonvulsant Monotherapy

Summary: The long-standing practice of polypharmacy in treating epilepsy is giving way to use of monotherapy. Monotherapy can improve seizure control as well as reduce the risk of serious idiosyncratic reactions, dose-related side effects, and complex drug interactions. Monotherapy also offers improved compliance and cost-effectiveness. The basis of monotherapy is accurate diagnosis and assessment of the patient's seizure type(s), followed by selection of a single appropriate anticonvulsant drug. Many patients currently treated with multiple anticonvulsants can be successfully converted to monotherapy with a carefully monitored program in which troublesome and redundant drugs are gradually withdrawn from the therapeutic regimen.