Enhancing "idling" neurons

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Is Beneficial for the Improvement of Clinical Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has been used for the treatment of cerebral palsy for more than 20 years, but its efficacy and safety are still controversial. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated the currently promulgated data related to the efficacy of HBO for patients with cerebral palsy.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases (from their inception to April 2020) for randomized controlled trials published in English or Chinese. Two researchers used the Cochrane Collaboration tool for data extraction and an independent quality assessment. The extracted data were analyzed by Review Manager 5.3 software.

RESULTS

A total of 25 studies consistent with the inclusion criteria were included, with a total of 2,146 people, which included 1,185 participants in the HBO group and 961 in the control group. This meta-analysis showed that when compared with the controls, HBO therapy can improve the gross motor functions evaluated by the Gross Motor Function Measure (n = 696, SMD 0.29, 95% CI [0.07-0.51], Z = 2.62, p = 0.009) and Gross Motor Function Classification System (n = 248, MD -0.40, 95% CI [-0.52 to -0.27], Z = 6.28, p < 0.00001), global developmental level evaluated by Gesell (n = 560, RR 1.30, 95% CI [1.19-1.42], Z = 6.03, p < 0.00001) and developmental quotient (n = 374, MD 8.25, 95% CI [6.48-10.01], Z = 9.15, p < 0.00001) and language expression (n = 270, MD 4.34, 95% CI [2.30-6.38], Z = 4.17, p < 0.00001) and comprehension (n = 270, MD 4.87, 95% CI [2.87-6.88], Z = 4.76, p < 0.00001). HBO therapy only caused mild ear pain. However, the quality of the data for all outcomes evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation analysis was very low.

CONCLUSIONS

HBO therapy may produce a much more efficient clinical experiment result than the control group with cerebral palsy patients, and HBO therapy is well tolerated and relatively safe for the included participants.

Four Decades of Ischemic Penumbra and Its Implication for Ischemic Stroke

The ischemic penumbra defined four decades ago has been the main battleground of ischemic stroke. The evolving ischemic penumbra concept has been providing insight for the development of vascular and cellular approaches as well as diagnostic tools for the treatment of ischemic stroke. rt-PA thrombolytic therapy to prevent the transition of ischemic penumbra to core has been approved for acute ischemic stroke within 3 h and was later recommended to extend to 4.5 h after symptom onset. Mechanical thrombectomy was introduced for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke with a therapeutic window of up to 24 h after stroke onset. Multiple modalities brain imaging techniques have been developed that provide guidance to define ischemic penumbra for reperfusion therapy in clinical practice. Cellular and molecular dissection of ischemic penumbra has been providing targets for the development of neuroprotective therapy for ischemic stroke. However, the dynamic nature of ischemic penumbra implicates that infarct core eventually expands into penumbra over time without reperfusion, dictating relative short therapeutic windows and limiting the impact of current reperfusion intervention. Entering the 5^th decade since the introduction, ischemic penumbra remains the main focus of ischemic stroke research and clinical practice. In this review, we summarized the evolving ischemic penumbra concept and its implication in the development of vascular and cellular interventions as well as diagnostic tools for acute ischemic stroke. In addition, we discussed future perspectives on expansion of the campaign beyond ischemic penumbra to develop treatment for ischemic stroke.