Periventricular white matter hyperintensities are associated with gait and balance in patients with minor stroke

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with functional outcome among single small subcortical infarction: Mediating effects of white matter hyperintensities

BACKGROUND

Increasing evidence indicated that neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was correlated with unfavorable functional outcome in ischemic stroke. However, limited studies have explored the relationship between NLR and single small subcortical infarction (SSSI). This study aims to investigate the link between NLR and functional outcome in patients with SSSI and assess whether white matter hyperintensities (WMH) mediates the relationship between NLR and unfavorable functional prognosis.

METHODS

This research analyzed data from patients with SSSI in a Chinese cohort study. The primary outcome was unfavorable functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale score of 2-6) at 90 days after ischemic stroke onset, and the secondary outcome was unfavorable functional outcome at discharge. The relationship between NLR and functional outcome was analyzed using restricted cubic spline (RCS) and multivariable logistic regression. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the link between NLR and unfavorable functional outcome mediated by WMH.

RESULTS

Among the 513 patients with SSSI included in the study, unfavorable functional outcome was seen in 145 (28.3 %) patients at the 90-day follow-up and 156 patients (30.4 %) at discharge. After controlling for confounding variables, elevated NLR levels were found to be linked with unfavorable functional outcome both at 90 days and at discharge. Mediation analyses indicated that overall WMH significantly mediated the relationship between NLR and unfavorable functional outcome at 90 days and discharge, with mediation proportions of 29.6 % and 24.2 %, respectively. Periventricular WMH accounted for 36.4 % and 32.1 % of the mediation effects, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Elevated NLR independently increased the risk of unfavorable functional outcome in individuals with SSSI. In patients with SSSI, WMH partially mediated the relationship between NLR and unfavorable functional outcome.

Predictors of gait speed post-stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

While gait speed serves as a clinical marker and health indicator, there is a paucity of a consolidated review of the factors that are most predictive of gait speed across the clinical stages of stroke recovery.

RESEARCH QUESTION

What are predictors of gait speed in the acute, subacute and chronic phase of stroke, categorized according to International Classification of Functioning, Health, and Disability (ICF)?

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted using four electronic databases following the PRISMA guideline. Included studies were cross-sectional, cohort and case-control reporting the predictors of gait speed, published from January 2000 to July 2024, and involved participants 18 years or older with diagnosis of stroke. Four meta-analyses were performed.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 311 articles. After screening, 32 articles were included in the final analysis. In all clinical stages of stroke, age was the most common predictor of gait speed, followed by admission walking speed, Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score and time since onset. Knee extensor strength emerged as a predictor in three studies, all in the chronic stage. The meta-analyses indicated that older age was associated with slower discharge gait speed (SMD: -0.004 [-0.01, -0.001]; p < 0.0001) while higher BBS scores at admission were associated with a larger change in gait speed between admission and discharge (SMD: 0.17 [0.06, 0.28]; p = 0.002).

SIGNIFICANCE

Understanding the modifiable factors can help clinicians target interventions and seek additional care while non-modifiable factors can guide the prognosis of walking function in people post stroke.

Increased extracellular free water is related to white matter hyperintensity burden

BACKGROUND

Extracellular free water (FW) has important roles in the occurrence and development of white matter hyperintensity (WMH).

PURPOSE

To explore the correlations between FW and WMH burden.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A prospective analysis was conducted using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 126 individuals. WMH burden was determined based on WMH volumes and Fazekas scores from deep and periventricular white matter hyperintensity (DWMH and PWMH, respectively) in fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. FW values were taken from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

RESULTS

Univariate analysis showed that FW values were correlated with WMH burden, including WMH volumes and DWMH and PWMH Fazekas scores (P < 0.05). After multivariate analysis, FW values were correlated with WMH volumes and DWMH and PWMH Fazekas scores when adjusted for age and hypertension (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Using MRI, increasing extracellular FW was related to WMH burden.

Cognition mediates the relationship between white matter hyperintensity and motor function in patients with cerebral small vessel disease: a cross-sectional study

Background

White matter hyperintensity (WMH) is a common neuroimaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) and a critical independent predictor of motor dysfunction, which increases the risk of disability, morbidity, and mortality. However, the mechanism underlying the relationship between WMH and motor function has not yet been fully clarified. It was hypothesized that cognitive impairment mediates the relationship between WMH and motor dysfunction in patients with SVD, which were considered predictor and outcome variables, respectively.

Methods

A total of 221 patients with SVD were enrolled in this study, and their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuropsychological, and motor function data were collected. The MRI data were visually assessed to determine the WMH burden using the Fazekas scale. Cognition was evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Motor function was assessed using the Tinetti Gait and Balance Scale and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Finally, a bootstrap analysis was performed to determine whether cognition mediated the relationship between WMH and motor function.

Results

Of all the patients, 30.3% had mild WMH, 37.6% had moderate WMH, and 32.1% had severe WMH. Patients' cognition and motor function decreased as the WMH burden increased (P<0.01). The MoCA scores were associated with the Tinetti scale (r=0.545, P<0.01) and SPPB scores (r=0.365, P<0.01). Finally, multi-categorical mediation models confirmed our research hypothesis; the coefficients for the indirect effects had 95% confidence intervals (CIs) that excluded zero, indicating statistically significant mediation effects.

Conclusions

WMH is associated with motor dysfunction, and this association is mediated by cognition in patients with SVD. This finding highlights the importance of early interventions targeting cognitive function to reduce the risk of motor dysfunction.

Factors Affecting Level of Physical Activity among Stroke Survivors: A Scoping Review

Physical activity (PA) is crucial for improving stroke survivors' health outcomes and quality of life (QoL). Impaired PA levels are common among stroke survivors, a significant portion of whom spend their days in sedentary occupations. Understanding the factors that influence physical inactivity and addressing the barriers to exercise participation can contribute significantly to improving stroke survivors' health outcomes and prognoses. Therefore, in the current review, we systematically searched five databases (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar) for published studies reporting PA levels among stroke survivors, which yielded 301 potential articles. Based on the identification and screening processes recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), 13 articles were finally included in the analysis. The results of these studies, covering 1,318 stroke survivors, revealed physical inactivity among most of the participants and significant heterogeneity among the outcome measures used. The factors affecting PA levels among stroke survivors were mainly categorised as physical, psychological, and sociodemographic, and all were significantly associated with PA levels after strokes.

Contributions of cerebral white matter hyperintensities, age, and pedal perception to postural sway in people with HIV

OBJECTIVE

With aging, people with HIV (PWH) have diminishing postural stability that increases liability for falls. Factors and neuromechanisms contributing to instability are incompletely known. Brain white matter abnormalities seen as hyperintense (WMH) signals have been considered to underlie instability in normal aging and PWH. We questioned whether sway-WMH relations endured after accounting for potentially relevant demographic, physiological, and HIV-related variables.

DESIGN

Mixed cross-sectional/longitudinal data were acquired over 15 years in 141 PWH and 102 age-range matched controls, 25-80 years old.

METHODS

Multimodal structural MRI data were quantified for seven total and regional WMH volumes. Static posturography acquired with a force platform measured sway path length separately with eyes closed and eyes open. Statistical analyses used multiple regression with mixed modeling to test contributions from non-MRI and nonpath data on sway path-WMH relations.

RESULTS

In simple correlations, longer sway paths were associated with larger WMH volumes in PWH and controls. When demographic, physiological, and HIV-related variables were entered into multiple regressions, the sway-WMH relations under both vision conditions in the controls were attenuated when accounting for age and two-point pedal discrimination. Although the sway-WMH relations in PWH were influenced by age, 2-point pedal discrimination, and years with HIV infection, the sway-WMH relations endured for five of the seven regions in the eyes-open condition.

CONCLUSION

The constellation of age-related increasing instability while standing, degradation of brain white matter integrity, and peripheral pedal neuropathy is indicative of advancing fraility and liability for falls as people age with HIV infection.

MRI Assessment of Brain Frailty and Clinical Outcome in Patients With Acute Posterior Perforating Artery Infarction

BACKGROUND

Global brain health has gained increasing attention recently. Imaging markers of brain frailty have been related to functional outcomes in previous studies on anterior circulation; however, little data are available on imaging markers and posterior circulation.

PURPOSE

To investigate the impact of brain frailty on functional outcomes in patients with acute perforating artery infarction (PAI) of the posterior circulation.

STUDY TYPE

Prospective.

POPULATION

One hundred patients (60.78 ± 9.51 years, 72% men) with acute posterior circulation PAI (determined by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/time-of-flight MR angiography).

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE

T1- and T2-weighted fast spin echo, T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion-weighted echo planar, gradient echo (susceptibility-weight imaging), and 3D time-of-flight MR angiography sequences at 3.0 T.

ASSESSMENT

Periventricular and deep white matter hyperintensities (WMH), enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) in the basal ganglia and centrum semiovale area, lacunes, cerebral microbleeds (CMB), and total brain frailty score by calculating the above imaging characters were rated visually by three radiologists with 9, 10, and 11 years of experience and one neuroradiologist with 12. Infarction volume was assessed using baseline diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data obtained within 24 hours of symptom onset. A modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score >1 on day 90 defined an adverse functional outcome. Associations between the imaging markers of brain frailty and functional outcomes were assessed.

STATISTICAL TESTS

Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, and multivariable binary logistic regression. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

Adverse prognoses (mRS > 1) were observed in 34 (34%) patients. Infarction volume, periventricular WMH, deep WMH, basal ganglia EPVS, CMB, and the brain frailty score were significantly associated with adverse functional outcomes. An increased brain frailty score was significantly associated with unfavorable mRS score on day 90 (odds ratio 1.773, 95% confidence interval 1.237-2.541).

DATA CONCLUSION

Advanced MRI imaging markers of brain frailty, individually or combined as a total brain frailty score, were associated with worse functional outcomes after acute posterior circulation PAI.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Slow Gait Speed Predicts Incident Dementia, Mortality, and Long-Term Functional Outcome in Cerebral Small-Vessel Disease

Background

Gait impairment is observed in patients with small vessel disease (SVD); however, the association between gait function and long-term outcome remains unclear.

Objectives

This study aimed to clarify the predictive value of gait function on incident dementia, survival and functional outcome.

Methods

Data were derived from a Japanese cohort of patients with SVD. This study included 522 participants who underwent 3-m timed up and go test (TUG), and gait speed, TUG time, was divided into tertiles. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate severity of white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, and medial temporal atrophy. Primary outcome was dementia. All-cause death and functional outcome by modified Rankin scale at the last visit was also evaluated.

Results

The median age was 71 years, and median TUG time was 9.91 s. During follow-up period of 4.8 years, 32 cases of dementia occurred. Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that slow gait speed (TUG time >  10.88 s) was associated with a significantly higher risk of incident dementia than fast (TUG time <  9.03) and middle (TUG time, 9.04-10.87 s) speeds after adjusting risk factors, Mini-Mental State Examination, SVD severity and brain atrophy (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-6.42, p = 0.022). Slow speed was also associated with mortality and poor functional outcome compared with other speeds (adjusted odds ratio, 4.19; 95% confidence interval 1.92-9.18, p <  0.001).

Conclusions

Gait function was associated with incident dementia, mortality and poor functional outcome independently of cognitive function, brain atrophy, and SVD severity.

Effect of Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation on Cognition in Parkinson's Disease: An Observational Study

Parkinson's disease is characterized by motor and cognitive deficits that usually have an impact on quality of life and independence. To reduce impairment, various rehabilitation programs have been proposed, but their effects on both cognitive and motor aspects have not been systematically investigated. Furthermore, most intervention is focused on lower limb treatment rather than upper limbs. In the present study, we investigated the effect of 3-week upper limb vibratory stimulation training on cognitive functioning in 20 individuals with Parkinson's disease. We analyzed cognitive (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Trial Making Test, Digit Symbol, Digit Span Forward and Backward and Alertness) and motor performance (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-part III; Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire) before treatment, at the end of treatment and one month post treatment. After rehabilitation, a statistically significant improvement was observed in terms of global cognitive status, attention, global motor functioning and disability. The results suggest an impact of upper limb motor rehabilitation on cognition in Parkinson's disease. Future studies on neuromotor interventions should investigate their effects on cognitive functioning to improve understanding of cognitive motor interaction in Parkinson's disease.