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ABSTRACT Background: Variance from guideline-directed care for glucose and temperature control remains unknown in the United States at a time when priorities have shifted to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment [...]

Abstract Background: Because granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties and is known to mobilize stem cells, it may be useful in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. [...]

Background and Purpose. The presence of unilateral visual neglect (UVN) may adversely affect functional recovery, and rehabilitation strategies that are practical for use in clinical settings are needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of 2 approaches to reduce UVN in people who have had strokes. Subjects. Seven elderly patients with stroke and severe left UVN, aged 60 to 85 years, were recruited from a stroke rehabilitation unit. Methods. A nonconcurrent, multiple-baselines-across-subjects approach, with an A-B-A treatment-withdrawal single-subject experimental design, was used. Five subjects received a scanning and cueing approach, and 2 subjects received a contra-lesional limb activation approach, for 10 one-hour sessions. In the former approach, active scanning to the left was encouraged by the therapist, using visual and verbal cues and a mental imagery technique, during reading and copying tasks and simple board games. In the latter approach, functional and goal-oriented left upper-limb activities in neglected hemispace were encouraged. Unilateral visual neglect was examined by a masked (blinded) examiner throughout all phases using the Star Cancellation Test, the Line Bisection Test, and the Baking Tray Task. Data were analyzed using visual and inferential statistical techniques. Results. Both subjects who received limb activation and 3 of the 5 subjects who received scanning and cueing showed a reduction in UVN in one or more tests. This improvement was maintained during the withdrawal phase. Discussion and Conclusion. Both approaches had a positive effect of reducing aspects of UVN in some subjects relative to no-treatment baselines. However, causality cannot be assured in the absence of controls. The approaches are practical for use in rehabilitation settings. These procedures warrant further replication across subjects, settings, and therapists. [Bailey MJ, Riddoch MJ, Crome P. Treatment of visual neglect in elderly patients with stroke: a single-subject series using either a scanning and cueing strategy or a left-limb activation strategy. Phys Ther. 2002;82:782-797.] Key Words: Hemi-inattention, Rehabilitation, Stroke, Unilateral visual neglect, Unilateral visual neglect (UVN), a common perceptual deficit found after stroke, (1) manifests as an inability to direct attention to stimuli when they are located on the side contralateral to [...]

Abstract: Nervous system involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) occurs in 24%-50% of all patients in the United States at some time during the course of their illness. Lupus cerebritis [...]

Abstract Objectives--To determine the natural history of Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) as a baseline for efficacy assessment of potentially therapeutic drugs. Design--The first large cross sectional study of a patient cohort [...]

EDITOR--Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) is a sphingolipid storage disorder resulting from the deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme α-galactosidase. Unlike most other lysosomal diseases, the inheritance is X linked. Disease manifestations in [...]

Byline: Myra Partridge Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (alteplase [Activase]; rt-PA) for the treatment of acute stroke has been shown to increase the likelihood of recovery.1,2 A number of studies [...]