Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes in Korea Derived from the Korean Brain Rehabilitation Centers' Online Database System for the Years 2007 to 2011

The purpose of this report was to provide information for patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke and to identify the possible factors influencing functional outcome after inpatient rehabilitation. Stroke patients (n = 5,212) who were discharged from the Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine (RM) of university hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals from 2007 through 2011 were participants. Prevalence, age, transfer time after onset, length of stay (LOS), functional status at admission and discharge were analyzed. In all stroke subjects, cerebral infarctions (67%) were more common than hemorrhages. Cerebral infarctions in the middle cerebral artery territory were most common, while the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex were the most common areas for hemorrhagic stroke. The LOS decreased from 45 to 28 days. Transfer time after onset decreased from 44 to 30 days. Shorter transfer time after onset was correlated with better discharge functional status and shorter LOS. Initial functional status was correlated with discharge functional status. In ischemic stroke subtypes, cerebellar and brainstem strokes predicted better outcomes, while strokes with more than one territory predicted poorer outcomes with more disabilities. In hemorrhagic stroke subtypes, initial and discharge functional status was the lowest for cortical hemorrhages and highest for brainstem hemorrhages. This report shows that LOS and transfer time after onset has been decreased over time and initial functional status and shorter transfer after onset are predictors of better functional outcome at discharge.     

Attitudes toward standardized assessment tools and their use among clinicians in a public mental health service

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the use and attitudes toward standardized assessment tools among clinicians in a public mental health service in Norway. A total of 606 clinicians provided feedback on their use and attitudes regarding psychometric qualities of such tools, their practicality, and their benefit over clinical judgment alone using the Attitudes toward Standardized Assessment (ASA) Scales. Clinicians working in the adult mental health field scored significantly higher on use of diagnostic interviews, pre–post evaluations, and ongoing evaluations, whereas clinicians working in the child/adolescent mental health field scored significantly higher on use of screening instruments and held more positive attitudes towards using standardized assessment tools. Attitudes toward standardized assessment tools predicted use of such tools, and results were found to be similar to a study on US clinicians. Whereas the US study only found attitudes regarding the practicality of using such instrument as an independent predictor of assessment use, the current study found that attitudes regarding psychometric qualities of such tools, their practicality, and their benefit over clinical judgment alone were independent predictors of use.     

Examination of endothelial cell‐induced epidermal regeneration in a mice‐based chimney wound model

As wound contraction in the cutaneous layer occurs rapidly in mice, mechanical means are typically used to deliberately expose the wound to properly investigate healing by secondary intention. Previously, silicon rings and splinting models were attempted to analyze histological recovery but prevention of surrounding epidermal cell migration and subsequent closure was minimal. Here, we developed an ideal chimney wound model to evaluate epidermal regeneration in murine under hESC‐EC transplantation through histological analysis encompassing the three phases of regeneration: migration, proliferation, and remodeling. Human embryonic stem cell derived endothelial cells (hESC‐EC) were transplanted due to possessing a well‐known therapeutic effect in angiogenesis which also enhances epidermal repair to depict the process of regeneration. Following a standard 1 mm biopsy punch, a chimney manufactured by modifying a 1.7 mL microtube was simply inserted into the excisional wound to complete the modeling process. Under this model, the excisional wound remained fully exposed for 14 days and even after 4 weeks, only a thin transparent layer of epidermal tissue covered the wound site. This approach is able to more accurately depict epidermal repair in relation to histology while also being a user‐friendly and cost‐effective way to mimic human recovery in rodents and evaluate epithelial repair induced by a form of therapy.     

Evaluation of oriental medicinal herbs for estrogenic and antiproliferative activities

Herb extracts commercially used in Asia were screened for their estrogenic activity with a recombinant yeast system with both a human estrogen receptor (ER) expression plasmid and a reporter plasmid. Pueraria lobata (flower) had the highest estrogenic relative potency (RP, 17-estradiol = 1.00) (7.8e-3) (RP for + control), followed by Amomum xanthioides (1.3e-3), Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Zingiber officinale, Rheum palmatum, Curcuma aromatica, Eriobotrya japonica, Sophora flavescens, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Polygonum multiflorum and Pueraria lobata (root) (9.5e-4-1.0e-4), and Prunus persica, Lycoppus lucidus and Adenophora stricta (9.0e-5-8.0e-5). In the antiproliferative assay, five human cancer cell lines representing different tissues (breast, lung and ovary) were used. Eriobotrya japonica showed strong cytotoxicity in ER-negative breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), cervix epitheloid (HeLa) and lung (A549) carcinoma cell lines.