Background: Early exercise after stroke promoted angiogenesis and increased microvessles density. However, whether these newly formatted vessels indeed give rise to functional vascular and improve the cerebral blood flow (CBF) in impaired brain region is still unclear. The present study aimed to determine the effect of early exercise on angiogenesis and CBF in ischemic region. Methods: Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to 90 min middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)and randomly divided into early exercise and non-exercised control group 24 h later. Two weeks later, CBF in ischemic region was determined by laser speckle flowmetry(LSF). Meantime, micro vessels density, the expression of tie-2, total Akt and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), and infarct volume were detected with immunohistochemistry, 2,3,5 triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and western blotting respectively. The function was evaluated by seven point’s method. Results: Our results showed that CBF, vessel density and expression of Tie-2, p-Akt in ischemic region were higher in early exercise group compared with those in non-exercise group. Consistent with these results, rats in early exercise group had a significantly reduced infarct volume and better functional outcomes than those in non-exercise group. Conclusions: Our results indicated that early exercise after MCAO improved the CBF in ischemic region, reduced infarct volume and promoted the functional outcomes, the underlying mechanism was correlated with angiogenesis in the ischemic cortex.

Objective: To assess the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the gait and postural control ability of patients with executive dysfunction (ED) after stroke. Methods: A total of 18 patients with ED after stroke were randomly assigned into two groups, including an experimental group and a sham group. Patients in both groups received routine rehabilitation therapy, and patients in the experimental group underwent rTMS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 2 weeks (5 HZ, 80%MT, 1200 pulses). In the sham group, patients experienced sham stimulation treatment, in which the coil was placed vertically with the head. Before and after treatment, patients in both groups were subjected to Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scoring, Fugl–Meyer assessment of lower extremity (L-FMA), Stroop color-word test (SCWT), gait analysis, foot plantar pressure test, 10-m walking test (10MWT), Berg balance scale (BBS), and timed up and go test (TUGT). In the SCWT, it was attempted to record the time of each card (SCWT-T), the correct number (SCWT-C), Stroop interference effect-time (SIE-T), and SIE correct count (SIE-C). The TUGT was categorized into four stages: getting up (GT), walking straight (WT), turning around (TT), and sitting down (ST), in which the total time of TUGT was calculated. Results: After two weeks of treatment, the evaluation indexes were improved in the two groups, some of which were statistically significant. In the experimental group, SCWT-T, SIE-T, SIE-C, GT, WT, TT, ST, and TUGT were significantly improved after treatment (p < 0.05). SCWT-C, L-FMA score, 10MWT, GT, WT, stride length, step width, foot plantar pressure, pressure center curve, and activities of daily living were not statistically different from those before treatment (p > 0.05). After treatment, SCWT-T, SIE-C, SIE-T, BBS score, TT, and ST in the experimental group were significantly shorter than those before treatment, with statistical differences (p < 0.05). Compared with the sham group, SCWT-C, L-FMA score, 10MWT, GT, WT, TUGT, stride length, step width, foot plantar pressure, pressure center curve, and motor skills were not significantly improved (p > 0.05). Conclusion: It was revealed that post-stroke rTMS treatment of patients with ED could improve executive function, improve postural control function, and reduce the risk of falling. In addition, rTMS of DLPFC could be a therapeutic target for improving postural control ability and reducing the risk of falling.

As a therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke, to restore or increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) is the most fundamental option. Laminar shear stress (LS), as an important force generated by CBF, mainly acts on brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs). In order to study whether LS was a protective factor in stroke, we investigated LS-intervented ischemic apoptosis of rat BMECs (rBMECs) through PE Annexin V/7-AAD, JC-1 and Hoechst 33258 staining to observe the membranous, mitochondrial and nuclear dysfunction. Real-time PCR and western blot were also used to test the gene and protein expressions of Tie-2, Bcl-2 and Akt, which were respectively related to maintain membranous, mitochondrial and nuclear norm. The results showed that LS could be a helpful stimulus for ischemic rBMECs survival. Simultaneously, membranous, mitochondrial and nuclear regulation played an important role in this process.

Objective: Extracting deep features from participants’ bioelectric signals and constructing models are key research directions in motor imagery (MI) classification tasks. In this study, we constructed a multimodal multitask hybrid brain-computer interface net (2M-hBCINet) based on deep features of electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) to effectively accomplish motor imagery classification tasks.Methods: The model first used a variational autoencoder (VAE) network for unsupervised learning of EEG and EMG signals to extract their deep features, and subsequently applied the channel attention mechanism (CAM) to select these deep features and highlight the advantageous features and minimize the disadvantageous ones. Moreover, in this study, multitask learning (MTL) was applied to train the 2M-hBCINet model, incorporating the primary task that is the MI classification task, and auxiliary tasks including EEG reconstruction task, EMG reconstruction task, and a feature metric learning task, each with distinct loss functions to enhance the performance of each task. Finally, we designed module ablation experiments, multitask learning comparison experiments, multi-frequency band comparison experiments, and muscle fatigue experiments. Using leave-one-out cross-validation(LOOCV), the accuracy and effectiveness of each module of the 2M-hBCINet model were validated using the self-made MI-EEMG dataset and the public datasets WAY-EEG-GAL and ESEMIT.Results: The results indicated that compared to comparative models, the 2M-hBCINet model demonstrated good performance and achieved the best results across different frequency bands and under muscle fatigue conditions.Conclusion: The 2M-hBCINet model constructed based on EMG and EEG data innovatively in this study demonstrated excellent performance and strong generalization in the MI classification task. As an excellent end-to-end model, 2M-hBCINet can be generalized to be used in EEG-related fields such as anomaly detection and emotion analysis.

Objective: To analyze the correlation between balance function and gait parameters of patients with basal ganglia infarction. And to observe the influence of balance function on plantar pressure and hemiplegia gait based on the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score.Methods: One hundred and forty patients with cerebral infarction hemiplegia in the basal ganglia region (a study group, n = 140) and healthy people (a control group, n = 140) were enrolled. The study group was evaluated with the BBS, the 10 m walking test (10MWT), and the timed up-and-go test (TUGT). The gait parameters and the peak plantar pressure were measured in both groups while walking, and the differences between the groups were compared. In addition, the characteristics of the plantar pressure curve of the hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic sides during walking and the correlation between the 10MWT, the TUGT, the plantar pressure peak, the gait parameters,and the BBS score were analyzed in the study group.Results: The peak plantar pressure of the forefoot and heel, stride length, lateral symmetry, stand phase, swing phase, and dual stand phase of both sides in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The BBS score negatively correlated with the 10MWT, the TUGT, the peak plantar pressure of the hemiplegic forefoot, midfoot, and the non-hemiplegic midfoot, the anterior to posterior position (ant/post position), hemiplegic stand phase, and the dual stand phase (P < 0.05). The BBS score positively correlated with the hemiplegic swing phase and stride length (P < 0.05).Conclusion: A correlation was found between the forefoot plantar pressure and the stand phase of the hemiplegic limbs, the ant/post position, and the balance function after basal ganglion cerebral infarction. This association can be used in walking and balance assessment for stroke rehabilitation. Correcting forefoot pressure or the front and ant/post position can improve balance function.

Objective. The purpose of the study was to observe the effects of executive dysfunction (ED) on gait and postural control during walking after stroke. Methods. In this study, 34 subjects with stroke and ED (8 women and 26 men; age, 55.41 ± 7.89 years; time since stroke onset, 1.3 ± 0.12 months) were recruited. Stroop color-word test (SCWT), 10-meter walk test (10MWT), timed-up-and-go test (TUGT), and gait analysis were evaluated. The correlation among the correct number of Stroop tasks (SCWT-C), the number of time-consuming tasks (SCWT-T), the amount of interference (SIE-M and SIE-T) and posture control, and gait-related parameters was analyzed. Results. The results indicated that SCWT-C was negatively correlated with 10MWT, TUGT, and bilateral symmetry ( < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between SCWT-C and stride ( > 0.05). A significant negative correlation was seen between SCWT-C and bilateral symmetry ( < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between SCWT-T and stride ( > 0.05). SCWT-T was positively correlated with TUGT, 10MWT, and bilateral symmetry ( < 0.05). SIE-T was positively correlated with TUGT and bilateral symmetry ( < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between SIE-T and 10MWT or stride ( > 0.05). SIE-M was positively correlated with TUGT and bilateral symmetry ( < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between SIE-T and 10MWT or stride ( > 0.05). Conclusions. ED is closely related to the decline in postural control and the occurrence of falls. In the early phases of stroke rehabilitation, physiotherapists should focus on the patients’ executive function to accelerate the recovery of postural control.