Study Objectives. This study investigates the therapeutic effect of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) acupuncture for chronic insomnia. Methods. Thirty-seven adult subjects with chronic insomnia were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups, namely, Group A (6 pairs of acupoints: Ex-HN 22, HT 7, SP 6, KI 3, LR 3, and PC 6, bilaterally distributed); Group B (acupoints as for Group A other than PC 6, which was applied only on the left side [i.e., the dominant side of the PC meridian] and the addition of DU 20, which is the main tonic acupoint for integration of all the meridians); and a control group (sham LLLT). The subjects in the treatment groups (i.e., Groups A and B) received LLLT acupuncture and those in the control group received sham LLLT for 15 minutes per session twice a week for five weeks. The sleep quality of all the subjects was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and a sleep diary. In addition, the sympathetic activity before and after every treatment sessions was measured using the Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Results. All three groups showed an improved PSQI score. However, only Group A showed a significant reduction in the sleep onset latency and number of awakenings at night and a higher sleep efficiency and ESS score. Furthermore, Group B showed an increased low frequency power and normalized low frequency of the HRV signal and a lower normalized high frequency power, suggesting an increased sympathetic activity and decreased parasympathetic activity. Conclusions. For chronic insomnia insomniacs, LLLT appears to shorten the sleep latency, decrease the number of awakening events at night, and improve the sleep efficiency.

Walking entails orchestration of the sensory, motor, balance, and coordination systems, and walking disability is a critical concern after stroke. How and to what extent these systems influence walking disability after stroke and recovery have not been comprehensively studied. We retrospectively analyzed patients with stroke in the Post-acute care-Cerebrovascular Diseases (PAC-CVD) program. We compared the characteristics of patient groups stratified by their ability to complete the 5-m walk test across various time points of rehabilitation. We then used stepwise linear regression to examine the degree to which each stroke characteristic and functional ability could predict patient gait performance. Five hundred seventy-three patients were recruited, and their recovery of walking ability was defined by the timing of recovery in a 5-m walk test. The proportion of patients who could complete the 5-m walk test at admission, at 3 weeks of rehabilitation, at 6 weeks of rehabilitation, between 7 and 12 weeks of rehabilitation, and who could not complete the 5-m walk test after rehabilitation was 52.2%, 21.8%, 8.7%, 8.7%, and 8.6%, respectively. At postacute care discharge, patients who regained walking ability earlier had a higher chance of achieving higher levels of walking activity. Stepwise linear regression showed that Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (β: 0.011, p < .001), age (β: −0.005, p = .001), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (6a + 6b; β: −0.042, p = .018), Mini-Nutritional assessment (MNA) (β: −0.007, p < .027), and Fugl–Meyer upper extremity assessment (FuglUE) (β: 0.002, p = .047) scores predicted patient's gait speed at discharge. Balance, age, leg strength, nutritional status, and upper limb function before postacute care rehabilitation are predictors of walking performance after stroke.

Prediction of post-stroke functional outcomes is crucial for allocating medical resources. In this study, a total of 577 patients were enrolled in the Post-Acute Care-Cerebrovascular Disease (PAC-CVD) program, and 77 predictors were collected at admission. The outcome was whether a patient could achieve a Barthel Index (BI) score of >60 upon discharge. Eight machine-learning (ML) methods were applied, and their results were integrated by stacking method. The area under the curve (AUC) of the eight ML models ranged from 0.83 to 0.887, with random forest, stacking, logistic regression, and support vector machine demonstrating superior performance. The feature importance analysis indicated that the initial Berg Balance Test (BBS-I), initial BI (BI-I), and initial Concise Chinese Aphasia Test (CCAT-I) were the top three predictors of BI scores at discharge. The partial dependence plot (PDP) and individual conditional expectation (ICE) plot indicated that the predictors’ ability to predict outcomes was the most pronounced within a specific value range (e.g., BBS-I < 40 and BI-I < 60). BI at discharge could be predicted by information collected at admission with the aid of various ML models, and the PDP and ICE plots indicated that the predictors could predict outcomes at a certain value range.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating neurological disorder characterized by an exacerbation of neuroinflammation and neuronal injury, for which few effective therapies are available at present. Inhibition of excessive neuroglial activation has been reported to alleviate ICH-related brain injuries. In the present study, the anti-ICH activity and microglial mechanism of ergosta-7,9(11),22-trien-3β-ol (EK100), a bioactive ingredient from Asian medicinal herb Antrodia camphorate, were evaluated. Post-treatment of EK100 significantly attenuated neurobehavioral deficit and MRI-related brain lesion in the mice model of collagenase-induced ICH. Additionally, EK100 alleviated the inducible expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and the activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in the ipsilateral brain regions. Consistently, it was shown that EK100 concentration-dependently inhibited the expression of COX-2 protein in Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 activator lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglial BV-2 and primary microglial cells. Furthermore, the production of microglial prostaglandin E₂ and reactive oxygen species were attenuated by EK100. EK100 also attenuated the induction of astrocytic MMP-9 activation. Among several signaling pathways, EK100 significantly and concentration-dependently inhibited activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) MAPK in LPS-activated microglial BV-2 cells. Consistently, ipsilateral JNK activation was markedly inhibited by post-ICH-treated EK100 in vivo. In conclusion, EK100 exerted the inhibitory actions on microglial JNK activation, and attenuated brain COX-2 expression, MMP-9 activation, and brain injuries in the mice ICH model. Thus, EK100 may be proposed and employed as a potential therapeutic agent for ICH.

Due to the high demand for near infrared (NIR) optical nanoprobes, with emissions which are absorbed to a lesser extent by biological tissues, for diagnosing diseases (e.g. cancer) which occur under deep tissue, we present a one-pot synthesis of highly monodispersed (full width at half maximum: 70 nm) NIR core–shell type II CdTe–CdS quantum dots (QDs), encapsulated in a highly biocompatible polymer, for in vivo sentinel lymph node and tumour imaging.