Immunological parameters and serum cytokine levels during a 2-month period of physical therapy were evaluated in 11 patients with hemiplegia 2-4 weeks after the onset of cerebrovascular diseases who were classified into the grades 3-8 by the criteria of Ueda on admission. Compared with the patients who discontinued the physical therapy 3-4 weeks after the onset of stroke because of their own will, the ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺ cells, responses of lymphocytes to mitogens, suppressor/inducer T cells (CD4⁺×CD45R⁺), helper/inducer T cells (CD4⁺×CD29⁺), antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity, and interleukin-2 receptor were increased significantly, though suppressor T cells (CD8⁺×CD11⁺), cytotoxic T cells (CD8⁺×CD11^-), serum levels of interleukin-2 and 6, and natural killer cell activity were not changed. It may be suggested that physical therapy in stroke patients has an effect to increase the immune function.

View full abstract

Experimental paradigms using non-verbal and verbal auditory stimuli as well as visual stimuli were checked for future clinical application of event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluation of aphasia and dysarthria, each of which might show different P300 to verbal and non-verbal stimuli. Thirty-five healthy volunteers, five from each decade ranging 20 to 80, were employed in this study. P3 latency increased linealy with age significantly in all four stimuli. Verbal P3 latency was longer than non-verbal regardless of stimulus modality. Auditory non-verbal P3 latency was significantly shorter than visual non-verbal P3, while this was not true with the auditory and visual verbal P3. With regard to amplitude, visual stimuli elicited more positive P3 than auditory. In the topography P3 was widely distributed with its maximum in the vertex regardless of stimulus modality.

View full abstract

A 70-year-old female, suffering the left hemiballism due to the infarction of the right subthalamic nucleus probably because of hypotension during operation, showed a very characteristic synkinetic gait swing of the involved leg, which swinged as if writing a letter ‘S.’ This phenomenon appeared when her involved leg swinged with a pace in 0.7 to 1sec, and her gait with this ‘S-shape swing’ was stable. We tried the gait exercise, making her walk continually with the pace described above. About two months later after onset, she was able to walk stably and continually with this ‘S-shape swing.’ From the video analysis, we found that the ‘S-shape swing’ was synchronizing with the frequency of her ballistic movement which was 1 to 1.5Hz. This gait exercise may be good for the patients with gait disturbance due to hemiballistic movement, and it may allow them to walk independently at the earlier stage after onset.

View full abstract