INTRODUCTION The risk of recurrent stroke is high in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). Statin use has been demonstrated to decrease the incidence of stroke by reducing atherosclerotic plaque burden. However, its effect on the hemodynamic situation and cerebral perfusion status has not yet been validated. With the use of computed tomography perfusion (CTP), we aim to ev...

Using social justice as the conceptual foundation, the authors present the structural barriers to socially just intercountry adoptions (ICAs) that can exploit and oppress vulnerable children and families participating in ICAs. They argue that such practices threaten the integrity of social work practice in that arena and the survival of ICA as a placement option. Government structures, disparit...

Intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) is an important cause of stroke in Asians, Africans, and Hispanics. Because these ethnic groups account for more than 70% of the world’s population, ICAS can be considered a major cause of ischemic stroke worldwide. Nevertheless, as compared to extracranial atherosclerosis, ICAS has been largely neglected in the literature. Now, partly due to the development ...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is gradually recognized as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cardio-/cerebrovascular disease. This study aimed to examine the association of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and clinical outcomes at 3 months after the onset of ischemic stroke in a hospitalized Chinese population.Totally, 972 patients with acute ischemic stroke were enr...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of symmetry, asymmetry and hypoplasia of the intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA), and the possible presence of other variants of the ICA by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). SUBJECTS AND METHODS This prospective-retrospective study included 1000 subjects who underwent consecutively MRA of the cerebral arteries. 3D-time...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) is inherently unreliable in patients with severe perfusion abnormalities. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of a novel index of microvascular flow-patterns, so-called capillary transit time heterogeneity (CTH) to that of the commonly used delay parameter Tmax in patients with bilateral high grade internal carotid artery stenosis (ICAS). ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We aimed to establish the prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) in China by a large, prospective, multicenter study. METHODS We evaluated 2864 consecutive patients who experienced an acute cerebral ischemia<7 days after symptom onset in 22 Chinese hospitals. All patients underwent magnetic resonance angiography, with measuremen...

BACKGROUND The value of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) in the context of aggressive medical treatment for severe intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) is under debate. This study compared the effects of PTAS and aggressive medical treatment in patients with severe ICAS and transient ischemic attack or stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective cohort study was perfo...

PURPOSE To investigate radiation-induced carotid and cerebral vascular injury and its relationship with radiation-induced temporal lobe necrosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. METHODS AND MATERIALS Fifty eight NPC patients with radiation-induced temporal lobe necrosis (TLN) were recruited in the study. Duplex ultrasonography was used to scan bilateral carotid arterials to evaluat...

The post-natal dental pulp tissue contains a population of multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells known as dental pulp stromal/stem cells (DPSCs), with high proliferative potential for self-renewal. In this investigation, we explored the potential of DPSCs to differentiate into pancreatic cell lineage resembling islet-like cell aggregates (ICAs). We isolated, propagated, and characterized DPS...