Background: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been reported to play a diagnostic and predictive role in gestational trophoblastic disease. However, the conclusions are still ambiguous. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the combined predictive value of NLR and PLR in the malignant progression of gestational trophoblastic disease. Method: Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and China Biomedical Literature Database were searched for the relevant literature published up to 1 October 2022. Study selection and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. All analyses were performed using Revman, MetaDisc and STATA software. Results: A total of 858 patients from five studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of NLR were 0.8 (95% CI: 0.71-0.88) and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69-0.76), respectively, and the area under curve of the summary receiver operating curve was 0.81. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of PLR were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.75-0.95) and 0.49 (95% CI: 0.44-0.54), respectively, and the area under curve of the summary receiver operating curve was 0.88. I2 statistic and Deek's funnel plot showed no heterogeneity and publication bias. Conclusion: NLR can accurately predict the progression from hydatidiform mole to gestational trophoblastic neoplasia and is a promising biomarker in further follow-up.
BackgroundThere was a reorganization of the brain network after stroke. Some studies have compared the characteristics of activation or functional connectivity (FC) of cortical and subcortical regions between the dominant and non-dominant hemisphere stroke.ObjectivesTo analyze hemispheric dominance differences in task-state motor network properties in subacute stroke by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).Materials and MethodsPatients with first ischemic stroke in the basal ganglia within 1–3 months after onset and age- and sex-matched right-handed healthy subjects (HS) were enrolled. fNIRS with 29 channels was used to detect the oxyhemoglobin concentration changes when performing the hand grasping task. Activation patterns of motor cortex and two macroscale and two mesoscale brain network indicators based on graph theory were compared between dominant and non-dominant hemisphere stroke.ResultsWe enrolled 17 subjects in each of left hemisphere stroke (LHS), right hemisphere stroke (RHS), and HS groups. Both patient groups showed bilateral activation. The average weighted clustering coefficient and global efficiency of patients were lower than those of healthy people, and the inter-density was higher than that of the HS group, but the significance was different between LHS and RHS groups. The intra-density changes in the RHS group were opposite to those in the LHS group. The correlation between mesoscale indicators and motor function differed between dominant and non-dominant hemisphere stroke.ConclusionThe changes in macroscale cortical network indicators were similar between the two patient groups, while those of the mesoscale indicators were different. The mesoscale brain network characteristics were affected by the severity of dysfunction to varying degrees in the LHS and RHS patients.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are currently integrated into traditional rehabilitation interventions after stroke. Although BCIs bring many benefits to the rehabilitation process, their effects are limited since many patients cannot concentrate during training. Despite this outcome post-stroke motor-attention dual-task training using BCIs has remained mostly unexplored. This study was a randomized placebo-controlled blinded-endpoint clinical trial to investigate the effects of a BCI-controlled pedaling training system (BCI-PT) on the motor and cognitive function of stroke patients during rehabilitation. A total of 30 early subacute ischemic stroke patients with hemiplegia and cognitive impairment were randomly assigned to the BCI-PT or traditional pedaling training. We used single-channel Fp1 to collect electroencephalography data and analyze the attention index. The BCI-PT system timely provided visual, auditory, and somatosensory feedback to enhance the patient’s participation to pedaling based on the real-time attention index. After 24 training sessions, the attention index of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group. The lower limbs motor function (FMA-L) increased by an average of 4.5 points in the BCI-PT group and 2.1 points in the control group (P = 0.022) after treatments. The difference was still significant after adjusting for the baseline indicators ( $\beta =2.41$ , 95%CI: 0.48–4.34, P = 0.024). We found that BCI-PT significantly improved the patient’s lower limb motor function by increasing the patient’s participation. (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04612426)