Many people were affected psychologically and even traumatized by the outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia in 2020, which has the potential to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. Many neuropsychiatric illnesses are aided by brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its predecessors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor precursors have the biological impact of triggering neuronal apoptosis and hindering neural regeneration, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor itself can help increase the growth, survival, and differentiation of central and peripheral nerve cells. This article provides an in-depth study of their biological impacts in post-traumatic stress disorder in an attempt to understand the biological effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its precursor proteins.

Stroke is characterized by high incidence, high recurrence, high disability, and high morbidity and mortality in China, resulting in a heavy social and clinical burden. A clinical decision support system, as an intelligent computer system, can assist nurses in decision-making to collect information quickly, make the most suitable personalized decisions for patients, and improve nurses’ decision-making judgment and quality of care. Promoting the development and application of decision support systems in stroke nursing significantly enhances the nursing staff’s work quality and patients’ prognosis. Therefore, this paper reviews the research progress of domestic and international clinical decision support systems in stroke nursing care to provide other researchers with specific research directions for developing and applying decision support systems in stroke nursing care.

Objective: To compare the effects of smoking on low-density lipoprotein (LDL), cystatin C (Cys-C) and C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods: The clinical data of acute stroke patients classified as large atherosclerosis by the trial of Org 10172 in acute stroke treatment (TOAST) classification were collected, and the differences of general data and results of LDL, Cys-C and hs-CRP in smoking and nonsmoking patients were compared to search for relevant clinical data with statistical significance. Results: A total of 116 patients with acute stroke classified as large atherosclerotic by TOAST were collected and divided into groups according to smoking status. Among the smoking patients, gender, age, occupation, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes were used as influencing factors to compare whether LDL was greater than or equal to 1.3 mmol/L, Cys-C≥0.8 mg/L and hs-CRP≥4 mg/L, with P values greater than 0.05. There was no statistical difference. Among non-smoking patients, occupation, alcohol consumption, and high blood pressure had statistical significance for whether LDL was greater than 1.3 mmol/L. Age, occupation, and diabetes had statistical significance for whether Cys-C was greater than 0.8 mg/L. Conclusion: In this study, there was no statistically significant impact on the test results of LDL, Cys-C, and CRP wheth- er the patients with ischemic stroke were smokers or non-smokers.

A carotid web is considered a localized form of fibromuscular dysplasia, carrying a heightened risk of stroke due to blood stagnation and subsequent clot formation downstream from the web. These abnormalities typically affect the rear outer wall of the carotid artery, and their exact developmental origin remains a topic of debate. This case report details the presentation of a young male with altered mental status, ultimately diagnosed with an acute stroke using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Brain MRI revealed an ischemic stroke affecting the distribution of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA), with linear filling defects resembling shelves in the carotid bulbs on a computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the head and neck, consistent with bilateral carotid web confirmed by catheter angiography. Bilateral carotid web cases are also relatively uncommon in clinical practice but should not be dismissed as a potential cause of unexplained strokes. Bilateral carotid webs were identified using head and neck CTA, cerebral angiography, and carotid artery Doppler ultrasound. The patient was then treated with enteric-coated aspirin, clopidogrel, and high-intensity statins, followed by carotid endarterectomy after a 2-month follow-up, revealing fibromuscular hyperplasia upon pathology examination.

Objective: To describe the clinical features of a case of ischemic stroke caused by pseudo severe stenosis of vertebral artery (VA). Methods: The clinical history and image data of a 52-year-old man with ischemic stroke were collected. Results: Computerized tomography angiography (CTA) revealed stenosis of V1 and V4 of the left VA. DSA confirmed that the anterior blood flow recovered after stent implantation, and the V4 segment of the left VA was normal without stenosis. Conclusions: It is speculated that the upper stenosis is due to local hemodynamic changes rather than real stenosis. This case suggests that the interpretation of stenosis on CTA should consider cerebral vascular anatomy and hemodynamic changes.