Severe pseudo-stenosis of intracranial segment of verte-bral artery:a case report

Objective:To describe the clinical fea-tures 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 recov-ered after stent implantation,and the V4 segment of the left VA was normal without stenosis.Conclusions:It is spec-ulated 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 cere-bral vascular anatomy and hemodynamic changes.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients with hand, foot and mouth disease in Henan, China: a hospital-based study

Background:The prevalence of infection with Toxoplasma gondii(T.gondii)in humans has been increasing in China due to the growing number of cats in the country.Hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)is a serious public health issue in China and still one of the leading causes of child mortality.However,little is known about the epidemiology of T.gondii infection among HFMD patients.Methods:A case–control study of 281 HFMD patients from the First People’s Hospital of Pingdingshan in Pingdingshan city,Henan province,central China,and 222 controls from Pingdingshan city was conducted.Anti-T.gondii antibodies were serologically detected using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results:We found that the overall anti-T.gondii immunoglobulin G(IgG)antibody prevalence among HFMD patients was 12.46%,which was significantly higher than that in clinically healthy children(1.80%).The highest T.gondii seroprevalence was detected in critical cases(22.58%),followed by severe cases(11.50%),and the lowest was detected in mild cases(8.33%).Conclusion:The present study is the first survey of T.gondii seroprevalence among HFMD patients in China;12.46%were defined as seropositive.It is imperative that improved integrated measures are taken to prevent and control T.gondii infection among HFMD patients.