A 47-year-old male with a left middle cerebral artery embolism due to a left atrial myxoma was admitted to our hospital for severe right hemiparesis (Brunnstrom Recovery Stage I in all parts) and total aphasia. On day 29, the tumor was extracted but he developed complete AV block as a complication after surgery. Rehabilitation was delayed for a long time and the severe hemiparesis remained unchanged. He required assistance even when taking a sitting position on the bed, but muscle tonus appeared on the right lower limb. Beginning on day 59, before pacemaker implantation, we applied high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to his bilateral lower limb motor areas for 5 consecutive days. As a result, paresis in the right lower limb improved to Brunnstrom Recovery Stage III and he could walk between parallel bars. On day 67, a pacemaker was implanted. On day 88, he could walk independently with a cane on discharge from our hospital, although the upper limb and hand paresis remained severe. Although there has been no report on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation on the lower limb motor area except in the chronic stage, our experience suggests that this type of intervention can be effective in the recovery stage as well. Since transcranial magnetic stimulation is not feasible after pacemaker implantation, careful assessment is necessary for determining the precise indication for this treatment.

We report a 47-year-old right-handed male patient with pure word deafness after suffering an intracerebral hemorrhage. He had been working as a high school teacher before the onset of his stroke. He was emergently admitted to our hospital due to left putaminal hemorrhage and treated conservatively after admission. The patient's neurological findings showed that although his auditory comprehension was severely impaired, he was still able to communicate using written language. Pure-tone audiometry didn't detect any sensorineural hearing impairment. After the diagnosis of pure word deafness was clinically made, we educated the patient and his family, as well as the associated medical staff at our department, about this condition so that they could understand his pathological situation. In addition, we introduced a rehabilitation program for lip-reading and showed him a technique for using articulatory voice production in usual conversation. As a result of our attempts, he developed the ability to communicate using lip-reading skills after 2 months of rehabilitation and successfully returned to his previous work because of the communicative competence he acquired. We also make some proposals for helping other patients with auditory agnosia to return not only to their regular daily activities but also to return to gainful employment, as patients with this condition seem to have special difficulties benefiting from the present welfare service system in Japan.

A multi-institutional study using our protocol of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intensive occupational therapy (OT) showed significant improvement of motor function of the affected upper limb in poststroke patients. The response to the treatment was not influenced by age or time after stroke onset. Our protocol is a safe, feasible, and potentially useful neurorehabilitative intervention for upper limb hemiparesis after stroke. The extent of the improvement seems to be influenced by the baseline severity of upper limb hemiparesis. The results suggest that patients with Brunnstrom stage 4 or 5 upper limb hemiparesis are best suited for this protocol. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) has been reported to be an effective treatment for limb spasticity after stroke. However, the spasticity reduction after BoNT-A injection alone does not ensure an improvement in the active motor function of the affected limb. Our proposed protocol of a BoNT-A injection, followed by home-based functional training seems to have the potential to improve the active motor function of the affected upper limb after stroke.

Background : The aim of this study was to assess the effects of repeated injections of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) combined with a rehabilitative program for treating spastic upper limb hemiparesis after stroke. Subjects and methods: Subjects were 112 poststroke hemiparetic patients with spastic upper limb (mean age : 55.5±11.6 years ±SD, mean period between onset and first injection : 5.1±3.5 years). For each patient, BoNT-A (maximum dose of each injection : 240 units) was injected in the spastic muscles of the affected upper limb twice with a minimum interval of 3 months. Following each injection, detailed one-to-one instructions for homebased functional training was provided. At the baseline (before injection) and at 1 and 3 month follow-ups after each injection, the patient's modified Ashworth scale (MAS), the range of motion (ROM) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) were evaluated. Results : The total score for the upper limb and the scores of categories A and B of the FMA increased significantly not only after the first injection but after the second injection compared with the second baseline, while the FMA score for category D increased significantly only after the second injection. MAS also decreased significantly not only after the first injection but after the second injection compared to the second baseline. Conclusion : A more significant improvement was found not only in muscle spasticity but also in upper limb motor function after two BoNT-A injections. It is suggested that repeated BoNT-A injections followed by a comprehensive rehabilitative program would be an effective treatment for limb spasticity after a stroke.