Objective:To observe any effect of combining motor imagery therapy (MIT) with repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for improving upper limb motor functioning after a stroke.Methods:Ninety stroke survivors were randomly divided into a control group, an MIT group and a combination group, each of 30. All received conventional rehabilitation therapy, while the MIT group additionally received MIT and the combination group received the MIT along with 1Hz rTMS applied over the M1 region of the contralateral cortex. Before and after 4 weeks of treatment, everyone′s upper limb functioning was quantified using the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA) and the Hong Kong version of the hemiplegia upper limb function test (FTHUE-HK). Motor evoked potentials (MEPs), cortical latency (CL) and central motor conduction time (CMCT) were also recorded.Results:After the treatment the average FMA and FTHUE-HK scores of all three groups had improved significantly. The average CL and CMCT were significantly shortened. Compared with the control group, the average upper limb FMA score and FTHUE-HK scores of the treatment group were significantly higher. The combination group showed a significant improvement in its average MEP cortical latency and CMCT values.Conclusions:MIT therapy alone can improve the upper limb motor functioning of stroke survivors, but it is more effective in combination with rTMS.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adalimumab (ADA) in the treatment of Crohn′s disease (CD), and to analyze the predictive factors of ADA efficacy.Methods:From January 2020 to December 2020, 49 CD patients treated with ADA at the Department of Gastroenterology, Tenth People′s Hospital of Tongji University of Shanghai were enrolled. The clinical data before treatment were collected. During 12 weeks of ADA treatment, the patients were followed up every 2 weeks, the laboratory examinations were conducted every 4 weeks, and colonoscopy examination was rechecked at the 12th week. The improvement of the main symptoms of patients was assessed at 2nd, 4th, and 6th week during ADA treatment. At the 12th week after ADA treatment, the clinical response (Crohn′s disease activity index (CDAI) score decreased ≥70 points from baseline), clinical remission (CDAI score < 150 points), endoscopic response (simple endoscopic score for Crohn′s disease (SES-CD) decreased >50% from baseline) and endoscopic remission (SES-CD ≤2 points or Rutgeerts score ≤1 point), closure of anal fistula of CD patients complicated with anal fistula and occurrence of adverse reactions during treatment were recorded. The predictive factors of clinical remission of CD patients after ADA treatment for 12 weeks were analyzed. The Mann-Whitney U test and binary logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results:The main symptom improved rates of 49 CD patients received ADA treatment at 2nd, 4th and 6th week were 75.5% (37/49), 95.9% (47/49) and 98.0% (48/49), respectively, and the main symptom improved time was 14.0 d (7.0 d, 17.0 d). After ADA treatment for 12 weeks, the clinical remission rate was 55.1% (27/49), the clinical response rate was 73.5% (36/49), the endoscopic remission rate was 43.3% (13/30), the endoscopic response rate was 55.6% (15/27), the anal fistula closure rate was 7/18, and the overall incidence of adverse reactions was 24.5% (12/49). The baseline of fecal calprotectin (FC) level of patients in the clinical remission group (27 cases) was lower than that of the patients in the active disease group (22 cases) (111.0 μg/g, 26.3 μg/g to 125.6 μg/g vs. 540.5 μg/g, 420.2 μg/g to 866.9 μg/g), and the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-4.44, P<0.001). The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that baseline FC level was an independent predictive factor of clinical remission in CD patients treated with ADA for 12 weeks ( OR=1.08, 95%confidence interval 1.02 to 1.14, P=0.013). When the baseline FC cut-off value was 172.39 g/g, the sensitivity and specificity of it in predicting clinical remission in CD patients treated with ADA for 12 weeks were 81.48% and 90.91%, and the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.87 ( P<0.001). Conclusions:ADA is safe and effective in the treatment of CD. The baseline FC level is an independent predictive factor of clinical remission in CD patients treated with ADA for 12 weeks.