Objective To investigate the relationship between grip and pinch strength and independence in activities of daily living (ADL) in stroke patients. Methods Medical records of 577 stroke patients from January 2010 to February 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' grip and pinch strength of both hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic hands and the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) score were collected. These patients were divided into three groups: group A (onset duration: ≤3 months), group B (onset duration: >3 months and <2 years), and group C (onset duration: ≥2 years). The correlation between grip and pinch strength and the K-MBI score was analyzed. Results In group A (95 patients), the K-MBI score was significantly (p<0.05) correlated with the grip and pinch strength of both hands in patients with right hemiplegia. Significant (p<0.05) correlation between the K-MBI score and the grip and pinch strength of the hemiplegic hand was shown in patients with left hemiplegia. In group B (69 patients) and group C (73 patients), the K-MBI score was significantly (p<0.05) correlated with the grip and pinch strength of the hemiplegic hand. Conclusion Stroke patients in subacute stage mainly performed activities of daily living using their dominant hand. However, independence in ADL was associated with the strength of the affected dominant hand. For stroke patients in chronic and late chronic stages, their hand power of the affected hand was associated with independence in ADL regardless whether the dominant hand was affected.

Background: Several polymorphisms of the dopamine D₃ receptor (DRD3) gene are reported to be involved in the susceptibility to alcoholism. Although the DRD3 rs6280 (Ser9Gly) polymorphism plays an important role in various psychiatric disorders, findings regarding the association between this single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and alcohol dependence (AD) have been inconsistent. Therefore, the present study investigated the association between the DRD3 gene rs6280 polymorphism with AD and Lesch type I AD in Korean subjects. Methods: The DRD3 rs6280 SNP was genotyped in a case-control sample comprising 245 AD patients and 130 healthy controls (HCs). Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores were also compared relative to genotype in all of the participants. Results: This SNP was significantly associated with both AD overall (χ² = 10.09 and p = 0.001, and χ² = 10.60 and p = 0.005, for the recessive and additive models, respectively) and with Lesch type I AD (χ² = 11.70 and p = 0.001, and χ² = 11.70 and p = 0.003, for the recessive and additive models, respectively). The allele frequency differed significantly (χ² = 8.45, p = 0.004) between Lesch type I AD and HC subjects. The AUDIT total (F = 6.56, p = 0.011), hazardous alcohol use (F = 7.12, p = 0.008), dependence symptoms (F = 5.10, p = 0.025), and harmful alcohol use (F = 4.83, p = 0.029) scores were significantly higher in those who did not possess the S allele (genotype GG) than in those who did (genotypes SS ± SG). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the DRD3 rs6280 polymorphism is associated with the development of both AD overall and Lesch type I AD in Koreans.

The present study showed a significant difference in DRD2 -141C and ANKK1 TaqIA polymorphisms between the AD patients and the controls. Our findings suggest that -141C Ins and TaqIA A1 alleles can be a predisposing factor for alcohol dependence in the Korean population.

A 49-year-old woman presented with stupor and paraplegia following an induced hypotension. The temporal relationship to the induced hypotension and the absence of a clear embolic source on diagnostic tests support a causal association between the hypotensive episode and the ischemic infarct. However, despite the association, a cause-and-effect relationship could not be automatically inferred.

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