Efficacy of enhanced extracorporeal counterpulsation combined with atorvastatin in the treatment of cognitive impairment after stroke

Table 1 Comparison of Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment and activities of daily living scores between the two groups (mean ± SD, points)

Group	MMSE score		MoCA score		ADL score
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Study group (n = 30)	20.63 ± 2.94	26.80 ± 2.59a	19.50 ± 2.84	26.77 ± 2.08a	45.00 ± 4.78	63.70 ± 6.25a
Control group (n = 30)	19.73 ± 3.10	24.97 ± 3.29a	19.70 ± 1.60	24.70 ± 2.42a	45.97 ± 4.62	57.40 ± 4.99a
P value	0.253	0.020	0.738	0.001	0.429	< 0.001
t value	1.154	2.400	0.336	3.545	0.797	4.314

^aP < 0.05, compared with the same group before treatment.

MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination; MoCA: Montreal Cognitive Assessment; ADL: Activities of daily living.

Table 2 Comparison of cholinergic system component levels between the two groups (mean ± SD, nmol/mL)

Group	ACh		AChE
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Study group (n = 30)	10.96 ± 2.84	22.53 ± 2.49a	16.53 ± 2.09	8.26 ± 0.89a
Control group (n = 30)	10.54 ± 2.99	15.20 ± 1.66a	16.92 ± 2.75	12.36 ± 1.17a
t value	0.570	13.412	0.616	15.308
P value	0.571	< 0.001	0.540	< 0.001

^aP < 0.05, compared to the same group before treatment.

Ach: Acetylcholine; AChE: Acetylcholinesterase.

Table 3 Comparison of vascular endothelial function markers between the two groups (mean ± SD, d)

Group	ET-1 (μg/L)		NO (μmol/L)
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Study group (n = 30)	79.02 ± 5.77	71.29 ± 4.90a	60.81 ± 6.13	71.19 ± 7.08a
Control group (n = 30)	79.32 ± 6.70	65.40 ± 5.45a	60.19 ± 4.40	65.45 ± 4.64a
P value	0.854	< 0.001	0.655	0.001
t value	0.185	4.400	0.450	3.709

^aP < 0.05, compared to the same group before treatment.

NO: Nitric oxide; ET-1: Endothelin-1.

Table 4 Comparison of serum β2-microglobulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and visinin-like protein 1 concentrations between the two groups (mean ± SD)

Group	Β2-MG (mg/L)		VILIP-1 (ng/L)		GFAP (mg/L)
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Study group (n = 30)	2.64 ± 0.65	1.49 ± 0.48a	520.59 ± 55.39	409.67 ± 40.77a	9.17 ± 1.32	6.04 ± 1.70a
Control group (n = 30)	2.79 ± 0.42	1.93 ± 0.28a	531.47 ± 54.03	435.83 ± 37.09a	9.87 ± 1.56	7.44 ± 1.06a
P value	0.294	< 0.001	0.444	0.012	0.064	< 0.001
t value	1.061	4.339	0.771	2.599	1.888	3.817

^aP < 0.05 compared to the same group before treatment.

β2-MG: β2-microglobulin; GFAP: Glial fibrillary acidic protein; VILIP-1: Visinin-like protein 1.

Table 5 Comparison of pulsatility index values of cerebral vessels between the two groups (mean ± SD)

Group	LACA		RACA		LMCA		RMCA		LPCA		RPCA
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Study group (n = 30)	1.34 ± 0.28	0.94 ± 0.11a	1.33 ± 0.22	0.97 ± 0.12a	1.35 ± 0.26	0.95 ± 0.16a	1.34 ± 0.24	0.94 ± 0.19a	1.37 ± 0.28	0.93 ± 0.18a	1.34 ± 0.32	0.98 ± 0.15a
Control group (n = 30)	1.35 ± 0.27	1.11 ± 0.42a	1.37 ± 0.27	1.12 ± 0.36a	1.39 ± 0.22	1.10 ± 0.31a	1.35 ± 0.37	1.12 ± 0.34a	1.36 ± 0.40	1.11 ± 0.30a	1.35 ± 0.41	1.12 ± 0.35a
P value	0.832	0.040	0.536	0.049	0.490	0.024	0.905	0.013	0.857	0.007	0.983	0.047
t value	0.213	2.139	0.622	2.043	0.695	2.339	0.120	2.589	0.180	2.805	0.021	2.052

^aP < 0.05 compared to the same group before treatment.

LACA: Left-anterior cerebral artery; RACA: Right-anterior cerebral artery; LMCA: Left-middle cerebral artery; RMCA: Right-middle cerebral artery; LPCA: Left-posterior cerebral artery; RPCA: Right-posterior cerebral artery.

Table 6 Comparison of the resistance index values of the cerebral vessels in the two groups (mean ± SD)

Group	LACA		RACA		LMCA		RMCA		LPCA		RPCA
	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment	Before treatment	After treatment
Study group (n = 30)	0.86 ± 0.18	0.54 ± 0.10a	0.86 ± 0.22	0.53 ± 0.13a	0.85 ± 0.25	0.53 ± 0.16a	0.95 ± 0.28	0.48 ± 0.13a	0.84 ± 0.28	0.49 ± 0.11a	0.93 ± 0.25	0.53 ± 0.13a
Control group (n = 30)	0.93 ± 0.23	0.64 ± 0.11a	0.84 ± 0.15	0.64 ± 0.15a	0.82 ± 0.22	0.65 ± 0.21a	0.92 ± 0.21	0.62 ± 0.24a	0.86 ± 0.20	0.58 ± 0.14a	0.90 ± 0.18	0.63 ± 0.15a
P value	0.225	0.001	0.729	0.004	0.720	0.014	0.582	0.007	0.701	0.006	0.566	0.008
t value	1.226	3.661	0.349	3.033	0.360	2.547	0.553	2.847	0.386	2.864	0.578	2.750

^aP < 0.05 compared to the same group before treatment.

LACA: Left-anterior cerebral artery; RACA: Right-anterior cerebral artery; LMCA: Left-middle cerebral artery; RMCA: Right-middle cerebral artery; LPCA: Left-posterior cerebral artery; RPCA: Right-posterior cerebral artery.