Neurorehabilitation

OBJECTIVE: Recovery of motor function is important for regaining independence after stroke, but difficult to predict for individual patients. Our aim was to develop an efficient, accurate, and accessible algorithm for use in clinical settings. Clinical, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging biomarkers of corticospinal integrity obtained within days of stroke were combined to predict likely upper limb motor outcomes 3 months after stroke. METHODS: Data from 207 patients recruited within 3 days of stroke [103 females (50%), median age 72 (range 18-98) years] were included in a Classification and Regression Tree analysis to predict upper limb function 3 months poststroke...

BACKGROUND: Lower limb paresis is one of the main determinants of postural transferring, standing and walking disability in patients with stroke. Early prognosis of recovery of lower limb function and of related functional disability is an important issue in neurorehabilitation clinical practice. AIM: Aim of this study was to assess the relationship between active ankle dorsiflexion and the Mingazzini manoeuvre with the prognosis of lower limb function and of postural transferring, standing and walking ability in patients with stroke...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A number of studies have suggested that imagery training (motor imagery [MI]) has value for improving motor function in persons with neurologic conditions. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the available literature related to efficacy of MI in the recovery of individuals after stroke. METHODS: We searched the following databases: PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane, and PEDro. Two reviewers independently selected clinical trials that investigated the effect of MI on outcomes commonly investigated in studies of stroke recovery...

OBJECTIVE: Recent reports demonstrated that low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the unaffected hemisphere improved the affected hand function in chronic stroke patients. We investigated whether 1 Hz rTMS improved the motor learning of the affected hand in patients after stroke. DESIGN: A double-blind study. PATIENTS: Twenty patients with chronic subcortical stroke. METHODS: The patients were randomly assigned to receive either a sub-threshold rTMS over the unaffected hemisphere (1 Hz, 25 minutes) or sham stimulation, and all patients performed a pinching task after stimulation...