Two popular chronic stroke rehabilitation protocols are robotic-assisted movements and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Separately, both have produced encouraging motor recovery improvements. An intriguing question remains: what happens to when administered together? Do the two together produce additive dual effects? This systematic review meta-analysis investigated effect of com...

OBJECTIVES To apply Rasch analysis to evaluate the psychometric properties of the composite score of the 3 upper limb subscales of the Motor Assessment Scale (UL-MAS) when administered in the acute/subacute phase post-stroke. DESIGN Prospective data collection of UL-MAS scores. PARTICIPANTS Eighty Eighty individuals a mean of 64.8 days (standard deviation 53.3; range 4-193 days) following t...

Introduction: Stroke is currently the third leading cause of death and disability in North America [1]. Blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption following ischemia–reperfusion is associated with clinically important consequences including edema and hemorrhagic transformation (HT). Previous data on BBB permeability changes after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is limited to the first several hours and v...

The ArmAssist is a simple low-cost robotic system for upper limb motor training that combines known benefits of repetitive task-oriented training, greater intensity of practice, and less dependence on therapist assistance. The aim of this preliminary study was to compare the efficacy of ArmAssist (AA) robotic training against matched conventional arm training in subacute stroke subjects with mo...

The purpose of this study was to critically evaluate the effects of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) on gait-related function in patients with acute/subacute stroke. We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials published between May 2012 and April 2016. This search included 334 articles (Cochrane, 51 articles; Embase, 175 articles; PubMed, 108 articles). Based on the incl...

OBJECTIVE To study the association among endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), subacute blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, and clinical outcome after ischemic stroke, determining the micro RNAs of EPCs responsible for good clinical outcome. METHODS We included consecutive patients with nonlacunar acute ischemic strokes in the territory of a middle cerebral artery and ages between 18 and 8...

OBJECTIVE This prospective study examined the convergent validity and responsiveness of the EuroQoL-5 Dimensions Health Questionnaire (EQ-5D) utility weights in stroke survivors at the subacute stage. METHODS Repeated assessments were conducted in rehabilitation wards of a medical centre. A study cohort was recruited from inpatients (n = 478). A total of 342 participants (71.5%) completed 2 a...

We extend the image-to-image metamorphosis into constrained longitudinal metamorphosis. We apply it to estimate an evolution scenario, in patients with acute ischemic stroke, of both scattered and solitary ischemic lesions visible on serial MR perfusion weighted imaging from acute to subacute stages. We then estimate a patient-specific residual map that enables us to capture the most relevant s...

Amide proton transfer-weighted (APTW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has recently become a potentially important tool for evaluating acidosis in ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dynamic pH-related changes in the lesions in patients with ischemia. Thirty-nine patients with ischemic stroke (symptom onset to imaging time ranging 2 h-7 days) were examined with a 3.0-...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The ability to live independently after stroke depends on the recovery of upper limb function. We hypothesized that bilateral priming with active-passive movements before upper limb physiotherapy would promote rebalancing of corticomotor excitability and would accelerate upper limb recovery at the subacute stage. METHODS A single-center randomized controlled trial of bi...