Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

To evaluate the effects of virtual reality-based rehabilitation (Neofect Glove) for newly diagnosed cognitively intact adult dominant hemisphere stroke patients with paresis of their hand in supplementation with conventional occupational therapy to assess whether it improves motor function and speed recovery during inpatient rehabilitation versus conventional occupational therapy alone. Also, what impact does this have on quality of life.

About 70% of hemiplegic patients suffer from hemiplegic shoulder pain after stroke. This common occurrence is a cause for concern in the rehabilitation setting as it leads to impairment of functional outcomes induced by discomfort and delays in rehabilitation, important psycho-emotional repercussions as there is a correlation between upper arm pain and depression, a longer hospital stay. Poor management of hemiplegic shoulder pain can ultimately give rise to type 1 "complex regional pain syndrome" (CRPS I). There is no consensus on treatment, care pathways or useful devices for positioning acute stroke patients in the literature. Our objective is to compare the effectiveness of a new positioning procedure of the hemiplegic arm with conventional positioning (pillow and "shoulder-immobilisation" sling) in acute stroke patients. Patient's actions are focus in 4 points: Positioning in bed, wheelchair and standing with specific materials (holds, sling in external rotation and abduction) Be careful of shoulder's coaptation in care and functional activities (toilet, dressing, transfers) A training of the patient and members of family on pathology, risk, use of material Daily passive mobilisation of the upper member by a therapist.

This is a prospective randomized open label trial with control-to-treatment cross-over. The investigators wish to assess the effectiveness and safety of immediate detection and treatment for Sleep Apnea in Stroke patients. The investigators hypothesize that in patients with acute ischemic stroke a sleep apnea treatment by CPAP will result in a better neurological outcome and more successful rehabilitation. The study will enroll 140 subjects which will be randomized into one of two arms: Investigational - The sleep study will be performed during the index hospitalization with acute stroke. Following the diagnosis of sleep apnea, patients will be treated with C-PAP both during the hospital stay and after discharge. Control group -Will receive standard medical care. Patients will undergo sleep study at 3 months following discharge and patients diagnosed with sleep apnea will be treated with C-PAP.

People who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA or "mini-stroke") are at high risk of having another stroke or a heart attack. Conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, along with other lifestyle behaviors (e.g., smoking), substantially increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Aggressive treatment of these risk factors however, can significantly reduce the chance of another stroke, heart attack or death. This study will look at different ways to optimize blood pressure and cholesterol levels and educate people about positive lifestyle changes.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if a peer-led stroke recurrence prevention intervention, versus usual care, will help reduce risk factors for recurrent strokes among adults in Harlem.

Background and Rationale: The most commonly seen disabilities in stroke patients are shoulder injuries such as shoulder pain, glenohumeral subluxation, spasticity of shoulder muscles, soft-tissue trauma, rotator cuff tears, and shoulder-hand syndrome. Taping is widely used in the field of rehabilitation as both means of treatment and prevention of sports related injuries. Scarce information is available regarding the use of shoulder taping in preventing shoulder injuries in stroke patients. Aims: To find out the effectiveness of taping technique with conventional treatment versus sham taping and conventional treatment in prevention of shoulder injuries in patients with acute stroke. Hypothesis: Taping technique with conventional treatment will be superior to conventional treatment alone in preventing shoulder injuries in patients with acute stroke. Methods Research setting: Stroke unit, department of Neurology, Christian Medical College (CMC) Ludhiana, Punjab, India and College of Physiotherapy, CMC Ludhiana. Study design: prospective, randomized, outcome blinded trial (PROBE design). Study period: Prospective for 18 months from May 2009 All stroke patients with upper limb weakness within 48 hours after the ictus and with Brunnstrom's stage of recovery 1 and 2 will be included in the study. Patients will be randomized into two groups using lottery method. The treatment arm group(Group I) include shoulder taping with conventional techniques that is(positioning, handling technique and passive range of motion exercises) and the control arm (Group II) include sham taping with conventional techniques with sham taping. A total of 80 patients in each group will be included. The plastic micropore and elastic adhesive tape will be used for taping the affected shoulder. The sham taping will be done using the same tapes but without stretching the concerned muscles and joints. The tapes will be changed every 3 days and will remain for 14 days. The outcome measures are as follows; Primary: Pain: Visual Analog Scale and Activities of daily living: Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI); Secondary: Range of motion: using a Goniometer. The outcome will be assessed by an independent physiotherapist who will be blinded to the clinical details. Patients will be followed-up at 14 days and 30 days. Statistical analyses will be done using SPSS software version 16.

The objective of this trial is to assess the safety and efficacy of neuro- and cardioprotective effects of propranolol in acute ischemic stroke. Furthermore, exploratory analyses of cardiologic-electrophysiologic and immunologic parameters will be performed.

Aim of this randomized controlled study is to test if intensive polyintervention therapy including life style modifications targeting at reduction of modifiable risk factors of stroke can reduce the risk of post-stroke cognitive decline compared to a group of patients receiving standard care.

The 2006 American Heart Association / American Stroke Association Council on Stroke Guidelines for Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic recommended that patients with cryptogenic stroke take antithrombotic drugs (i.e. aspirin) in order to prevent a second stroke. When a stroke patient is found to have atrial fibrillation (AF), the guidelines recommend oral anticoagulation due to its superior efficacy over aspirin for stroke prevention. Physicians can best optimize the use of medicines only if they can precisely and correctly diagnose a patient's AF. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the time to first AF by 6 months' continuous rhythm monitoring versus control treatment in subjects with a recent cryptogenic stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) without history of AF.

This study will examine the safety of two different cellular therapies in the treatment of stroke.