Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

The purpose of this study is to assess and determine the influence of pelvic inclination on sit to stand task in stroke patients.

This study will investigate if a lower limb robotic device can be used in a community setting to increase the amount of physical activity that individuals undertake following stroke and consequently improve biomechanical, physiological and health outcomes, in patients with stroke.

The effectiveness of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) management has improved considerably in recent years with thrombolysis and more recently with mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Currently, mechanical thrombectomy can only be performed in stroke unit with an interventional neuroradiology center by experienced/qualified interventional neuroradiologists. In the Rhone area, only one hospital has the authorization to perform mechanical thrombectomy. Therefore, transferring directly eligible acute ischemic stroke patients for mechanical thrombectomy to this center constitutes an important stake of the triage of suspected acute ischemic stroke patients. Some validated scores for the identification of severe strokes and large vessel occlusion, including the Cincinnati prehospital stroke severity scale (CPSSS), appear to be relevant for pre-hospital use in order to identify patients potentially eligible for mechanical thrombectomy and address them to a stoke unit with interventional radiology center.

Enrollment of a population-based, prospective cohort of 3298 stroke-free adults was completed in 2001 and annual follow-up has continued since then. This collaborative study is the first prospective cohort study among whites, blacks and Caribbean Hispanics living in the same community. This grant supports continued follow-up and outcome detection and expansion of data collection in this cohort. The aims are to evaluate the relationship between vascular outcomes (stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and vascular death) and insulin resistance, carotid intima-media thickness, carotid distensibility, and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of vascular subclinical brain disease and to determine if MRI subclinical disease accounts for race/ethnic differences in cognitive impairment. To accomplish these aims further data collection using the population-based, prospective cohort study is proposed. Stored baseline serum will be used to measure fasting insulin levels to evaluate insulin resistance. High-resolution carotid imaging data will be collected at subsequent visits to expand the measurements of subclinical carotid disease to 1300 subjects. MRIs and a neuropsychological battery emphasizing frontal executive domains will be done on 1300 subjects and quantitative analyses performed to measure white matter hyperintensities, silent infarcts, and silent cerebral microbleeds. Starting in 2005, subjects enrolled in the MRI substudy began to have echocardiograms and 24hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Subjects will be followed by annual telephone interviews to ascertain stroke, MI, death, and changes in cognitive state. In-person assessment will be done for all subjects who screen positive. Community stroke surveillance will be maintained to insure stroke detection among the cohort. Specific diagnostic committees classify stroke, MI and vascular death.

The meeting point of the patient and his/her immediate family with the health care system is complicated and traumatic. While having to deal with medicalization geared towards providing evidence-based and cost-effective medical care, the patient expects comprehensive, holistic care tailored to his/her needs, during hospitalization or in the community. A survey of 800 stroke patients and their caregiver during the 1st year following acute stroke hospitalization will explore their unmet needs.

Based on the current state of knowledge and gaps in the literature we will conduct an intervention study to explore novel treatment and rehabilitation of patients at Royal University Hospital (RUH) with motor deficits following stroke. This project has the following objectives: To determine if cross-education, in addition to standard rehabilitation leads to better recovery of upper limb function for stroke patients with hemiparesis. To incorporate functional brain activation as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural mechanisms associated with changes in motor function of the paretic arm post-stroke. To use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography to measure connectivity and examine the extent to which white matter tract thickness correlates with preserved motor output in patients post-stroke.

The purpose is to determine the relationship between anxiety and cognitive performances in patients with acute and chronic phases of cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Data from neuropsychological assessment concerning cognitive processes (working and episodic memory) sensitive to different dimensions of anxiety will be analyzed. The secondary purpose is to evaluate how some neurological (hemispherical lateralization of lesions), psychological (depression) and demographic (quality of life) variables can increase the effects of different dimensions of anxiety on cognitive processes, during the acute and/or chronic phase of CVA.

A high number of patient with stroke develops spasticity of the upper extremity, this clinical sign of damage of 1 motoneuro (MN), causes postures and patterns of abnormal movement, due to the hyperexcitability of the MN and the rheological alterations that occur in the affected muscles. These alterations limit the use of upper extremity, restricting its use in functional activities and affecting the quality of life and social participation of the users. During the last few years the classification of the Hefter patterns for spasticity of the upper limb was created, with the end of having a common language and orienting the current therapeutic strategies oriented towards the arm. Objective: To determine the prevalence of patterns and their impact on the quality of life of patients after a stroke. Material and method: Descriptive design of cross section, the sample will be composed of 600 people who attend integral rehabilitation center of regions V, VIII, IX and X in Chile, that meet the inclusion criteria and sign the informed consent. The study will include a measurement made by a trained professional from each participating center using a registration form, the FIM scale and the Barthel index, to assess quality of life. Results: It will be analyzed with the SPSS software through descriptive and inferential statistics considering the nature of the variables, all the analyzes will consider as statistically significant the results with p values less than or equal to 0.05. Depending on the interval or ordinal level of the measurements, the coefficients r of Pearson and rho of Spearman will be used to calculate the correlations. Applicability: The results will determine the prevalence in this geographical sector, disseminate this classification and promote the use of a common language among professionals to enhance their daily work. In addition, it will allow to determine how the affectation of the upper extremity through the identification of a certain pattern alters the quality of life of the patient. This new information can be a fundamental input in the generation of future studies that seek to guide in relation to the use of therapeutic strategies in these people.

Volume expansion is the cornerstone of perioperative hemodynamic optimization. The main objective of volume expansion is to increase and to maximize stroke volume. Despite national and international recommendations, stroke volume monitoring is clearly not widely adopted. This is mostly due to the cost and the invasiveness of the devices allowing stroke volume monitoring. End tidal carbon dioxide is monitored in all patients undergoing general anaesthesia and is totally non-invasive. A strong relationship between stroke volume and end tidal carbon dioxide have been already demonstrated. The aim of the present study is to determine if change in End Tidal Carbon Dioxide can assess the stroke volume effects of a volume expansion of 250ml of crystalloid in the operating room

Motor imagery (MI) might be described as a dynamic process in which an individual mentally stimulates an action without any overt movement. After stroke, motor imagery ability is impaired and also due to structure of MI, not every stroke patients is able to perform MI. Therefore, the aim of the study is a) to compare both explicit and implicit motor imagery ability (MIA) between patients with stroke and healthy subjects, b) to examine predictive effects of clinical characteristics for MIA after stroke.