Establishment of Clinical Basis for Hematopoietic Growth Factors Therapy in Brain Injury
Neurological DiseasesIschemic Stroke3 moreThe purpose of our study is to determine the safety and efficacy of the combination of erythropoietin (EPO) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSF) in patients with neurological diseases. To be specific, our clinical study is expected that the combination injection of EPO and G-CSF shows neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects by facilitating endogenous repair process in patients with neurological diseases including stroke, cerebral palsy, or atypical parkinsonism. Therefore, we will apply our original treatment technique in patients with neurological diseases, which is expected to overcome current ethical and technical limitations of less evidenced functional recovery, hematological changes, and side effects. Eventually, We will establish a comprehensive clinical background about neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of this hematopoietic growth factors therapy.
Robot Assisted Virtual Rehabilitation for the Hand Post Stroke (RAVR)
StrokeAcuteThis study investigates the effects of intensive, high dosage task and impairment based training of the hemiparetic hand, using haptic robots integrated with complex gaming and virtual reality simulations. There is a time-limited period of post-ischemic heightened neuronal plasticity during which intensive training may optimally affect the recovery of motor skills, indicating that the timing of rehabilitation is as important as the dosing. However, recent literature indicates a controversy regarding both the value of intensive, high dosage as well as the optimal timing for therapy in the first two months after stroke. This study is designed to empirically investigate this controversy. It is evident that providing additional, intensive therapy during the acute rehabilitation stay is more complicated to implement and difficult for patients to tolerate, than initiating it in the outpatient setting, immediately after discharge. The robotic/VR system is specifically designed to deliver hand and arm training when motion and strength are limited, using adaptive algorithms to drive individual finger movement, gain adaptation and workspace modification to increase finger and arm range of motion, and haptic and visual feedback from mirrored movements to reinforce motor networks in the lesioned hemisphere.
Upper Limb Mirror Therapy With TENS to Improve Upper Limb Functions in Patients With Sub-acute Stroke...
StrokeThis study compare the effectiveness of 2 rehabilitation programmes that use (1) MT with TENS, (2) sham-MT with TENS, respectively, in addition to standardized upper limb training (TOT), in improving upper limb motor functions, activities of daily living, community integration and quality of life in patients with sub-acute stroke.
Enhancing Physical Therapy Best Practice for Improving Walking After Stroke
StrokeCerebral Infarction3 moreThe aim of this study is to assess the effect of implementing best practices into current stroke rehabilitation physical therapy on walking outcomes. Participants will also be provided an activity monitor to help them track and target their walking practice to determine if this can improve walking ability.
Time Window for Ischemic Stroke First Mobilization Effectiveness
Brain IschemiaStroke RehabilitationEarly mobilization was thought to be effective in patients with acute ischemic stroke. As the essential component of stroke unit care, early mobilization has already been part of routine clinical practice. However, it is uncertain that which and when medical service focusing on functional recovery should be delivered after the emergency interventions for stroke. Besides, the optimal time window, for delivering early mobilization after acute ischemic stroke, has not been verified with strong evidence.
rTMS Plus CCFES-mediated Functional Task Practice for Severe Stroke
StrokeHemiplegia2 moreThis study is a necessary and important step in the development of a new therapy for upper limb functional recovery in patients with severe motor impairment. It is the first clinical trial of non-invasive brain stimulation (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or rTMS) delivered to excite the undamaged hemisphere (specifically the contralesional higher motor cortices or cHMC) in stroke. Therefore, this study will determine whether the positive results obtained in our short-term pilot study can be made to last longer and produce functional benefits in severe patients with the application of brain stimulation in combination with long-term rehabilitation therapy. Rehabilitation therapy administered is called contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation (CCFES). Determining whether combining rTMS facilitating the cHMC with CCFES produces synergistic gains in functional abilities in severe patients is necessary for acceptance by the clinical community and to move this technology toward commercialization and widespread dissemination. The proposed study will determine whether the combination of rTMS facilitating the cHMC with CCFES produces greater improvements in upper extremity function in severe participants who are ≥6 months from stroke onset than the combination of rTMS facilitating the damaged hemisphere (specifically the ipsilesional primary motor cortex, iM1) and CCFES or the combination of sham rTMS and CCFES. The secondary purposes are to define which patients benefit most from the treatments, which may inform future device and treatment development and clinical translation, and to explore what distinct effects the three treatments have on the brain. To accomplish these purposes, we are conducting a clinical trial that enrolls severe stroke patients.
The Vesalio NeVa Stent Retriever Registry Study for Treatment of Large Vessel Occlusion Strokes...
Acute Ischemic StrokeA prospective, open label, 90-day study designed to assess the safety, performance and efficacy of thrombus removal in subjects presenting with acute ischemic stroke with the NeVa stent retrievers.
The Role of Hyperoxia in Acute Ischemic Stroke
StrokeAcuteThis study is being conducted to evaluate the potential therapeutic role of hyperoxia when applied in the immediate ischemic period following a stroke in the controlled Emergency Department setting. The study will evaluate the effects of hyperoxia in stroke patients on the production of markers of free radical damage and inflammatory markers associated with hyperoxic lung injury.
Optimizing a Home-based Virtual Reality Exercise Program for Chronic Stroke Patients: A Telerehabilitation...
StrokeStroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide and its incidence is on the rise. Importantly, loss of arm function occurs in up to 85% of stroke survivors, with a significant long-term impact on activities of daily living, leisure activities and work. The capacity for recovery following a stroke depends on several factors, including the extent of the initial neurological damage, spontaneous recovery and rehabilitation, with possible recovery even years after the stroke. Unfortunately, accessibility of much needed rehabilitation services poststroke often remains limited, both in terms of intensity and duration, as reported in a recent report on post-stroke rehabilitation services in Quebec. Recent evidence suggests that homebased telerehabilitation (TR) is a viable approach for upper limb training post-stroke when rehabilitation services are not available. Similarly, the Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care update for 2013 recommends home-based patient monitoring be used when frequent monitoring is needed and face-to-face visits are not available. Hence, the investigators have developed and propose to examine the use of the VirTele system for people who have suffered a stroke who are no longer receiving rehabilitation services The VirTele system allows upper limb rehabilitation using exergames with ongoing off-line monitoring combined with online monitoring and coaching based on the self-determination theory.
OPTIMAS: OPtimal TIMing of Anticoagulation After Acute Ischaemic Stroke : a Randomised Controlled...
StrokeAcute1 moreOPTIMAS is a large, prospective, partially blinded randomised controlled trial of early (within ≤4 days [96hrs]) or standard (between day 7 and day 14 after stroke onset) initiation of anticoagulation after stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), using any licensed dose of a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC). The trial will use a non-inferiority gatekeeper approach to test for non-inferiority of early anticoagulation followed by a test for superiority, if non-inferiority is established.