Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

The study is a randomized, prospective, parallel-group, multicenter, open-label, non-inferiority trial. Patients are randomized 1 : 1 to either stent retriever(Catfish) or Solitaire for endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke. The study aims to evaluate the benefit and safety of stent retriever(Catfish) for acute ischemic stroke therapy, as compared to Solitaire FR.

Approximately 80% of individuals with chronic stroke present with long lasting upper extremity (UE) impairments. Advances in rehabilitation technology, such as robotics, virtual reality (VR) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), have separately demonstrated their effectiveness in improving UE function of individuals with stroke. The potential to influence recovery may be further enhanced by combining these modalities in order to target motor deficits of the individual. Research has shown that not all persons with stroke may be able to recover hand function. In particular, such recovery depends on the integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST), which links the motor areas of the brain to the UE (and hand) musculature. Instead of using a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to UE rehabilitation, CST integrity will be assessed through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive approach, and match the intervention to the individual's specific impairments. The perSonalized UPper Extremity Rehabilitation (SUPER) intervention is proposed, which combines robotics, VR activities, and NMES. The objectives of this study are to determine the feasibility of the SUPER intervention in individuals with moderate/severe stroke. Stroke participants will receive a 5-week intervention (3x per week) combining robotic therapy and VR activities, based on their functional level. Those with low potential for hand recovery will receive an intervention focussing on elbow and shoulder movements. For those with a good potential for hand recovery, the last 30 minutes of the robotic or VR session will be complemented by muscle-triggered NMES. Feasibility indicators associated with process, resources, management and treatment will be measured. Outcomes of UE and hand function will include the Fugl-Meyer upper extremity assessment, the Box and Block test and the ABILHAND. It is expected that feasibility criteria will be met and that the SUPER intervention will lead to significant improvements in UE impairment compared to a waitlist group.

Research has shown that music engages the brain bilaterally throughout cortical and subcortical regions, accessing extended sensorimotor, cognitive and affective networks. This research explores the hypothesis that use of these shared neural networks allows neurologic music therapy interventions targeting upper extremity motor control to promote plasticity and functional improvements in persons recovering from a cerebrovascular accident. The potential therapeutic benefits of these interventions on attentional processes and affective responding will also be examined.

This study aims to examine the outcomes of early mobilization and early intervention within 24-72 hours after the onset of hemorrhagic stroke in patients admitted to an intensive care unit within 24 hours after stroke. The patients after hemorrhagic stroke who undergo early intervention only will be compared with those who also receive early mobilization in order to determine if the early mobilization intervention results in earlier or more effective recovery of postural stability, activities of daily living function, or motor capacity. The participants will be randomly assigned to the following two groups: (1) the early mobilization (+early rehabilitation) group and (2) the early rehabilitation group.The measurement parameters will be collected before the intervention (basic parameters), two weeks after the stroke, four weeks after the stroke and three months after the stroke. SPSS (version 17.0) will be used to carry out repeated measures analysis of variance (repeated ANOVA) to compare the differences between the groups at different time points (including basic values and follow-up values). For statistical significance, Bonferroni correction will be applied for the post-hoc analysis of the groups.

This project aims to test a new technology that may improve hand function impaired from a stroke, thereby improving independence and quality of life.

Stroke places a major burden on health care and society. It often leads to a hemiparesis. Intensive stroke rehabilitation speeds up recovery. In daily practice, the financial and/or human resources to provide this intensive rehabilitation are often lacking. Applying modern-day tracking and feedback technology to encourage a self-administered, context specific training is expected to offer significant potential to increase intensity of practice. Up until now, there has been no randomized trial examining the effect of such an intervention on daily arm usage. The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of wearing an activity tracking and multimodal feedback device for six weeks on self-reported daily life use of the paretic arm after stroke, when compared to control group stroke subjects wearing a hardware-wise identical sham device providing no feedback. The secondary aim is to examine compliance to use the device and the quantitative, qualitative and functional improvement of the paretic arm. It is hypothesized that participants in the experimental group show a higher change in self-reported daily life use of the paretic arm when compared to the control group both post intervention and at 6-week follow-up. ISEAR is a multicenter, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial of 62 subjects beyond the first 3 months poststroke.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of high-frequency short duration tablet-based speech and language therapy (teleSLT) mixed with cognitive training (teleCT) in chronic stroke patients. Recent studies suggest that chronic stroke patients benefit from SLT with high frequency and that cognitive abilities can play a role in sentence comprehension and production by individuals with aphasia. To investigate the effects of the distribution of training time for teleSLT and teleCT the investigators use two combinations. In the experimental group 80% of the training time will be devoted to teleSLT and 20% to teleCT whereas in the control group 20% of the training time will be devoted to teleSLT and 80% to teleCT. Both groups receive the same total amount and frequency of intervention but with different distributions. At three time points (pre-, post-test and 8 week follow-up) the patients' word finding ability is measured.

Objectives: This study aims to estimate overall treatment benefit (improvement in disability) among acute ischemic stroke patients that are randomized to General Anesthesia (GA) compared with Sedation (CS) during endovascular therapy. Assess safety (as measured by incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage); rates of Endovascular therapy (EVT) procedural complications, reperfusion; and quality of life. Hypothesis: GA during EVT for acute ischemic stroke improves functional outcomes at 90 days compared to sedation.

People who have had a stroke benefit from opportunities to practice the activities they need to re-learn. It is common practice to give patients written exercises to guide their practice out of therapy session. Whilst more practice is better, it is important that the activities are practiced accurately, to ensure that the right movement patterns are re-learned. The aim of this study, is to evaluate whether an intervention providing in-patients who have had a stroke an opportunity to use a simple video guide to help them perform their exercises accurately would improve clinical outcomes. Watching an activity being performed helps you to learn the activity more effectively. The focus of this study is arm rehabilitation. The participants will be adult in-patients in Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, and will have had a first time stroke that has left them with some arm weakness. The participants will be matched according to the severity of their weakness, then randomly allocated to either a treatment as usual group, or an intervention group. Those in the intervention group will have their exercises for their arm and hand recorded onto a tablet during their normal therapy session. They will then be lent the tablet for the duration of the trial, so they can have a visual guide to help them throughout the trial period. Ward staff will be shown how to use the tablet to help any participants who struggle with the technology. Measurements will be made before and after the trial period to look at ability to move the arm and hand, quality of movement, self-efficacy and time spent exercising. Participants and staff will be asked for their experiences of the intervention or normal practice. This is a feasibility study with an embedded process evaluation.

People with stroke suffer from different impairments, including the ability to dual-tasking, increased arterial stiffness, and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The decrement in dual-tasking performance has been found among stroke survivors, and the deterioration has been related to increased risk of fall in the population. No coherent result has been concluded from previous studies investigating the effect of different types of exercise training on enhancing dual-tasking performance among healthy older adults and stroke survivors. Increased arterial stiffness and impaired functioning of the autonomic nervous systems, which have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk and mortality, are common in stroke survivors. Studies have been suggesting the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on both decreasing arterial stiffness and regulating the autonomic nervous system among healthy older people. However, only a few studies concerning such topic have been conducted among stroke survivors, yet the results were inconsistent. Tai Chi is a Chinese traditional martial art and has been employed as a rehabilitation exercise in recent decades. Tai Chi practitioners should perform the physical movement and plan the Tai Chi forms simultaneously. The involvement of cognitive functioning gives Tai Chi a dual-tasking character. Prior studies demonstrated the beneficial effect of Tai Chi training on dual-tasking performance in healthy older adults, but would the effect extend to stroke survivors has not yet been studied. Also, Tai Chi is considered as a mind-body exercise. It is suggested that one should keep a relaxed status of mind and breathe gently and slowly. Moreover, Tai Chi is an exercise with moderate intensity. These features have been found to decrease arterial stiffness and benefit functioning of the autonomic nervous system. Indeed, studies have been showing Tai Chi reduces arterial stiffness and improves regulation of the autonomic nervous system among healthy population. Whether such effect can be observed in stroke survivors is still unknown. This study aimed at investigating the effects of Tai Chi training on dual-tasking performance, arterial stiffness, and autonomic system functioning among stroke survivors. Given the special features of Tai Chi and its advantageous effects on the mentioned functioning, it is expected that stroke survivors may also benefit from Tai Chi training.