Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

CI therapy is a family of techniques that has systematically applied intensive treatment daily over consecutive days, supervised motor training using a technique called shaping, behavioral strategies to improve the use of the more- affected limb in real life situations called a Transfer Package (TP), and strategies to remind participants to use the more-affected extremity; including restraint of the less-affected arm in the upper extremity (UE) protocol. Numerous studies examining use of CI therapy with UE rehabilitation have demonstrated robust evidence for increasing the amount and the quality of the paretic UE functional use in daily situations of individuals recovering from stroke. Previous studies have explored the barriers for clinical implementation of the approach, including the amount of time needed by therapists, other resources required and lack of payment for the services. With regards to therapists' time/resources, in the signature CI therapy protocol, therapists supervised movement training for 3 hours daily (except for weekends) for a 12 consecutive-day period. This level of supervision in highly unusual for traditional rehabilitation clinical settings. The treatment schedule is also incompatible with most insurance reimbursement policies in the US. As such, most CI therapy clinics require patients to pay privately with little or no insurance reimbursement. Such practices severely limit the number of patients who can afford to receive CI therapy. Two lines of evidence have suggested that an alternative CI therapy protocol may allow for the essential (or "Key") CI therapy elements to be delivered in a schedule that better utilizes therapist time/resources and is compatible with payment policies of many US insurance companies. One line of evidence comes from findings that indicate that the original 6-hour supervised training schedule could be shortened to as little as 2-hours/daily without a reduction in outcomes. Additional evidence comes from a study exploring the systematic addition and deletion of the signature CI therapy protocol elements indicated that when the transfer package was omitted, outcomes related to functional use were reduced by 50%. These findings were also verified by brain imaging studies conducted concurrently that revealed a much-reduced level of brain remodeling in those not receiving the transfer package. These findings highlight the potential effectiveness of the transfer package and continued movement training by the patient while away from clinical supervision. The hypothesis of this study is that the amount of supervised training could be reduced further and delivered in a distributed schedule (1 to 4 times/ week over an 8-week period) instead of consecutively over a 12-day treatment period. This modification could be possible by adapting and strengthening the transfer package component of the protocol. In order to investigate if all of the Keys intervention protocol is necessary for producing optimal outcomes, the delivery of specific protocol elements will be also explored. Additionally, another round of testing at the 4-week point of the 8-week intervention will be administered to investigate the need for the final 4 weeks of the intervention.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with basilar artery occlusion (BAO) present a devastating, life-threatening prognosis. Urgent recanalization with endovascular mechanical thrombectomy is routinely performed in patients with BAO although the level of evidence is lower than that in anterior circulation occlusions (randomization in this population versus medical treatment alone having been impossible in recent studies). Recently, a large retrospective study supports the interest of thrombectomy in this population . Speed and grade of the recanalisation have a major impact on clinical outcome. Favorable outcome at 90 days is strongly associated with the successful recanalization status at the end of the endovascular procedure (OR=4.57, 95%CI=1.24-16.87, P=0.023). First pass effect has been shown to be a strong marker of efficacy of endovascular procedure with significant correlation with clinical outcome. Thrombectomy with Stent retrievers dramatically changed the prognosis of anterior circulation large vessel occlusion strokes and currently used in BAO patients (posterior circulation). Contact aspiration (CA) is currently used in anterior large vessel occlusions (COMPASS trial, Lancet 2019), with similar rates of recanalization and favorable outcomes (Boulanger M, 2019), as well as in BAO patients . However, the benefit of CA compared to SR for the treatment of BAO remains under debate with the superiority of first line CA compared to SR or no difference. Available data are based on retrospective studies with no data from RCT. In this context, a randomized controlled trial is needed to assess the benefit of CA versus SR.

Aphasia is an impairment in the ability to express and/or understand language, commonly observed after stroke to the language dominant (left) hemisphere. Despite natural tendency to spontaneous functional recovery in the first months post stroke and language improvement due to application of behavioral speech and language therapy (SLT), many aphasic patients do not achieve satisfactory level of verbal communication. The aim of the planned study is to explore the potential of the noninvasive repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as a therapeutic tool for aphasia in addition to traditional behavioral therapy. In case of aphasia, studies on therapeutic effectiveness of rTMS aim to increase the activity of the language-dominant left cerebral hemisphere, which may be achieved in an indirect manner by inhibiting the activity of the opposite (right) hemisphere or in a direct manner by increasing the excitability of preserved language areas in the left hemisphere. In our study, we plan to administer the newest form of rTMS called Theta Burst Stimulation (TBS), which is safer than the conventional rTMS, even when used in the perilesional area. Computer-based neuronavigation system will be implemented to precisely localize stimulation targets, control administration of stimuli during rTMS sessions, and evaluate differences between participants regarding deviations from established stimulation points. 45 patients (all right-handed, polish native speakers, aged 18-75 years, diagnosed with non-fluent aphasia) will be enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial. Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups: 1) a group with excitatory intermittent TBS of the left hemisphere (iTBS group), 2) a group with inhibitory continuous TBS of the right hemisphere (cTBS group), 3) a group with sham TBS (sTBS group as a control group). Specific forms of stimulation will be carried out for three consecutive weeks (Monday to Friday; a total of 15 stimulation sessions). Immediately after each session of the stimulation, patients will undergo individual SLT. Assessment of language functioning will be carried out three times: before and after the therapy period, and 3 months after its completion. Results of the study will broaden knowledge about hemispherical mechanisms of language and speech recovery after stroke and provide insight into possibilities of their modulation for the purpose of post-stroke rehabilitation.

Stroke is of high morbidity and mortality, and surviving patients are often unable to take care of themselves because of severe motor dysfunction. The brain has plasticity, and makes adaptive changes after stroke, resulting in the reorganization and compensation of neural networks. However, the muscle tone of some patients will significantly increase during the recovery process, which affects the rehabilitation effect. Neuromodulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) have been widely used to promote brain network remodeling after stroke. The investigators attempted to evaluate the motor brain network characteristics of spastic patients by fNIRS, and used the most active brain regions as rTMS stimulation regions to evaluate the improvement effect of this individualized treatment on post-stroke spasticity.

Stroke is the main cause of disability and the second main cause of dementia. Approximately 21.5% of patients develop dementia within 4 years after stroke. The main clinical manifestation of dementia is memory and cognitive impairment. At present, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists, were used for dementia treatment, but those drugs have limited efficacy. Exosome is an extracellular vesicle from the endosomal, size range from ~40 to 160 nm (average ~100 nm). It contains many cells including DNA, RNA, fat, and metabolites, as well as cytoplasm and cell surface proteins that play a role in regulating intercellular communication. Some studies believe that exosomes in the circulation are an ideal marker to reflect the pathological progress and recovery of stroke, and play a key role in the reorganization of tissues and the progress of neurodegeneration after stroke. Our previous studies have known that acupuncture can increase the long-term potentiation of hippocampal CA1 in rats with ischemic stroke, and improve learning-memory and neurological function. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of acupuncture-induced exosome in the treatment of post-stroke dementia.

Post-stroke hemiparesis causes sequelae in the limbs and also in the trunk and abdomen structures. The level of physical activity decreases and cardiorespiratory training(CRT) is indicated to this population to improve the functions of several systems (respiratory, cardiovascular, muscular). The application of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facility(PNF) would imply in the awareness and greater harmony of the functions performed by the trunk of this individual. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of respiratory and trunk characteristics of the PNF associated with Cardiorespiratory training in quality of life, gait, distance traveled, peak oxygen consumption, respiratory muscle strength, thoracic cavity volumes, mobility and diaphragmatic thickness of individuals with post stroke.

The study will focus on the impact of communal singing on patients with stroke and their personal caregivers. Forty post-stroke patients will be randomly assigned to two groups: the first group of 20 stroke survivors and their caregivers (up to 40 total participants) will receive 6 months (approximately 24 sessions) of music therapy. The second control groups of 20 stroke survivors and their caregivers will receive standard post-stroke care

To compare the effect of constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) vs. treadmill training only on walking function in individuals post-stroke, a 6 week, single-blind, randomized training study will be conducted with three assessments of gait to determine the training effect. Subjects will be randomized to either the CIMT or treadmill training only groups at the initial test. Following the initial test, individuals from the 2 groups will undergo intensive locomotor training. Training will be performed 3 times per week for 6 weeks with the training time for each visit set to 45 minutes as tolerated. Data collection will proceed until 36 subjects from 2 groups have been trained.

This experimental trial is investigating the use of magnetic stimulation of the brain as a possible treatment for people with post-stroke fatigue. Fatigue is a common condition after a stroke and can negatively impact an individual's ability to perform desired social and physical activities. Magnetic stimulation of the brain has been shown to improve signs and symptoms of related psychological (e.g., depression) conditions. Participants in this trial will receive a type of magnetic stimulation called repetitive magnetic stimulation, or rTMS. The investigators will measure feelings of fatigue, and other clinical characteristics related to mood and cognition, before and after participants receive rTMS.

The aim of the study is to develop and scientifically substantiate a standardized system of multimodal cognitive-motor rehabilitation and its differentiated application in patients with cerebral stroke, according to verified rehabilitation potential based on the patient's rehabilitation model for the stages of medical rehabilitation, including inpatient-replacement technologies