Motor and cognitive impairment after stroke.

Cognitive abilities have great impact on rehabilitation program in stroke patients. Therefore, fast and practical psychometric assessment as an indicator of individual rehabilitation program is of great importance. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare motor and cognitive impairment in stroke patients in acute, subacute and chronic phase of the disease, taking age, sex, education, stroke risk factors, lateralization and type of stroke in consideration. The study included 50 stroke patients, 33 male and 17 female. Ischemic stroke was diagnosed in 78% and hemorrhagic stroke in 22% of patients. Hypertension was the leading stroke risk factor in 82% of patients. Cognitive impairment in acute, subacute and chronic phase of the disease was noticed in 12% of stroke patients with ischemia in the left brain hemisphere, mMMSE average score 31 and SKT score 19, IQ under 90. Better motor recovery in acute and subacute phase of stroke was followed by better cognitive status. All cognitively impaired stroke patients had low level of education, some had accomplished elementary education and others had not, all much below the dementia risk age of 75 years. Exclusion of patients with severe stroke from the study led to overestimation of the results. Finally, a coherent algorithm for somatic and cognitive stroke assessment in stroke patients poses itself as an imperative as a guideline for plastic, individualized and appropriate rehabilitation.