BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Little is known about the effects of community-based walking programs in persons with chronic stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of aerobic (walking) training on functional status and health-related quality of life in stroke survivors. METHODS A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted. The intervention group (n=64) walked overg...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of repetitive locomotor training using a newly developed electromechanical gait device compared with treadmill training/gait training with respect to patient's ambulatory motor outcome, necessary personnel resources, and discomfort experienced by therapists and patients. METHODS Randomized, controlled, cross-over trial. Sixteen non-ambulatory patients a...

An overall measure of the recovery of visual neglect in patients with an acute stroke is described: The "Visual Neglect Recovery Inde" (VNRI) expresses the amount of visual neglect on a battery of visual neglect tests as a percentage of complete recovery from the maximal visual neglect measurable. The principles underlying the development of the index are similar to those involved in the develo...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE child development is negatively influenced by multiple risk factors associated with poverty, thus indicating the importance of identifying the most vulnerable groups within populations that are apparently homogeneous regarding their state of socioeconomic deprivation. This study aimed to identify different levels of poverty in a population of low socioeconomic condition an...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of gait training using body weight support on a treadmill compared with conventional gait training for people with subacute stroke who were unable to walk. METHODS This was a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial with a 6-month follow-up. Ninety-seven subjects were recruited within 6 weeks of stroke onset and were random...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of robot-assisted hand rehabilitation in improving arm function abilities in sub-acute hemiplegic patients. DESIGN Randomized controlled pilot study. SETTING Inpatient rehabilitation centers. PARTICIPANTS Thirty hemiplegic stroke patients (Ashworth spasticity index <3) were recruited and randomly divided into ...

Although visual neglect is a predictor of poor outcome after stroke, some patients regain independence, whilst others take up considerable rehabilitation resources. Intensive treatment of visual neglect is available and a knowledge of the predictive features in the recovery of these patients would be helpful in the early selection of patients for treatment. A study was therefore carried out to ...

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in the early diagnosis of pyramidal tract Wallerian degeneration (WD) and assessment of neurological recovery following cerebral infarction. This study included 23 patients with acute cerebral infarction and 10 healthy adult controls. All participants underwent both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DTI ...

This study's aims were (1) to test whether training on an arm ergometer improves motor performance, and (2) to develop a technique to quantify individual muscle spasticity. Nine patients with a stabilized hemisyndrome (in average 22 months after ischemic stroke in the territory of middle cerebral artery) underwent a 3-week training on an arm ergometer, 5 days/week. The patients were tested one ...