BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several studies have investigated the effect of therapeutic interventions for the arm in the acute phase after stroke, with follow-ups at a maximum of 12 months. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of repetitive sensorimotor training of the arm at 5 years after stroke. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred consecutive stroke patients were randomly allocated either to an experimental group that received daily additional sensorimotor stimulation of the arm or to a control group. The intervention period was 6 weeks. Assessments of the patients were made before, midway, and after intervention, and at 6 and 12 months after stroke. In this study, 62 patients were reassessed at 5 years after stroke. The Brunnström-Fugl-Meyer (BFM) test, Action Research Arm (ARA) test, and Barthel index (BI) were used as the primary outcome measures. RESULTS: At the 5-year follow-up, there was a statistically significant difference for both the BFM and ARA tests in favor of the experimental group. The mean differences in improvement between the groups from the initial evaluation to the 5-year assessment corresponded to 17 points on the BFM and 17.4 on the ARA. No effect was found for the BI. The treatment was most effective in patients with a severe initial motor deficit. CONCLUSIONS: Adding a specific intervention for the arm during the acute phase after a stroke resulted in a clinically meaningful and long-lasting effect on motor function. The effect can be attributed to early, repetitive, and targeted stimulation.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several studies have investigated the effect of therapeutic interventions for the arm in the acute phase after stroke, with follow-ups at a maximum of 12 months. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of repetitive sensorimotor training of the arm at 5 years after stroke. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred consecutive strokepatients were randomly allocated either to an experimental group that received daily additional sensorimotor stimulation of the arm or to a control group. The intervention period was 6 weeks. Assessments of the patients were made before, midway, and after intervention, and at 6 and 12 months after stroke. In this study, 62 patients were reassessed at 5 years after stroke. The Brunnström-Fugl-Meyer (BFM) test, Action Research Arm (ARA) test, and Barthel index (BI) were used as the primary outcome measures. RESULTS: At the 5-year follow-up, there was a statistically significant difference for both the BFM and ARA tests in favor of the experimental group. The mean differences in improvement between the groups from the initial evaluation to the 5-year assessment corresponded to 17 points on the BFM and 17.4 on the ARA. No effect was found for the BI. The treatment was most effective in patients with a severe initial motor deficit. CONCLUSIONS: Adding a specific intervention for the arm during the acute phase after a stroke resulted in a clinically meaningful and long-lasting effect on motor function. The effect can be attributed to early, repetitive, and targeted stimulation.
Authors: Daniel K Zondervan; Renee Augsburger; Barbara Bodenhoefer; Nizan Friedman; David J Reinkensmeyer; Steven C Cramer Journal: Neurorehabil Neural Repair Date: 2014-10-01 Impact factor: 3.919
Authors: Bruce T Volpe; Patricio T Huerta; Johanna L Zipse; Avrielle Rykman; Dylan Edwards; Laura Dipietro; Neville Hogan; Hermano I Krebs Journal: Arch Neurol Date: 2009-09
Authors: Bruce T Volpe; Daniel Lynch; Avrielle Rykman-Berland; Mark Ferraro; Michael Galgano; Neville Hogan; Hermano I Krebs Journal: Neurorehabil Neural Repair Date: 2008-01-09 Impact factor: 3.919