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Title
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Early and repetitive stimulation of the arm can substantially improve the long-term outcome after stroke : a 5-year follow-up study of a randomized trial
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Author
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Abstract
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| 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 Brunnstrom-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. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation / American Heart Association. - New York, N.Y.
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Publication
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New York, N.Y.
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2004
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ISSN
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0039-2499
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DOI
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10.1161/01.STR.0000121645.44752.F7
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Volume/pages
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35
:4
(2004)
, p. 924-929
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ISI
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000220450400023
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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