International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift für Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de réadaptation
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Case Reports
Phonemic fluency improved after inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation in a case of chronic aphasia.
Twenty-six months after a left hemispheric ischemic stroke an aphasic patient showed a significant improvement in verbal fluency following ten daily sessions of inhibitory 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right cortex homologous to the Broca's area. No improvement was observed for other linguistic functions or for executive ones. Results confirm the segregation of neural circuitries subtending phonemic and semantic fluency and suggest a selective usefulness of the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Clinical study of combined mirror and extracorporeal shock wave therapy on upper limb spasticity in poststroke patients.
Mirror therapy is a simple, inexpensive, and patient-oriented method that has been shown to reduce phantom sensations and pain caused by amputation and improve range of motion, speed, and accuracy of arm movement and function. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a new, reversible, and noninvasive method for the treatment of spasticity after stroke. To investigate the therapeutic effect of the combination of mirror and extracorporeal shock wave therapy on upper limb spasticity in poststroke patients. ⋯ Motor recovery and spasticity were measured using Fugl-Meyer assessment and modified Ashworth scale. The differences in the Fugl-Meyer assessment and modified Ashworth scale scores in group C were significantly greater than those of group D at all observed time points after treatment and were significantly greater than those of groups A and B (P<0.05), but no significant differences were observed between groups A and B until 12 months. Upper extremity spasticity was improved by combined mirror and ESWT.