NeuroRehabilitation
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialFeasibility of using high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to enhance treatment outcomes in persons with aphasia.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances treatment outcomes post-stroke. Feasibility and tolerability of high-definition (HD) tDCS (a technique that increases current focality and intensity) for consecutive weekdays as an adjuvant to behavioral treatment in a clinical population has not been demonstrated. ⋯ Regarding feasibility, HD-tDCS treatment studies can be implemented when designed similarly to documented CS-tDCS studies. HD-tDCS is likely to be acceptable to patients and clinicians. Preliminary efficacy data suggest that HD-tDCS effects, using only 4 electrodes, are at least comparable to CS-tDCS.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2015
Long-term effects of contralesional rTMS in severe stroke: safety, cortical excitability, and relationship with transcallosal motor fibers.
Contralesional hemispheric repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may improve motor function in mild to moderate stroke and effects are considered to be mediated through transcallosal motor fibers. ⋯ Our results suggest that noninvasive neuromodulation of the contralesional hemisphere may present a possibility to assist adaptive neuroplastic changes in severe chronic stroke. Implementation of DTI-derived measures of transcallosal microstructural integrity may allow for individually-tailored interventions to guide processes of interhemispheric neuroplasticity. Further research is warranted to establish the clinical value of these findings in neurorehabilitation settings for subjects with chronic severe stroke.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2015
ReviewComprehensive rehabilitative care across the spectrum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) is a neurodegenerative disease that results in progressive muscle weakness and wasting. There is no known cure and the disease is uniformly fatal. ⋯ Patient-centered, multidisciplinary care has a significant impact on the life of people with ALS and is the current standard of care for this patient population.
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NeuroRehabilitation · Jan 2015
Dysarthria and dysphagia in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis with spinal onset: a study of quality of life related to swallowing.
Dysarthria and dysphagia are the most common clinical problems encountered in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and may reduce the quality of life. ⋯ Dysarthria and dysphagia were common symptoms in patients with spinal onset of ALS and the swallowing quality of life decrease was directly related to with severity of dysarthria and dysphagia.
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Sleep disorders and nocturnal hypoxia are common in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with a poor functional outcome in stroke patients. ⋯ This study showed that nocturnal oxygen saturation was not associated with functional outcome in therehabilitation phase of stroke patients.