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Neurological research

Everything we have read on neurological. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

2,792 PAPERS · PAGE 15 OF 56 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTRCT2019Effects of Training for Finger Perception on Functional Recovery of Hemiplegic Upper Limbs in Acute Stroke Patients.Occupational therapy internationalAdding 20 minutes of finger perception training to standard stroke rehabilitation improved tactile sensitivity and the speed of manipulating small objects. Grip strength and large object handling did not improve. The benefit was seen in patients who already had higher levels of motor recovery.
• OTOther2019Psychometric Properties of the Korean Dispositional Hope Scale Using the Rasch Analysis in Stroke Patients.Occupational therapy internationalThe Korean Dispositional Hope Scale appeared suitable for community stroke patients who completed the scale. Eight items and the response options worked well, but 38.6% of participants were outside the scale's usable range.
• OTQualitative2019The Use of the Model of Occupational Self-Efficacy for Work Retraining: A Multiple Case Study.Occupational therapy internationalPeople with brain injury said occupational therapy work retraining helped them accept new abilities and practice real work. Stage two felt frustrating, and poverty, transport and scarce jobs limited progress.
• PTOTOther2020Precise quantification of the time course of voluntary activation capacity following Botulinum toxin injections in the biceps brachii muscles of chronic stroke survivors.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBotulinum toxin injections in stroke survivors caused a 50% drop in elbow force within two weeks, with only partial recovery by twelve weeks. Muscle electrical activity remained 35% below baseline, indicating lasting weakness that clinical spasticity scores missed.
• OTRCT2019The Priming Effects of Mirror Visual Feedback on Bilateral Task Practice: A Randomized Controlled Study.Occupational therapy internationalAdding mirror visual feedback to bilateral arm training did not improve motor function more than training alone. However, patients using the mirror showed significant gains in self-perceived quality of life and a trend toward better temperature sensation, suggesting the visual illusion may help with sensory and emotional recovery rather than just movement.
• PTOTRCT2020Cortical priming strategies for gait training after stroke: a controlled, stratified trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationHigh-intensity treadmill training improved walking speed and endurance in all groups, but adding cortical priming did not enhance these gains. One subgroup showed brain excitability changes, but this did not translate to better walking performance.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2020Post-stroke dysphagia: An exploration of initial identification and management performed by nurses and doctors.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir KommunikasieafwykingsNurses and doctors mostly used informal observation to spot swallowing problems, often missing key signs like voice changes or voluntary cough. They also reported using unsafe practices like syringe feeding and prescribing exercises outside their scope. This highlights a need for better training and formal screening tools.
• PTOTPilot2020Can kinematic parameters of 3D reach-to-target movements be used as a proxy for clinical outcome measures in chronic stroke rehabilitation? An exploratory study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobot-assisted arm therapy improved clinical scores in 10 chronic stroke survivors, but arm movement smoothness and range did not change consistently. Kinematic tracking failed to mirror clinical gains, suggesting it cannot yet replace standard assessments for measuring recovery.
• PTOTCohort2020Changes in social participation and life-space mobility in newly enrolled home-based rehabilitation users over 6 months.Journal of physical therapy scienceOver 6 months, 47 newly enrolled home-based rehabilitation users had better social participation and wider life-space mobility. Motor independence improved at 3 months. No control group, so changes cannot be attributed to the service.
• PTOTRCT2020Feasibility and potential effects of using the electro-dress Mollii on spasticity and functioning in chronic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationUsing the Mollii suit at home for 6 weeks was feasible and reduced wrist spasticity measured by NeuroFlexor, but did not change spasticity assessed by the Modified Ashworth Scale. Fugl-Meyer sensorimotor scores improved, while walking speed, balance, and self-reported function remained unchanged.
• PTOTSLPPilot2019Impact of deep brain stimulation on people with Parkinson's disease: A mixed methods feasibility study exploring lifespace and community outcomes.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTDeep brain stimulation helped most people with Parkinson's reduce symptoms, but life satisfaction and community movement varied widely. Some felt better while others stopped valued activities. GPS tracking showed movement increased even when patients felt they stayed home.
• PTOTRCT2020Neurocognitive robot-assisted rehabilitation of hand function: a randomized control trial on motor recovery in subacute stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationReplacing one daily hand therapy session with robot-assisted training achieved motor recovery equivalent to standard care. Both groups improved similarly. The robot did not prove superior, but it matched conventional therapy while remaining acceptable to patients.
• PTOTCohort2020Pushing the Rehabilitation Boundaries: Hand Motor Impairment Can Be Reduced in Chronic Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIntensive multi-finger pressing training improved finger independence and hand function in 18 adults with chronic stroke, especially pinch, with gains still present at 6 months, though there was no control group.
• PTOTPilot2020Metrics extracted from a single wearable sensor during sit-stand transitions relate to mobility impairment and fall risk in people with multiple sclerosis.Gait & postureAdding a single thigh sensor to the 30-second chair stand test helped identify people with multiple sclerosis at risk of falls more accurately than counting repetitions alone. The sensor captured how slowly and cautiously participants stood up, which correlated with balance confidence and fatigue scores.
• OTOther2020Occupational Therapy Goal Achievement for People with Stroke: A Retrospective Study.Occupational therapy internationalMost goals written for stroke patients were not functional and lacked specific details like timeframes. Only 54% of goals were achieved. Therapists should write SMART goals focusing on daily activities to improve outcomes.
• OTOther2020A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study of Manipulative Dexterity on Different Subtypes of Multiple Sclerosis.Occupational therapy internationalPeople with relapsing-remitting, primary progressive and secondary progressive MS all showed poor hand dexterity. Subtype differences were not clear except on one hand test. A hand test predicted up to 21.8% of how able participants felt in daily tasks.
• PTOTCohort2020Characteristics Associated with the Differential Activity of Nondominant and Dominant Affected Hands in Patients with Poststroke Right Hemiparesis.Occupational therapy internationalStroke survivors whose dominant hand was affected used their non-affected hand significantly more than their paretic hand, creating strong asymmetry. However, standard clinical scores for motor function and self-reported use did not correlate with this real-world activity imbalance measured by wearable sensors.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Neurosurgery guidelines for the care of people with spina bifida.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineMost neurosurgical care for spina bifida relies on expert consensus rather than high-quality evidence. Therapists should monitor for shunt failure and tethered cord signs like pain or lost milestones, as clinical decline can occur even when brain imaging looks stable.
• PTOTCohort2020Interaction between locomotion and three subcategories for patients with stroke demonstrating fewer than 37 points on the total functional independence measure upon admission to the recovery ward.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn severe stroke patients, walking ability did not improve all self-care equally. Greater gains in walking were linked to better dressing and toileting, but not eating or bathing. Therapists should target specific self-care tasks rather than assuming walking training fixes them all.
• PTOTOther2020Comparing Home Upper Extremity Activity with Clinical Evaluations of Arm Function in Chronic Stroke.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationHome accelerometer data correlated with clinical arm impairment scores, but not consistently with self-reported use. Some patients with good clinical scores used their affected arm very little at home. Clinical tests alone may miss habitual non-use.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Community Rehabilitation Outcomes for Different Stroke Diagnoses: An Observational Cohort Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn 61 adults, 12 months of staged community stroke rehabilitation improved overall function, abilities and participation, but not mood and interpersonal adjustment. Stroke type shaped which areas improved and where deficits remained.
• PTOTPilot2020Developing a Facilitators Scale in the Context of Travel: ReTRIP.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationA new scale for people with spinal cord injury separates travel barriers into two distinct types: what the industry provides (accessibility, staff help) and what the individual brings (planning, problem-solving). These two factors are weakly linked, meaning you should assess them separately rather than combining them into a single score.
• PTOTCohort2020Relationship between upper limb motor function and activities of daily living after removing the influence of lower limb motor function in subacute patients with stroke: A cross-sectional study.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTUpper limb motor function correlates with total ADL independence, but this link weakens significantly once lower limb function is accounted for. Only specific self-care tasks and stair climbing remain associated with upper limb strength after removing lower limb influence.
• OTCase Report2020Prism adaptation treatment for spatial neglect post brain tumour removal: A case report.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTA woman with left spatial neglect after brain tumour surgery tolerated prism adaptation during occupational therapy. Some neglect measures improved, especially daily function, but one case cannot show the treatment caused the change.
• OTPilot2020Effects of peripheral nerve stimulation on paralysed upper limb functional recovery in chronic stroke patients undergoing low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and occupational therapy: A pilot study.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTAdding peripheral nerve stimulation to occupational therapy improved hand motor scores, but the primary measure of functional object manipulation showed no difference between groups. The benefit was seen only in a secondary hand-specific test.
• OTRCT2021Cognitive oriented strategy training augmented rehabilitation (COSTAR) for ischemic stroke: a pilot exploratory randomized controlled study.Disability and rehabilitationAdding cognitive strategy training to task-specific stroke rehab showed no advantage over task-specific training alone. Both groups improved similarly on primary outcomes, though dropout was high. The added cognitive components did not produce measurable gains in activity performance or maintenance at follow-up.
• PTOTCohort2021Sociodemographic and clinical correlates of device-measured sedentary behaviour in multiple sclerosis.Disability and rehabilitationPeople with MS spend nearly 9 hours a day sedentary. Those who are older, have progressive MS, or higher disability spend even more time sitting in long, uninterrupted bouts. Self-report likely underestimates this burden, so objective monitoring is needed to target interventions.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Behavior Problems Following Childhood TBI: The Role of Sex, Age, and Time Since Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationLow family income predicted behavior problems more strongly than injury severity did. Girls injured in adolescence showed higher attention and externalizing symptoms than boys. Social competence improved as time passed, but early deficits were common.
• OTOther2020Dynamic changes in seating pressure gradient in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.Assistive technology : the official journal of RESNAReclining a power wheelchair from 10 to 30 degrees lowered the steepness of pressure differences under the sit bones. Tilting from 15 to 35 degrees changed the direction of those differences. The study did not test pressure ulcer prevention.
• PTOTCohort2020Individualized OnabotulinumtoxinA Treatment for Upper Limb Spasticity Resulted in High Clinician- and Patient-Reported Satisfaction: Long-Term Observational Results from the ASPIRE Study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost clinicians and patients were satisfied with onabotulinumtoxinA for adult upper limb spasticity, and reported difficulty with dressing, hygiene, posture and pain improved. Treatment varied widely, so this describes real-world use, not proof of benefit.
• OTCase Series2020Feasibility of an iterative rehabilitation intervention for stroke delivered remotely using mobile health technology.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyFive chronic stroke survivors used a mobile app to practice goal-setting strategies remotely. Participants reported high satisfaction and felt understood by therapists, with no adverse events. The study adapted the intervention protocol but did not test whether the approach improves function or reduces disability.
• PTOTCohortHealth Phenotypes and Neurobehavioral Symptom Severity Among Post-9/11 Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium Study.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationAmong post-9/11 Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury, symptom burden varied by health phenotype. Polytrauma and Moderately Healthy+Decline groups reported more severe symptoms and daily-life interference than Moderately Healthy, especially affective symptoms.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Association of formal and informal care with health-related quality of life and depressive symptoms: findings from the Caring for Adults Recovering from the Effects of Stroke study.Disability and rehabilitationStroke survivors receiving only informal care reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than those receiving no care. Shared care involving both formal and informal sources showed no difference in depression or quality of life compared to no care, despite the shared care group having more severe strokes.
• OTCase Report2021Testing of a 3D printed hand exoskeleton for an individual with stroke: a case study.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyA 3D-printed passive exoskeleton helped one stroke survivor extend his hand and grasp blocks with a normal pinch, rather than wedging them between fingers. The device scored well for usability, but this single case cannot prove it works for other patients.
• PTOTRCT2021The Effect of Repeated abobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport®) Injections on Walking Velocity in Persons with Spastic Hemiparesis Caused by Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationRepeated lower-limb abobotulinumtoxinA injections were associated with higher walking speed, step length, and cadence after four injections in chronic spastic hemiparesis. Walking was not the primary outcome, and this was a before-after analysis.
• OTOther2020TBI-CareQOL family disruption: Family disruption in caregivers of persons with TBI.Rehabilitation psychologyA brief caregiver questionnaire consistently measured family disruption among TBI caregivers. Higher scores mean more interference in family life, and caregivers of low-functioning persons with TBI reported more disruption.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Spirituality and outcomes in caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI).Rehabilitation psychologyCaregivers with a stronger sense of life purpose and meaning coped better with the stress of caring for someone with severe brain injury. This existential well-being buffered the negative impact of the patient's disability on the caregiver's mental health more effectively than religious well-being did.
• OTSLPOther2020Assessing vigilance in caregivers after traumatic brain injury: TBI-CareQOL Caregiver Vigilance.Rehabilitation psychologyA new 6-item questionnaire measures the constant alertness caregivers of people with brain injury feel. It takes less than a minute to complete and reliably scores how much vigilance is impairing the caregiver's quality of life, distinguishing those caring for individuals with more severe disability.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Severity of Traumatic Brain Injury in Older Adults and Risk of Ischemic Stroke and Depression.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationIn older adults with traumatic brain injury, high injury severity was associated with a much higher risk of ischemic stroke but not depression. Stroke risk was 6.68 times higher in the severe group. This suggests monitoring for stroke, not mood, based on injury severity.
• PTOTQualitative2020Examining daily physical activity in community-dwelling adults with stroke using social cognitive theory: an exploratory, qualitative study.Disability and rehabilitationStroke survivors valued independence above all else. They built confidence by mastering small tasks. They managed barriers by planning and tracking steps. Family support helped, but overprotectiveness was a major barrier. Therapists should help patients negotiate boundaries with family to maintain autonomy.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Differential Effects of Time to Initiation of Therapy on Disability and Quality of Life in Patients With Mild and Moderate to Severe Ischemic Stroke.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationIn adults with stroke or TIA, longer time to therapy consult was associated with worse 30-day disability and self-reported function. In mild stroke, consult time also related to cognitive concerns; in moderate to severe stroke, treatment time related to mobility and disability.
• OTQualitative2020Severity of military traumatic brain injury influences caregiver health-related quality of life.Rehabilitation psychologyCaregivers of service members with moderate, severe, or penetrating brain injury described higher stress, less personal time, and family strain than caregivers of those with mild or uncertain severity. This was in 30 caregivers.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021A Systematic Review of the Incidence, Prevalence, Costs, and Activity and Work Limitations of Amputation, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Back Pain, Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke, and Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: A 2019 Update.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationBack pain affected 33.9% of US adults in the past 3 months, osteoarthritis affected 32.5 million adults, and older adults with stroke were 65 to 121 percent more likely to need help with daily activities.
• PTOTSLPOther2020Factors associated with depressive symptoms of carepartners of stroke survivors after discharge from rehabilitation therapy.Topics in stroke rehabilitationStroke caregivers with more depressive symptoms provided less autonomy support to survivors during home exercises. Depression was also linked to higher fatigue, worse family functioning, and more survivor memory problems. These associations were found in a small group of mostly white, educated spouses.
• PTOTCase Report2020Oxygen Consumption While Walking With Multijoint Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation After Stroke.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationIn one stroke survivor, implanted multi-joint electrical stimulation doubled walking speed. While total oxygen consumption increased, the energy cost per meter walked decreased. This suggests the faster walking was more efficient, though the effort required was higher.
• PTOTCohort2020Day-of-Injury Computed Tomography and Longitudinal Rehabilitation Outcomes: A Comparison of the Marshall and Rotterdam Computed Tomography Scoring Methods.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationMarshall and Rotterdam CT scores did not predict functional recovery at rehab discharge or later. They did predict rehab stay, but no single CT score clearly separated from the others.
• PTOTOther2021Reliability and Validity of a New Toileting Assessment Form for Patients with Hemiparetic Stroke.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationA new 24-item toileting form for stroke patients was scored consistently by therapists and matched existing FIM toileting ratings, but it was tested only on 30 simulated videos in one hospital.
• PTOTOther2021Reliability and Validity of a New Transfer Assessment Form for Stroke Patients.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationThe new Bed-wheelchair transfer Tasks Assessment Form breaks transferring into 25 subtasks, letting therapists pinpoint exactly where a patient needs help. It showed good reliability among raters and identified specific problem steps that standard global scores miss.
• PTOTSLPCohort2020Relationship Satisfaction and Depression After Traumatic Brain Injury: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model of Patients and Caregivers in Mexico and Colombia.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationHigher relationship satisfaction during hospitalization predicted lower depression two months later for both patients and caregivers. Caregiver depression at two months also predicted lower relationship satisfaction at four months. These links were strongest when patients reported high satisfaction.
• OTSurvey2020Do emotional distress and functional problems in persons with traumatic brain injury contribute to perceived sleep-related impairment in caregivers?Rehabilitation psychologyCaregivers of service members and veterans with traumatic brain injury reported more sleep impairment than civilian caregivers. In civilian dyads, patient thinking and arm function were linked to caregiver sleep impairment; in military dyads, patient anger was linked.