TOPIC

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.

3,875 PAPERS · PAGE 15 OF 78 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOther2018Children With Cerebral Palsy Have Greater Stride-to-Stride Variability of Muscle Synergies During Gait Than Typically Developing Children: Implications for Motor Control Complexity.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairChildren with cerebral palsy show greater stride-to-stride variability in muscle synergy patterns than typically developing peers. Their walking uses fewer total synergies but distributes them across more inconsistent structures, suggesting less stable motor control rather than just weaker muscles.
• PTOTRCT2018Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation plus tracking training therapy in people with stroke: an open-label feasibility study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSix people with chronic stroke safely completed home-based tDCS and finger tracking. All participants could set up the equipment and recommended the program. However, the intervention did not improve motor or cognitive function, likely because the five short sessions were insufficient for efficacy.
• PTCase Report2018Long-term sustained effect of gait training using a hybrid assistive limb on gait stability via prevention of knee collapse in a patient with cerebral palsy: a case report.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn one adolescent with cerebral palsy, 12 hybrid assistive limb sessions plus conventional physical therapy were followed by less knee collapse at 8 months, while gross motor function classification level stayed III. This describes one person, not proof the robot caused change.
• PTOTCohort2018Improved quality of life following constraint-induced movement therapy is associated with gains in arm use, but not motor improvement.Topics in stroke rehabilitationAfter constraint-induced movement therapy, better daily use of the weaker arm tracked with better quality of life. Objective motor test gains did not track the same way, so carry-over into everyday tasks may matter more than test scores alone.
• PTRCT2018Vision-based assessment of parkinsonism and levodopa-induced dyskinesia with pose estimation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn nine people with Parkinson’s disease and troublesome dyskinesia, a camera-based system estimated dyskinesia severity from videos of selected tasks. It worked better for talking tasks than drinking tasks and poorly identified normal movement, so it is not ready for clinical use.
• PTOther2019Distinct Patterns of Fiber Type Adaptation in Rat Hindlimb Muscles 4 Weeks After Hemorrhagic Stroke.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationFour weeks after hemorrhagic stroke, rats had persistent stepping errors and tibialis anterior muscle shifts toward slower fibers, without general muscle atrophy. This is animal physiology, not evidence that any therapy works.
• PTOTRCT2018Dissociating motor learning from recovery in exoskeleton training post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationMovement smoothness during Armeo Spring training improved in a fast phase and a slow phase. The early fast change was not a good marker of reduced impairment; only the slower change was associated with Fugl-Meyer score improvement. Initial exoskeleton scores are poor recovery markers.
• PTNarrative Review2018Wearable Movement Sensors for Rehabilitation: A Focused Review of Technological and Clinical Advances.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationWearable movement sensors can track gait and activity outside clinics, but their clinical use is uneven and many devices lack validation. Check the specific sensor before relying on it.
• PTOTNarrative Review2018Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Poststroke Motor Recovery: Challenges and Opportunities.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationtDCS is not ready for routine poststroke motor recovery. The review says efficacy data are mixed, optimal dose is unclear, and patient selection, safety, and trial design issues remain.
• PTRCT2018The effects of mirror neuron system-based self-observation training on lower limb muscle activity and dynamic balance in patients with chronic stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceAdding video self-observation to general rehabilitation increased lower limb muscle activity and improved timed walking and balance tests more than general rehabilitation alone, in chronic stroke patients who could walk without assistance.
• PTOTOther2018Differences in activities of daily living between people with subacute stroke who received knee-ankle-foot and ankle-foot orthoses at admission.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke inpatients prescribed KAFO were more dependent in daily activities at admission than those prescribed AFO. Bed, chair and wheelchair transfer scores, lower-limb motor stage and total independence were linked to which orthosis was chosen.
• PTOTSurvey2019Sex/gender disparities in health outcomes of individuals with long-term disabling conditions.Rehabilitation psychologyAmong adults with long-term disabling conditions, physical function and depressive symptoms varied by age, and women reported more severe fatigue and pain than men. Younger women functioned better, older women worse, and women aged 45 to 54 reported more depressive symptoms.
• PTOther2019Differences in Glucose Metabolism Among Women With Spinal Cord Injury May Not Be Fully Explained by Variations in Body Composition.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationWomen with tetraplegia handled a glucose drink worse than women with paraplegia or able-bodied controls, even after accounting for body fat and lean mass. No treatment was tested.
• PTOther2018Test-retest reliability of physiotherapists using the action research arm test in chronic stroke.Journal of physical therapy sciencePhysiotherapists scoring a videotaped chronic stroke patient twice with ARAT produced closely related scores and little average change. This supports stable scoring, not proof of patient improvement or wider generalisability.
• PTOther2018Limping on split-belt treadmills implies opposite kinematic and dynamic lower limb asymmetries.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptationThe faster leg on split-belt treadmills took longer steps but also produced more ankle power earlier, while the slower leg produced less power. Step asymmetry alone may not show whether ankle work is balanced.
• PTCohort2018Relationship between outcome in acute stroke patients and multiple stroke related scores obtained after onset of stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceEarly after stroke, NIHSS and mRS scores differed between home discharge and transfer groups. FIM differed between convalescence and hospital transfer at all times. Day 30 home versus transfer groups did not differ.
• PTRCT2018Effects of an underwear-type hip abduction orthosis on sitting balance and sit-to-stand activities in children with spastic cerebral palsy.Journal of physical therapy scienceWith eight children with spastic CP, wearing the hip orthosis improved dynamic sitting balance and sit-to-stand time, but static sitting balance was lower; total trunk impairment score was not significantly different. Small crossover trial, so not enough to change routine care.
• PTPilot2018Effect of ankle stretching combined with arm cycling on the improvement of calf muscle stiffness in patients with stroke: a pilot study.Journal of physical therapy scienceAdding assisted arm cycling to tilt-table ankle stretching reduced calf stiffness more than stretching alone, but range improvement did not differ and walking speed did not change in stroke patients continuing routine rehabilitation.
• PTOTRCT2018Development of a 3D, networked multi-user virtual reality environment for home therapy after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA 3D virtual reality system promoted arm movement comparable to standard exercises and was liked by participants, but they found it harder to understand and preferred simple home exercises. The technology shows promise for engagement but needs easier controls before it can replace standard care.
• PTCase-Control2019Lower limb muscle fatigue during walking in children with cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyDuring short walks, children with cerebral palsy showed larger fatigue signs in lower leg muscles than peers, especially the more affected leg. Upper leg muscles did not show fatigue. This is observational, not evidence strength training helps.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2019What factors affect clinical decision-making about access to stroke rehabilitation? A systematic review.Clinical rehabilitationClinicians deciding stroke rehabilitation access weighed age, dementia, pre and poststroke function, social support, motivation, expected discharge, bed shortages, and their own knowledge or gut instinct. No service reported using formal criteria.
• PTOther2019Repeatability of electromyography recordings and muscle synergies during gait among children with cerebral palsy.Gait & postureMuscle activity and groups of muscles activated together during gait were repeatable across two visits in 20 children with bilateral cerebral palsy. Step-to-step variation was still common, so very small changes between visits should not be treated as real movement changes.
• PTOTOther2018The Body Position Spatial Task, a Test of Whole-Body Spatial Cognition: Comparison Between Adults With and Without Parkinson Disease.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairThe Body Position Spatial Task did not distinguish adults with mild-moderate Parkinson disease from age-matched adults without Parkinson disease, although it was feasible and took 5 to 10 minutes.
• PTOther2019Relationship between subjective visual vertical and balance in individuals with multiple sclerosis.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyWith the rod alone, no balance score correlated with perceived vertical errors. With a tilted frame, larger errors correlated with worse balance scores in 20 people with MS and cerebellar signs.
• PTOTCohort2019Long-term course of difficulty in participation of individuals with cerebral palsy aged 16 to 34 years: a prospective cohort study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyDifficulty in participation increased in young adults with cerebral palsy during their mid-to-late 20s. While average scores remained high, many individuals reported trouble in housing, relationships, education, employment, and recreation, suggesting a need for targeted support during this transition.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2019Effect of continuous intrathecal baclofen therapy in children: a systematic review.Developmental medicine and child neurologyMost evidence is low quality. Spasticity and dystonia likely improve, but functional gains are small. Complications are common. Goals must be defined carefully for each child.
• PTOther2019Propulsive Forces Applied to the Body's Center of Mass Affect Metabolic Energetics Poststroke.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationA forward pull timed with paretic stance lowered walking energy cost by 12±5% in nine people with chronic stroke. A forward pull applied all the time did not help. This was lab assistance, not a proven therapy.
• PTCohort2019The transition between turning and sitting in patients with Parkinson's disease: A wearable device detects an unexpected sequence of events.Gait & postureMost participants with Parkinson’s disease overlapped turning and sitting during the Timed Up and Go. Longer overlap was linked to worse balance and gait difficulty, not to cognition or medication state.
• PTRCT2018Walking and balance outcomes for stroke survivors: a randomized clinical trial comparing body-weight-supported treadmill training with versus without challenging mobility skills.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding challenging mobility skills to hands-free body-weight-supported treadmill training did not improve walking speed more than hands-free training alone. Both groups improved walking speed and more participants were community or limited community ambulators after six weeks.
• PTOther2018Precise estimation of human corticospinal excitability associated with the levels of motor imagery-related EEG desynchronization extracted by a locked-in amplifier algorithm.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 17 healthy people, a new EEG signal-processing method tracked motor imagery brain activity more consistently than the usual FFT method. It did not test whether this improves stroke rehabilitation.
• PTOTSLPNarrative Review2019Paretic propulsion as a measure of walking performance and functional motor recovery post-stroke: A review.Gait & postureWalking speed alone can hide persistent weakness in the affected leg. Measuring how much of the forward push comes from the paretic side reveals true recovery. Therapies targeting this propulsion, not just speed, may better restore function.
• PTOTQualitative2019"Look, Your Muscles Are Firing!": A Qualitative Study of Clinician Perspectives on the Use of Surface Electromyography in Neurorehabilitation.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationClinicians rarely use surface EMG in neurorehabilitation, citing lack of time, training, and evidence. They want simple, waterproof, low-cost systems with intuitive apps that show patients early progress. Current tools fail to meet these needs, preventing routine clinical uptake.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2019Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Pediatric Motor Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationTranscranial direct current stimulation appears safe and tolerable for children with motor disorders. It improved some gait measures and reduced spasticity, but effects on balance, hand function, and daily activities were inconsistent or absent. Most studies were small and often combined tDCS with other therapies.
• PTOther2018Speed-adaptive control of functional electrical stimulation for dropfoot correction.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationSpeed-adaptive FES improved ankle dorsiflexion in post-stroke dropfoot without the push-off loss seen with standard heel-off triggering. However, standard triggering still produced greater maximum dorsiflexion than the speed-adaptive method.
• PTOTOther2018Manual wheelchair downhill stability: an analysis of factors affecting tip probability.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBump height, speed, and rear axle position drove downhill wheelchair tipping in simulations. Lowering the seat and reclining the backrest favoured rolling over or stopping, but recline increased backward tipping risk.
• PTOTOther2019Exercise and Parkinson Disease: Comparing Tango, Treadmill, and Stretching.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPTTreadmill walking improved forward and backward gait speed more than stretching or tango, but none of the changes across the three groups were large enough to be clinically meaningful for people with Parkinson disease.
• PTSLPQualitative2019A support programme for caregivers of children with disabilities in Ghana: Understanding the impact on the wellbeing of caregivers.Child: care, health and developmentCaregivers of children with cerebral palsy in Ghana said group training, monthly home visits and facilitator support were linked with greater understanding, changes in positioning, feeding and communication, and less isolation. Poverty and stigma still limited what they could do.
• PTOther2018Contribution of muscle activity at different gait phases for improving walking performance in chronic stroke patients with hemiparesis.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 40 chronic stroke walkers, more paretic-leg biceps femoris activity during swing was associated with faster walking, while more tibialis anterior activity was associated with slower walking. It does not show training these muscles changes speed.
• PTOTOther2018Differences in body awareness and its effects on balance function and independence in activities of daily living for stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke survivors with lower fall risk and less need for daily assistance reported higher body awareness. The study did not show that improving body awareness caused these differences.
• PTRCT2018On the design of EEG-based movement decoders for completely paralyzed stroke patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFor completely paralyzed stroke patients, decoding movement intention from brain signals works better than from muscle signals. The best brain-decoding setup used signals from both hemispheres, a common average reference filter, and an adaptive classifier, though this improved accuracy offline without yet proving better motor recovery.
• PTRCT2018Different Error Size During Locomotor Adaptation Affects Transfer to Overground Walking Poststroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairRaising one treadmill belt speed gradually, rather than suddenly, produced greater transfer to overground walking in people after stroke. Treadmill learning was similar, and the overground change was small and variable.
• PTCase-Control2019Non-motor predictors of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease.Gait & postureDaytime sleepiness and symbol digit test scores predicted freezing four years later. Anxiety and depression did not predict freezing when motor severity was matched.
• PTOTRCT2018Kinect-based assessment of proximal arm non-use after a stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA marker-less Kinect sensor measured proximal arm non-use in stroke survivors with good accuracy compared to a reference system. It reliably tracked shoulder and elbow movement reserve, offering a low-cost, easy-to-set-up alternative for clinical assessment.
• PTRCT2018Overground walking patterns after chronic incomplete spinal cord injury show distinct response patterns to unloading.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 12 people with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury who could walk at 2 km/h, overground unloading up to 50% changed walking timing and balance, but the way their leg joints moved together stayed more fixed than in controls.
• PTOther2018Biomechanical Evaluation of Virtual Reality-based Turning on a Self-Paced Linear Treadmill.Gait & postureNine of ten healthy adults initiated turning on a VR treadmill. Head rotation triggered the turn, but leg movements and muscle activity were significantly smaller than real-world turning. The system felt realistic but did not fully replicate overground mechanics.
• PTCase Report2018Effects of the combination therapy of tilt sensor functional electrical stimulation and integrated volitional control electrical stimulation on brain activity during the subacute phase following stroke: a feasibility study.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn a man with subacute stroke, usual therapy plus volitional-control and tilt-sensor FES was associated with faster walking and more cerebellum and supplementary motor area activation. This is a single case, not evidence that the treatment works.
• PTOTOther2018Relationships Between Affected-Leg Motor Impairment, Postural Asymmetry, and Impaired Body Sway Control After Unilateral Supratentorial Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairStroke survivors with good leg motor scores often still have asymmetric balance control. They shift weight to the less-affected leg to compensate. This hides the problem in standard walking tests. Therapists should suspect hidden deficits in complex tasks like single-leg stance or hopping.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2019Prevalence of five lifestyle risk factors among U.S. adults with and without stroke.Disability and health journalStroke survivors are significantly less likely to exercise, smoke, or eat poorly compared to those without stroke. They also cluster multiple risk factors, with higher rates of having 2 to 5 lifestyle risks, suggesting targeted prevention efforts are needed.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2019A systematic review of measures of adherence to physical exercise recommendations in people with stroke.Clinical rehabilitationNo validated tools exist to measure adherence to exercise after stroke. Clinicians currently rely on diaries and surveys with no proven accuracy. Do not assume patient-reported completion matches actual performance, as these methods lack evidence of validity.
• PTOther2019Measuring change in gait performance of children with motor disorders: assessing the Functional Mobility Scale and the Gillette Functional Assessment Questionnaire walking scale.Developmental medicine and child neurologyIn children with motor disorders in inpatient rehabilitation, the Functional Mobility Scale and Gillette walking scale could detect meaningful gait change. A meaningful change was at least one Functional Mobility Scale level or two Gillette walking scale levels.