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 43 OF 78 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTPilot2022Exploring Force Production Reliability across Different Levels of Clinical Experience during a Simulated One-handed Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization Treatment: A Pilot Study.International journal of sports physical therapyIn 10 trained participants, IASTM force was similar across two lab sessions, but this tested force consistency, not patient pain or function. Do not assume one instrument or training produces clinically effective force.
• PTOTRCT2023Assessment of muscle fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients in electromyographic examinations.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineDuring wrist fatigue tests, healthy people increased muscle signal amplitude to maintain force, but people with MS decreased it. This suggests their muscles cannot recruit new units effectively. Therapists should not assume standard EMG fatigue patterns apply to MS patients.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2023Standardized tools for assessing balance and mobility in stroke clinical practice guidelines worldwide: A scoping review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesStroke guidelines worldwide rarely agree on which balance tests to use. When they do, they mostly list the Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go, and walk tests. These common tools miss reactive balance and cognitive challenges, and half the guidelines don't explain how they chose them.
• PTOTSLPCohortIntersectionality of Systemic Disadvantage on Mortality and Care Following TBI.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationOlder adults with TBI had significantly lower survival and less access to inpatient rehabilitation than younger White English speakers. Racial disparities in survival and opioid prescribing narrowed or disappeared after adjusting for injury severity, suggesting these gaps were driven by more severe injuries rather than bias.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Dynamics as a Bedside Test in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury to Assess Surgical Spinal Cord Decompression: Safety, Feasibility, and Proof-of-Concept.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairBedside cerebrospinal fluid pressure measurements were safe in 11 spinal cord injury patients. The test identified restricted fluid circulation in some cases, matching imaging findings. This small pilot suggests the method is feasible, but does not yet prove it improves clinical decisions or patient outcomes.
• PTOTCohort2023People with mild Parkinson's disease have impaired force production in upper limb muscles: A cross-sectional study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyPeople with mild Parkinson's disease have significantly weaker upper limb muscles than healthy age-matched adults, averaging 78% of normal force. Extensor muscles were the weakest. This deficit persists even when patients are physically active and on medication.
• PTOTCohort2023Principles into Practice: An Observational Study of Physiotherapists use of Motor Learning Principles in Stroke Rehabilitation.PhysiotherapyRoutine stroke physiotherapy sessions were short but mostly active. Therapists spoke constantly, averaging a new statement every ten seconds, and rarely used external focus or specific feedback. High repetition was uncommon except during walking, leaving little quiet time for learning.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2023Patient Reported Outcome Measures in Dysphagia Research Following Stroke: A Scoping Review and Qualitative Analysis.DysphagiaMost stroke dysphagia trials ignore patient experience. The two common tools miss environmental barriers like support and attitudes. Use them with caution, knowing they do not capture the social impact of swallowing problems.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Participation of children and young people with cerebral palsy in activities of daily living in rural Uganda.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with cerebral palsy in rural Uganda attended fewer daily activities than peers and were less involved when present. Community activities showed the largest gaps. Severe motor limitations predicted lower participation, but age and sex did not.
• PTOTCohort2023Validating stroke-induced bilateral ankle coordination deficits using bilateral ankle measure relationship with motor functions in lower limbs.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with chronic stroke showed unstable bilateral ankle coordination on a novel sensor task. Poorer coordination correlated with slower walking and worse balance, suggesting that assessing and training coordination in both paretic and non-paretic ankles may be relevant to lower-limb function.
• PTOTOther2023Validity of Novel Outcome Measures for Hand Function Performance After Stroke Using Egocentric Video.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairHand use ratios from head-mounted cameras correlated strongly with self-reported hand function in stroke survivors. However, hand role ratios did not correlate with any clinical measures. The camera method validates how much the hand is used, but not how it is used.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2023Transition to adult services experienced by young people with cerebral palsy: A cross-sectional study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyMost young people with cerebral palsy did not experience key transition practices. Only 13% had a written plan, 16% met the adult team, and 10% knew their GP got a discharge letter. Services reported providing these practices more often than young people experienced them.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2023Clinical Predictors of Dysphagia Recovery After Stroke: A Systematic Review.DysphagiaPenetration or aspiration on instrumental assessment, older age, bilateral lesions, high NIHSS stroke severity, and initial low Functional Oral Intake Scale scores consistently predict persistent dysphagia after stroke. Intubation and tracheostomy also predict poor recovery. The evidence is limited by heterogeneous definitions of recovery and mostly retrospective designs.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Functional connectivity of proximal and distal lower limb muscles and impact on gait variability in stroke.Gait & postureStroke survivors with stronger brain-to-muscle signals to the thigh compared to the shin showed more inconsistent step lengths. These brain signals did not predict variability in step timing. This links specific neural patterns to spatial gait instability.
• PTOTSLPOther2023An immersive virtual reality system for ecological assessment of peripersonal and extrapersonal unilateral spatial neglect.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationHealthy adults completed an immersive virtual reality test of spatial attention. They found it comfortable and enjoyable, with the far-space version preferred. However, they showed a natural bias to look left. This tool is not yet validated for detecting neglect in patients.
• PTOTCohort2023Stroke and activity limitation in Chinese adults 65 Years or older.Disability and health journalOlder Chinese adults with stroke had markedly higher rates of needing help with daily tasks than those with other conditions. They were four times more likely to have severe activity limitations than healthy peers. IADL issues were common across all groups.
• PTCohort2023Retrospective Cohort Study of Patient-Reported Urinary Tract Infection Signs and Symptoms Among Individuals With Neurogenic Bladder.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAmong patients with neurogenic bladder and suspected UTI, fever, urine odor or color changes, and lethargy were the most common documented signs. Only 38% had any urinary tract-specific symptom, so non-specific findings alone should not be read as proof of infection.
• PTOther2023Deficits in dynamic balance were the motor impairments that best explained limitations in community ambulation after stroke.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineFor people walking independently after chronic stroke, dynamic balance was the only motor impairment that explained community ambulation limits. Strength, coordination, and muscle tone did not. Assessing balance tasks like the Four-Step Square Test is key to understanding walking distance.
• PTRCT2023Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Followed by Treadmill Training on Dual-Task Walking and Cortical Activity in Chronic Stroke: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineCathodal tDCS, a brain-stimulation current, before treadmill training improved cognitive dual-task walking more than sham tDCS plus treadmill training in 45 people with chronic stroke. It did not help motor dual-task walking.
• PTOTOther2023Test-Retest and Inter-Rater Reliability of the 20-Meter Ambulation Test in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.Journal of rehabilitation medicineManual timing and step counting during a 20-meter walk proved highly reliable in people with Parkinson's disease, even when asked to walk fast or take large steps. Step length was the most consistent measure, offering a simple, equipment-free way to track gait changes.
• PTOTPilot2022Gait improvement in stroke patients by Gait Exercise Assist Robot training is related to trunk verticality.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke patients with a Verticality of SIAS score of 1 or higher were more likely to walk independently after GEAR training. Patients scoring 0 may need trunk control work before robot walking.
• PTCase Report2023Case report: The gait deviation index may predict neurotherapeutic effects of FES-assisted gait training in children with cerebral palsy.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn two children with cerebral palsy, the Gait Deviation Index (GDI) improved after FES training, with the most impaired child gaining 11 points. Joint-by-joint error measures did not consistently predict these gains, so GDI may be a better indicator of lasting response than detailed kinematic analysis.
• PTOther2023A Hybrid Assessment of Clinical Mobility Test Items for Evaluating Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPTA four-item mobility test combining parts of two existing batteries identified persistent mild traumatic brain injury symptoms with the same accuracy as the full tests. It takes less than half the time, reducing patient fatigue and clinic burden without losing diagnostic utility.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Epilepsy and proxy-reported health-related quality of life in children and young people with non-ambulatory cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with severe cerebral palsy and epilepsy who took more anti-seizure medications had lower overall quality of life scores, even after accounting for how often they had seizures. Any days with seizures in the last month also linked to lower quality of life.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Prefrontal hemodynamics during forward and backward walking, with and without a cognitive task, in people with multiple sclerosis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineBackward walking increased prefrontal cortex activity in people with MS, similar to adding a cognitive task to forward walking. This suggests backward walking is cognitively demanding, potentially useful for dual-task training, though no clinical outcomes were measured.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Validation of content and structure of the Return-to-work assessment for post-stroke survivors.The South African journal of physiotherapyExperts and post-stroke survivors reached 100% agreement on a new scale to assess return-to-work readiness. The tool covers personal, work, and contextual factors, including communication and employer attitudes, providing a structured way to evaluate barriers and facilitators for employment.
• PTOTRCT2022Motor function and safety after allogeneic cord blood and cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in cerebral palsy: An open-label, randomized trial.Developmental medicine and child neurologyAllogeneic cord blood infusion showed greater gross motor improvement than natural history at 12 months on the GMFM-66. This was a post hoc finding in an underpowered safety trial. No significant difference was found for cord tissue-derived cells.
• PTOTOther2022Relationships between walking speed, activities and participation in people with chronic stroke in Burundi.The South African journal of physiotherapyWalking speed was related to balance and daily activity limitations in chronic stroke survivors in Burundi, but not to social participation overall. People who walked only at home participated less than those walking farther.
• PTRCT2023Exoskeleton-based training improves walking independence in incomplete spinal cord injury patients: results from a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationExoskeleton walking training and conventional gait therapy both improved leg motor scores, with no difference between them. Only the walking independence scale favoured the exoskeleton; the main motor outcome did not favour it.
• PTOther2023Accelerometer-measured physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep in children with cerebral palsy and their adherence to the 24-hour activity guidelines.Developmental medicine and child neurologyOnly 5.9% of ambulatory children with cerebral palsy met both physical activity and sleep guideline targets. Most had too little vigorous activity and too little sleep, especially children in GMFCS level III and preschoolers.
• PTOTPilot2023Combined Aerobic Exercise and Virtual Reality-Based Upper Extremity Rehabilitation Intervention for Chronic Stroke: Feasibility and Preliminary Effects on Physical Function and Quality of Life.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationTen chronic stroke survivors completed 18 sessions of aerobic exercise plus virtual reality arm training with no dropouts. Arm impairment showed a small change that did not reach the clinical importance threshold, but aerobic capacity and self-reported strength improved substantially.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2023Brain volumes and functional outcomes in children without cerebral palsy after therapeutic hypothermia for neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren without cerebral palsy after neonatal cooling had smaller whole-brain grey and white matter volumes than controls. Smaller hippocampal and thalamic volumes correlated with lower IQ and motor scores in these children. No significant differences remained when accounting for total brain size.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Factors Predicting Return to Work After Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Follow-up Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationStroke survivors who viewed returning to work as important, had no language impairment, and scored well on walking and thinking tests at rehab discharge were more likely to return to work. Office workers and those with fewer other health problems also had higher odds.
• PTOTOther2023A core outcome set for lower limb orthopaedic surgery for children with cerebral palsy: An international multi-stakeholder consensus study.Developmental medicine and child neurologyInternational consensus identified 19 outcomes across 8 domains to measure after lower limb surgery in children with cerebral palsy. These include pain, walking, independence, and self-esteem. Adverse events and assistive device use were excluded from the core set.
• PTCase Series2023Robotic-Assisted Gait Training (RAGT) in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationStroke patients who received robotic gait training with an exoskeleton or end-effector plus conventional stroke rehabilitation had improved walking test scores, but the study was small, non-randomized, and cannot separate device effects from usual care.
• PTOTCohort2023Longitudinal development of hand use in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy from 18 months to 18 years.Developmental medicine and child neurologyHand function in unilateral CP stabilizes around age 7 and remains steady through adolescence. Higher-functioning children reach their plateau earlier, but all groups maintain their bimanual ability. Regular follow-ups are essential because individual variation remains large.
• PTNarrative Review2023Assisted reproductive technology: Short- and long-term outcomes.Developmental medicine and child neurologyMultiple embryo transfer and preterm birth carry the clearest neurodevelopmental risk in ART-conceived children, not ART alone. Neurodevelopmental outcomes are mostly reassuring.
• PTOTCohort2023Association of Caregiver Availability and Training With Patient Community Discharge After Stroke.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationStroke patients with a willing, able caregiver were more likely to return to the community after inpatient rehab. Caregiver training was also linked to community discharge, but the study cannot separate the two.
• PTOTOther2022Relevant factors for arm choice in reaching movement: a scoping review.Journal of physical therapy scienceArm choice in reaching tasks was associated with lower effort, higher success, hand dominance, and brain activity. The included studies were mostly healthy adults, so this suggests rehabilitation targets to test, not proven treatments.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Factors Determining Not Returning to Full-Time Work 12 Months After Mild Ischemic Stroke.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationAmong mild stroke survivors, persistent functional limitation and diabetes were linked to not returning to full-time work. Anxiety, depression, and fatigue appeared associated only before adjusting for other factors, so their independent role remains unclear.
• PTOTCohort2023Deploying Digital Health Technologies for Remote Physical Activity Monitoring of Rural Populations With Chronic Neurologic Disease.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationRemote step monitoring worked well for rural Veterans with Parkinson's or stroke, with high device adherence. However, daily activity was low in both groups. Older age predicted fewer steps, while Parkinson's patients took significantly fewer steps than stroke survivors.
• PTOTCase-Control2023Assessment of balance in people with mild traumatic brain injury using a balance systems model approach.Gait & posturePeople with subacute concussion scored lower on the Mini-BESTest than healthy controls, particularly in dynamic gait and reactive postural control. However, total scores did not correlate with overall self-reported symptom severity, meaning patients may underreport functional deficits.
• PTOTCohort2023Acupuncture use for pain after traumatic brain injury: a NIDILRR Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems cohort study.Brain injuryAmong 1,064 people with chronic pain after traumatic brain injury, 19.5% used acupuncture. Users were more often White, married, higher income, and military veterans. Pain severity and function were similar between users and non-users, though users reported more pain sites.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Neuro-imaging characteristics of sensory impairment in cerebral palsy; a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesChildren with cerebral palsy and cortical brain lesions have significantly worse touch and object recognition than those with white matter lesions. Sensory reorganization to the other brain hemisphere does not improve function. Lesion location and extent, not just motor damage, predict sensory deficits.
• PTOTSLPRCT2023Immediate improvements in post-stroke gait biomechanics are induced with both real-time limb position and propulsive force biofeedback.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationBoth real-time limb position and propulsive force biofeedback immediately increased paretic leg propulsion in nine people post-stroke. Limb position feedback raised leg angle more effectively, while force feedback increased ankle push-off. Neither changed the non-paretic leg.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Quality of life beyond diagnosis in intellectual disability - Latent profiling.Research in developmental disabilitiesQuality of life in children with intellectual disability clusters into three profiles that do not match diagnosis alone. The best-scoring group still showed emotional difficulties, while lower-functioning groups struggled with independence and social interaction. Assess domains, not just labels.
• PTOTSLPCohort2023Predictors of Discharge Destination After Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairStroke severity, age, and living alone before the stroke strongly predicted where patients went after acute care. Patients living alone were 5.56 times more likely to go to a residential facility, while those with severe strokes or longer stays were more likely to need rehabilitation.
• PTOTRCT2023Can specific virtual reality combined with conventional rehabilitation improve poststroke hand motor function? A randomized clinical trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding specific hand-focused virtual reality to conventional therapy improved hand movement, reduced stiffness, and boosted daily task scores more than conventional therapy alone. The virtual reality glove allowed intensive, repetitive practice of finger and wrist movements that standard sessions often miss.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023A systematic review of the determinants of implementation of a locomotor training program using a powered exoskeleton for individuals with a spinal cord injury.Clinical rehabilitationImplementation of exoskeleton gait training depends on managing expectations, securing staff time, and handling adverse events like falls or skin lesions. High costs and device complexity are barriers, while perceived health benefits and reduced clinician strain are facilitators for adoption in clinical settings.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Virtual reality-based therapy improves balance and reduces fear of falling in patients with multiple sclerosis. a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationVirtual reality therapy, alone or added to conventional or robotic gait therapy, improved balance and reduced fear of falling in multiple sclerosis, but it did not improve gait speed. Most trials used non-immersive systems, and effects were short-term only.