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 6 OF 78 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSurvey2017Using the World Health Organization's Disability Assessment Schedule (2) to assess disability in community-dwelling stroke patients.The South African journal of physiotherapyCommunity stroke survivors 6 to 12 months after stroke reported severe to extreme difficulty walking long distances, self-care, household tasks and community participation. No demographic group showed a clear pattern of participation restrictions.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2017What environmental factors influence resumption of valued activities post stroke: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative findings.Clinical rehabilitationEnvironmental factors reported to help stroke survivors resume valued activities included adapted equipment, accessible transport, home changes, information and social support. Negative attitudes, long distances and unstable conditions were reported to hinder them. Evidence is mostly qualitative.
• PTOther2016Identifying candidates for targeted gait rehabilitation after stroke: better prediction through biomechanics-informed characterization.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding paretic propulsion to baseline walking speed better predicted who improved after FastFES gait training. The best outcomes were seen in slower walkers who still had some ability to push off with the affected leg, rather than those with the lowest propulsion.
• PTPilot2016Performance-based robotic assistance during rhythmic arm exercises.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobot assistance during circular arm exercises made movements smoother during assisted trials than unassisted trials in stroke patients, while assistance did not rise over time. This is a technical pilot, not proof of lasting recovery.
• PTOTSurvey2016Evaluation of upper extremity neurorehabilitation using technology: a European Delphi consensus study within the EU COST Action Network on Robotics for Neurorehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEuropean experts agreed on four face-to-face upper-limb assessments per programme, separate from treatment and lasting up to three hours, using technology data plus validated clinical measures. They did not agree on many specific measures.
• PTOther2017Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health:: Moving the Field Forward (Executive Summary).Physical therapyThis executive summary outlines research priorities discussed at an NIH conference. It contains no patient data or clinical trial results, so it offers no evidence to support or discourage specific therapeutic interventions.
• PTOther2017Use of Mobile Device Accelerometry to Enhance Evaluation of Postural Instability in Parkinson Disease.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationA waist-mounted mobile device recorded body-sway movement as consistently as a lab force platform. In mild to moderate Parkinson disease, its sway measures detected instability on hard balance tests when standard balance scores did not.
• PTOTSLPCohort2017Characteristics of patients with hemiparetic stroke who yield highly reliable muscle strength measurements.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke patients with a Functional Independence Measure cognitive score of 19 or higher produced consistent muscle strength measurements. Below this threshold, results were too variable to trust. Clinicians should check this score before relying on dynamometer data for treatment planning.
• PTCohort2016Program Interruptions and Short-Stay Transfers Represent Potential Targets for Inpatient Rehabilitation Care-Improvement Efforts.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationShort-stay transfers affected 22.3% of stroke, 21.8% of TBI, and 31.6% of SCI stays; program interruptions affected 0.9%, 0.8%, and 1.4%. Acute-care transfers were reported for complications, and some were potentially preventable.
• PTSurvey2017Interrelationship between the general characteristics of Korean stroke patients and the variables of the sexual functions: random forest and boosting algorithm.Journal of physical therapy scienceIllness duration, age, and education level were the strongest characteristics linked to sexual function, muscle tone, and motor or sensory changes in Korean stroke survivors. This supports asking about these factors, but does not show treatment works.
• PTOTSurvey2017Quality and Equity in Wheelchairs Used by Veterans.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationNo racial difference was found in wheelchair quality among Veterans with spinal cord injury or limb loss. Older age and lower income were associated with lower-quality chairs. Specialty-clinic prescription was associated with better manual chairs.
• PTOTPilot2017Effects of repeated vibratory stimulation of wrist and elbow flexors on hand dexterity, strength, and sensory function in patients with chronic stroke: a pilot study.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 10 patients, vibration to wrist and elbow flexors did not beat traditional physical therapy. Both groups improved hand dexterity, but grip strength was not shown to improve and sensation was unchanged.
• PTOTOther2016Robot-assisted and conventional therapies produce distinct rehabilitative trends in stroke survivors.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDifferent patterns of arm outcome change emerged after robot-assisted and conventional therapy. The original trial's main Fugl-Meyer difference was significant but small, so this secondary analysis describes how scores moved together, not superiority.
• PTOTCase-Control2016A robot-based behavioural task to quantify impairments in rapid motor decisions and actions after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEighty-two percent of people with stroke were impaired on more than five robot task measures, and all but one person with neglect was impaired. Distractor errors appeared even when MoCA scores were normal.
• PTPilot2017A neurocognitive approach for recovering upper extremity movement following subacute stroke: a randomized controlled pilot study.Journal of physical therapy scienceThe main upper-limb movement-quality score did not show a clear difference between neurocognitive therapy and conventional therapy, both given with occupational therapy. Descriptive hand and arm changes favored the neurocognitive group, but this small pilot cannot show effectiveness.
• PTRCT2017Effect of bilateral upper extremity exercise on trunk performance in patients with stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceTrunk control improved more after adding 30 minutes of bilateral upper-extremity exercises three times weekly for four weeks to usual neurological rehabilitation. The extra gains were seen in dynamic sitting balance, coordination, and total trunk score.
• PTMeta-Analysis2017Factors Influencing the Efficacy of Aerobic Exercise for Improving Fitness and Walking Capacity After Stroke: A Meta-Analysis With Meta-Regression.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAfter stroke, aerobic exercise improved aerobic capacity, walking speed and endurance overall. Walking-mode and vigorous-intensity exercise were associated with larger benefits; seated exercise did not meaningfully improve walking speed or endurance.
• PTOTRCT2017Changes of gait parameters following constrained-weight shift training in patients with stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceA 10 mm shoe lift on the unaffected side forced weight onto the paretic leg. This improved walking speed and step length more than standard care. The 5 mm lift did not show significant improvement over the control group.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2017Traumatic brain injury caregivers: A qualitative analysis of spouse and parent perspectives on quality of life.Neuropsychological rehabilitationParents describe returning to parenting a child and fear for the future, while partners report losing intimacy and the stress of making decisions alone. Both groups feel isolated and overwhelmed. These distinct burdens mean you should assess parents and spouses separately rather than treating all caregivers as one group.
• PTOTSLPPilot2016Global cognitive function and processing speed are associated with gait and balance dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 14 people with Parkinson's, lower global cognitive scores correlated with slower walking and more sway. Processing speed specifically linked to turning difficulty. No control group and tiny sample mean these associations are hypotheses, not evidence of cause.
• PTOTPilot2016Quantifying selective elbow movements during an exergame in children with neurological disorders: a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 33 children with neurological disorders, an airplane exergame measured isolated elbow movement. Scores matched therapists' judgments and trunk/strength measures, but did not worsen when the game became harder.
• PTOTOther2017Discriminative and predictive validity of the short-form activities-specific balance confidence scale for predicting fall of stroke survivors.Journal of physical therapy scienceThe short-form ABC scale predicted falls in stroke survivors with high accuracy. A score of 45.42 or lower indicated a higher risk of multiple falls. This shorter tool performed better than the full 16-item scale and takes less time to administer.
• PTOther2016Pain, cognition and quality of life associate with structural measures of brain volume loss in multiple sclerosis.NeuroRehabilitationIn 29 people with relapsing-remitting MS and 29 matched controls, higher lesion volume was linked with more pain, lower quality of life, and poorer processing speed. Some brain structures related to symptoms, while others did not.
• PTOTOther2017Motor Learning in Stroke: Trained Patients Are Not Equal to Untrained Patients With Less Impairment.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairStroke patients could train to match the pre-training performance of less impaired untrained people, but they plateaued. The untrained groups still had more room for rapid gains. Matching performance after training does not mean matching ability to improve further.
• PTOTCohort2017Associations Between Foot Placement Asymmetries and Metabolic Cost of Transport in Hemiparetic Gait.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn stroke survivors, how far feet are placed ahead of the trunk predicts metabolic cost better than overall step length asymmetry. Targeting foot placement symmetry, not just step length, may improve walking economy.
• PTOTRCT2017Guided Training Relative to Direct Skill Training for Individuals With Cognitive Impairments After Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Trial.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationNo overall difference in functional independence between guided and direct training after stroke, but guided scores were higher at 3, 6, and 12 months while direct scores were higher at discharge.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2017The danger zone: Systematic review of the role of HMGB1 danger signalling in traumatic brain injury.Brain injuryHMGB1 levels in blood and spinal fluid rise after brain injury and predict death or severe disability. Animal studies show blocking HMGB1 reduces brain swelling and improves movement. These are biomarker and preclinical findings, not tested treatments for patients.
• PTOTSLPRCT2017Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on Reducing Misconceptions Among Ethnic Minorities With Complicated Mild to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationA one-hour home visit by a bilingual educator cut misconceptions about brain injury recovery. This reduction held at one month for English speakers but faded for Spanish speakers, who may need booster sessions to keep the gains.
• PTOTCase Report2017The effects of neck and trunk stabilization exercises on cerebral palsy children's static and dynamic trunk balance: case series.Journal of physical therapy scienceEleven children with cerebral palsy did better on sitting trunk-control scores after eight weeks of twice-weekly sessions that included neck and trunk stabilization. But there was no control group, so this cannot show the exercises caused the gain.
• PTRCT2017The effects of a multisensory dynamic balance training on the thickness of lower limb muscles in ultrasonography in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.Journal of physical therapy scienceChildren with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy who practised a screen-based balance game showed greater increases in several lower-limb muscle thicknesses than children who received general physiotherapy. The study measured muscle size, not walking or function.
• PTOTCase Report2017Reduced foot pain after spasticity control with alcohol block in a patient with chronic hemiparetic stroke: a case report.Journal of physical therapy scienceA 58-year-old woman with chronic stroke and severe foot pain from a Tailor's bunion reported pain dropping from 8/10 to 1/10 after alcohol nerve blocks reduced her ankle spasticity. The block was combined with stretching, so the independent effect of the alcohol injection remains unclear.
• PTOTRCT2017The Effect of Peripheral Nerve Stimulation on Shoulder Biomechanics: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Comparison to Physical Therapy.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationBoth peripheral nerve stimulation and physical therapy improved shoulder strength and range of motion in stroke patients, but neither treatment was superior to the other for these biomechanical changes. Since PNS previously reduced pain more than PT, the pain relief likely stems from mechanisms other than improved shoulder mechanics.
• PTCohort2017Prevalence and Etiology of Hypogonadism in Young Men With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From Two University-Based Rehabilitation Centers.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationYoung men with chronic spinal cord injury had low testosterone: 25% by total testosterone and 36% by free testosterone. Low total testosterone was more common than in age-matched men without injury. Tetraplegia, older age, and higher body fat were associated with lower testosterone.
• PTOTCohort2017Does Corticospinal Tract Connectivity Influence the Response to Intensive Bimanual Therapy in Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy?Neurorehabilitation and neural repairCorticospinal tract pattern did not predict who improved more after intensive bimanual therapy, with lower extremity training at one site. Children with ipsilateral and contralateral patterns improved similarly on several hand function and daily activity measures.
• PTOTCohort2016Physical activity outside of structured therapy during inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDuring inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation, activity outside PT and OT was low. Half of the time was sedentary leisure. Wrist and hip accelerometers showed more movement by discharge, but self-report did not detect it.
• PTRCT2016Locomotor training through a novel robotic platform for gait rehabilitation in pediatric population: short report.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationThree children with spastic diplegia walked faster, took more steps per minute and had longer steps after 10 sessions on a robotic gait trainer. Because each child had different goals and no control group, this does not prove the robot caused the gains.
• PTCohort2017Corpus Callosum Structural Integrity Is Associated With Postural Control Improvement in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis Who Have Minimal Disability.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIn people with mild MS, better white-matter integrity between brain hemispheres was associated with larger gains in anticipating a moving platform. It was not linked to gains in controlling sway amplitude, or to 24-hour retention of those gains.
• PTOther2017Polestriding Intervention Improves Gait and Axial Symptoms in Mild to Moderate Parkinson Disease.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationAfter 12 weeks of supervised polestriding, 17 people with mild to moderate Parkinson disease walked faster and had longer steps, and some walking and balance severity scores were lower; some remained lower at follow-up, while overall rating and questionnaire scores showed no clear change.
• PTOTRCT2017Does Task-Specific Training Improve Upper Limb Performance in Daily Life Poststroke?Neurorehabilitation and neural repairTask-specific training did not increase upper limb use in daily life for 78 people with chronic stroke, despite improvements in clinic capacity. Neither the amount of practice nor gains in test scores predicted better real-world performance. Clinic gains did not carry over to home.
• PTNarrative Review2017Promoting Gait Recovery and Limiting Neuropathic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairAnimal work suggests pain may interfere with gait learning, and early training may reduce pain sensitivity. SCI gait trials rarely measured pain.
• PTOTCohort2016Physical activity and walking performance: Influence on quality of life in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP).Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineParent-reported physical activity was linked to higher physical and total quality-of-life scores. Walking at a higher pace was linked only to the physical score. Neither was linked to the psychosocial score, and older age was linked to lower scores.
• PTOTOther2017Environmental barriers and social participation in individuals with spinal cord injury.Rehabilitation psychologyHigher perceived environmental barriers are linked to lower social participation and employment in people with spinal cord injury. Barriers related to assistance and services show the strongest negative association with participation. However, the overall effect is small, and the study cannot prove that removing barriers will improve outcomes.
• PTOther2017The association between the maximum step length test and the walking efficiency in children with cerebral palsy.Journal of physical therapy scienceA longer maximum forward step on the dominant side was strongly linked to lower walking heartbeats per meter in 31 children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Cadence was not linked to walking efficiency.
• PTOTOther2017Exercising daily living activities in robot-mediated therapy.Journal of physical therapy scienceChronic post-stroke patients showed better arm movement, grip function and independence scores after six weeks of robot-assisted daily-living training; spasticity did not change and Barthel Index did not clearly improve.
• PTOther2017Effects of phase proprioceptive training on balance in patients with chronic stroke.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 30 people with chronic stroke, phase proprioceptive training improved Berg Balance, Timed Up and Go, and balance confidence more than general physical therapy. The trial was small and allocation was not described.
• PTOTSystematic Review2017The effectiveness of robotic-assisted gait training for paediatric gait disorders: systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRobotic gait training in children with gait disorders has weak, inconsistent evidence. The combined randomised evidence did not show a clear walking-speed advantage over physiotherapy or exercises; small studies reported better standing or walking, but bias and mixed protocols limit confidence.
• PTCohort2017Quantification of postural stability in minimally disabled multiple sclerosis patients by means of dynamic posturography: an observational study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA moving platform test found balance differences in minimally disabled MS patients, while quiet standing did not. Patients swayed more front-to-back when the platform moved, even without clinical balance signs. This is an assessment finding, not proof of falls risk.
• PTPilot2017Immediate effects of quick trunk movement exercise on sit-to-stand movement in children with spastic cerebral palsy: a pilot study.Journal of physical therapy scienceNeither natural nor quick seated trunk exercise showed a change in trunk or ankle movement patterns, but both shortened stand-up time in five children with spastic cerebral palsy.
• PTCohort2017Longitudinal Investigation of Rehospitalization Patterns in Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Among Medicare Beneficiaries.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationOne year after inpatient rehab, 57% of Medicare beneficiaries with spinal cord injury and 54% with traumatic brain injury were rehospitalized. The risk pattern changed in a straight line over the year. Comorbidity, prior admissions, rehab stay length, and discharge function were linked to risk.
• PTOther2017Effect of neurodevelopmental treatment-based physical therapy on the change of muscle strength, spasticity, and gross motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy.Journal of physical therapy scienceAfter one year of neurodevelopmental treatment-based physical therapy in 175 children with spastic cerebral palsy, only spasticity decreased; muscle strength and gross motor function did not improve.