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 71 OF 78 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTSLPCohort2026Dynamic suprahyoid muscle ultrasound in acute stroke: a prospective observational study for developing a dysphagia severity score.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineA new bedside ultrasound score identified severe dysphagia in acute stroke patients better than standard clinical screening. Patients scoring three or more points were at high risk, catching cases the standard test missed. This tool helps therapists flag patients needing intensive swallowing support early.
• PTOTPilot2026Neural Effects of Low-Frequency Acupoint Electrical Stimulation Therapy on Patients With Poststroke Motor Dysfunction: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPatients with subacute stroke who received low-frequency acupoint electrical stimulation showed improved motor function and daily living scores. Brain scans revealed increased activity in the right motor network and decreased activity in the left cerebellum. Changes in the right motor area correlated with better motor recovery.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Clinical Determinants of Functional Independence at Discharge in Patients With Spinal Cord Dysfunction Due to Metastatic Spinal Tumors.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn patients with spinal metastases, only 23 of 153 achieved functional independence at discharge. Rapid tumor growth, severe motor impairment, high inflammation, and persistent pain predicted dependence. Neurologic level and spinal instability did not. Early prognostic assessment should guide goals from intensive training to supportive care.
• PTOTRCT2026Extending reach: hybrid robotic-functional electrical stimulation training for post-stroke upper extremity rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding multi-muscle electrical stimulation to robot-assisted reaching training improved how far people with chronic stroke could reach and reduced arm stiffness more than robot training alone. The study was small, non-blinded, and tested only six weeks of therapy.
• PTPilot2026Safety and neuromodulation effect of transcranial focused ultrasound for motor recovery in patients with subacute stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTen patients with subacute stroke received transcranial focused ultrasound and showed no serious adverse events. Motor scores improved significantly, and a comparison with rTMS patients showed larger gains, but the study lacked a control group and cannot prove the ultrasound caused the recovery.
• PTOTPilot2026Can neurologic music therapy make the difference when using immersive virtual reality in Parkinson disease motor training? Promising findings from a secondary analysis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAdding music therapy to virtual reality treadmill training for Parkinson's did not improve overall balance or walking scores more than VR alone. However, the music group showed better turning speed and trunk control, suggesting music helps with timing rather than general mobility.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Utilization of Neurology and Allied Health Services by People With Parkinson's Disease in Israel: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPTPeople with Parkinson's in Israel rarely used therapy services. Only about one in five used physical therapy, and speech therapy use was under 4%. Women and Arab patients were less likely to access care. Physical therapy use in early disease linked to more hospitalizations, possibly reflecting sicker patients.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Does more rehabilitation lead to better upper limb outcomes after stroke? A systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIncreasing upper-limb therapy dose showed a positive effect on Fugl-Meyer scores but not on Action Research Arm Test scores overall. Significant gains on the arm test only appeared when therapy time was more than doubled, suggesting a high dose is needed for functional change.
• PTOther2026Different approach to bone mineral density in non-traumatic spinal cord injury: a comparison with traumatic spinal cord injury.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn spinal cord injury at age 50 or older, non-traumatic injury had lower lumbar spine bone density than traumatic injury and more often made the lumbar spine the osteoporosis site. Hip sites did not differ.
• PTSystematic Review2026Biomarkers of stroke recovery using EEG-based resting-state functional connectivity: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationEEG resting-state connectivity shows inconsistent links to stroke recovery. Studies were heterogeneous and mostly descriptive, so no single measure is a validated clinical biomarker.
• PTCase Series2026Feasibility of AI-driven multichannel FES-assisted gait and cycling training in chronic neurological disorders: a case series.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with chronic neurological gait impairments completed an AI-driven multichannel FES-assisted cycling and walking program. All completed it, with a reversible swelling event; every participant had faster 10-meter walking and higher speed. The combined program's effect cannot be separated.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Effects of meeting exercise guidelines on depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Physiotherapy theory and practiceExercise meeting MS guidelines reduced depression scores by 4.46 points, exceeding the threshold for noticeable improvement. However, the effect on anxiety was not significant. The evidence is weak due to high risk of bias in most included trials.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on home-based exercise rehabilitation experiences among stroke patients: a continuity of care perspective.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesStroke survivors described home exercise as failing when discharge guidance stopped and succeeding when nurses, family, or peers provided ongoing feedback. Clinicians should treat the first weeks post-discharge as a high-risk gap requiring active follow-up, not just education.
• PTOTSLPPilot2026Body-weight supported treadmill or total body recumbent stepper for mobility-adapted cardiopulmonary exercise testing in multiple sclerosis patients with varying disability.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPeople with multiple sclerosis achieved similar peak oxygen uptake on both a recumbent stepper and a supported treadmill, but more met criteria for a maximal test on the stepper. Half could not finish the treadmill due to leg symptoms. The stepper may be more reliable for assessing fitness in those with mobility disability.
• PTOther2026Validation of the Czech adaptation of Mini-BESTest into clinical practice.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineThe Czech Mini-BESTest reliably measures balance in adults with acquired brain injury. It agrees closely with other standard tests and avoids score limits. Therapists found reactive balance items hardest to assess and most likely to need repeating, while dynamic walking tasks were seen as the best indicators.
• PTRCT2026Effects of different intensity training with a lower limb exoskeleton robot on walking function in people with subacute stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAll four exoskeleton training groups improved walking. Only the high-speed, long-duration group reached clinically meaningful gains in speed and endurance. Speed alone helped gait speed. Duration alone helped endurance. Combining both was superior to either alone.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Comparing people with persisting post-concussion symptoms from an emergency department-based research sample with patients in a clinical rehabilitation sample: an explorative, retrospective analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePatients referred to rehab for post-concussion symptoms had worse function and lower return-to-work than those tracked from emergency departments. Emergency-based studies do not represent the severity of patients seeking specialist care. Assess functional participation, not just symptom counts.
• PTOther2025Identifying gait characteristics associated with freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: An analysis of on and off medication states.Gait & postureIn a small sample, more variable single support time on medication and more variable stride time off medication were linked to worse freezing severity. A gait model also helped distinguish people who freeze from those who do not.
• PTRCT2025Effects of maximal speed locomotor training on spatiotemporal gait changes in individuals with chronic stroke: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Gait & postureFor chronic stroke, 30-second maximal walking intervals increased non-paretic step length more than moderate continuous walking after 12 weeks. Both also improved cadence, paretic step length, bilateral single support time, and reduced stride variability.
• PTSurvey2026Current Practice of Physiotherapists in the Management of Children With Cerebral Palsy in Benin Country: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey.Child: care, health and developmentPhysiotherapists in Benin mostly use passive, impairment-focused techniques like Bobath, stretching, and handling, not active, evidence-based therapies. Standardized tools like the GMFCS are rarely used because of time and knowledge gaps. Only 1.9% use outcome measures all the time.
• PTOTProtocol2026Outdoor bicycle training following stroke: protocol development, feasibility testing and application guidelines.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesFive stroke survivors with mild-to-moderate deficits completed a 3-week group outdoor cycling program. All rated it highly satisfying and improved confidence and personal cycling goals. Balance and general mobility scores did not change significantly, and two minor falls occurred.
• PTOTRCT2026Identifying candidates for torque-assisted exoskeleton for gait assistance after stroke: a pre-specified subgroup analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicinePatients with severe walking impairment (FAC 0-1) walked faster and further with the exoskeleton on. Patients with better baseline walking ability performed worse when wearing it. Functional Ambulatory Category was the only factor predicting who would benefit.
• PTSLPCohort2026Age better discriminates early dysphagia than cough function, respiratory muscle strength, or trunk control after mild stroke.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptationAfter mild stroke, age was the best marker of early swallowing problems. Patients with dysphagia averaged 70.0 years, those without 61.4 years. Cough flow, breathing muscle strength and trunk control did not separate them on their own.
• PTOTRCT2026Efficacy of different frequencies of extracorporeal shockwave on plantar flexor spasticity of the ankle in patients with stroke: a single-center, prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding shockwave therapy to standard rehab reduced calf tightness and improved ankle flexibility in stroke patients. Both 4 Hz and 10 Hz frequencies worked, but 4 Hz showed a greater reduction in muscle stiffness after three weeks.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Augmented feedback as a therapeutic approach for gait rehabilitation in patients with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAugmented feedback improved walking speed and ankle function in people with mild spastic cerebral palsy. Results for other gait measures like step length were inconsistent. The evidence is limited by small studies and a lack of long-term follow-up.
• PTOTQualitative2026Commonalities in rehabilitation data across diverse health conditions: a comparison of seven large European databases.Journal of rehabilitation medicineRehabilitation databases across Europe share some categories, but no variables are common to all. They mostly record biomedical and impairment data, with activities, participation and psychosocial factors underrepresented.
• PTCohort2025General movements and head magnetic resonance imaging to predict cerebral palsy in preterm and low birth weight infants.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 154 very-low-birth-weight infants, abnormal head MRI plus definitely abnormal general movements flagged 92.9% of infants who had cerebral palsy and correctly excluded 97.9% who did not. Alone, each was less accurate.
• PTRCT2025The Role of Functional Electrical Stimulation in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Preliminary Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapyAdding functional electrical stimulation to standard gait training did not improve mobility, walking speed, or daily living independence more than standard training alone in stroke survivors with foot drop. Both groups improved similarly.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Association between walking space and physical activity for hospitalized patients with stroke: a cross-sectional study.Journal of physical therapy scienceStroke patients allowed to walk in the ward or hospital had more light activity and less sitting than those walking only in their room. Room-bound independence matched dependent patients. Set mobility goals by space, not just walking ability.
• PTOther2026Brain adaptations in challenging walking task of people with stroke: an experimental study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationDuring challenging walking tasks like balancing on a board or walking blindfolded, people with stroke showed suppressed low-frequency brain activity and enhanced mid-to-high-frequency connectivity. This neural shift reflects increased cognitive demand and sensorimotor integration, though no behavioral data confirmed if this improved actual walking performance.
• PTCohort2026Key factors for successful gait acquisition in individuals with severe hemiplegic subacute stroke using a single-legged gait-training assistance robot: a retrospective cohort study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn severe subacute stroke, patients who started Welwalk earlier and had better trunk stability and leg position sense were more likely to walk with supervision after 4 weeks of robot training within a usual rehabilitation program.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Bringing the Computer-Based Instrument for Low Motor Language Testing to Canada: A Survey of Caregiver and Clinician Perspectives.International journal of language & communication disordersCanadian caregivers and clinicians say current language comprehension assessments for children with cerebral palsy lack accuracy, creating a critical gap. Both groups view the new C-BiLLT-CAN tool as highly promising, but flag that it currently lacks the response methods, like auditory access and specific switches, that many children need to actually complete the test.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Quality of rehabilitation care in Portuguese stroke units: findings from 2017-2018 and 2023 national cross‑sectional surveys.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePortuguese stroke units improved multidisciplinary meetings and discharge coordination over six years. However, fully staffed teams remained rare, weekend assessments lagged significantly behind weekdays, and neurogenic bladder screening was almost never performed.
• PTOTOther2026Telerehabilitation Following Stroke: Development of Training Content and Evaluation of an App-Based Training Program.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesPatients with moderate-to-severe stroke rated a new app-based exercise program as user-friendly, but adherence to the exercises was low during the one-week test. Therapists liked the system, yet the study cannot show whether it improves recovery.
• PTOTOther2026Resting-state and task-state fNIRS fusion assessment method for upper limb motor function in stroke patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationCombining resting and hand-grasp fNIRS measures with clinical data predicted upper-limb Fugl-Meyer scores better than either fNIRS measure alone. Cortical stroke predictions were closest. Subcortical stroke predictions remained less accurate.
• PTOTOther2026Make it fun but keep it simple: EEG reveals the impact of easy yet engaging games for stroke rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors showed a brain pattern linked to effort only during the visually engaging game, not the plain version. Increasing difficulty made the task harder but did not increase this brain activation. For your patients, keeping games simple and engaging may support attention better than adding challenges.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Patient-centered goal-setting in stroke rehabilitation: a scoping review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesGoal-setting in stroke rehabilitation varies widely, with no standard procedure ensuring it is patient-centered. Most studies focused on initial goal-setting, while ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and coordination between different care sectors were rarely described or implemented.
• PTOther2026Lesion-specific EEG signatures in stroke: a multi-scale framework integrating oscillations, connectivity, and asymmetry for machine learning decoding.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationLesion-specific power and connectivity differences did not remain after accounting for many tests. But resting EEG separated stroke patients from controls and a model classified lesion location with high accuracy.
• PTNarrative Review2026Where's the Evidence? Challenging Therapists to Stop Legitimizing Dynamic Movement Intervention and Cuevas Medek Exercises.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationThis is a commentary and narrative review, not a study. It contains no methods or results, so there is no new finding to change practice.
• PTOTCase-Control2026Three-dimensional gait analysis for assessing dynamic ankle spasticity after stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStroke survivors with dynamic ankle spasticity walked slower and spent more time with both feet on the ground. Bedside findings of reduced plantarflexion range and weak dorsiflexors identified those at risk. Prolonged double support time tracked severity.
• PTOTRCT2026The impact of robot-assisted training on gait, balance, and endurance in patients with partial spinal cord injuries: insights from rehabilitation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTwice-weekly robot-assisted gait training improved walking speed, endurance, and balance more than once-weekly training or conventional therapy in active patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries. Those with greater residual movement (AIS D) showed the largest gains.
• PTOTRCT2026The recovery of lower limb function in stroke patients: which sequence of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with lower limb rehabilitation robot is most effective-A randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationApplying transcranial direct current stimulation simultaneously with robot-assisted gait training improved lower limb function, balance, and walking speed more effectively than applying it before the session or using sham stimulation. The simultaneous approach showed advantages as early as two weeks, with most patients achieving independent walking.
• PTOther2026Foot placement control impairments in persons with chronic stroke become more evident during optic-flow perturbations.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWhen the virtual hallway swayed strongly side to side, people with chronic stroke placed their feet less accurately than controls. The difference was not evident during steady walking. Controlled visual perturbations may reveal balance control problems.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Metric properties of the Tonic Stretch Reflex Threshold (TSRT) as a measure of spasticity: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Archives of physiotherapyThe Tonic Stretch Reflex Threshold is not reliable enough for clinical use. Measurement error is too high to detect small changes in spasticity, and results correlate poorly with standard scales like the Modified Ashworth Scale. It should not replace existing assessments.
• PTOTCohort2026Mapping Brain Function After Stroke: From Early Disorganization to Late Compensation.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairBrain activity patterns after stroke change dramatically over time, shifting from early disorganization to later compensation. However, the link between brain connectivity and motor recovery depends entirely on lesion location and severity. High connectivity can signal either recovery or maladaptive noise.
• PTOTOther2026Development of a set of core outcome measures for ambulant children with cerebral palsy after lower limb orthopaedic surgery.Developmental medicine and child neurologyA consensus panel recommended seven outcome measures to assess ambulant children with cerebral palsy after lower limb surgery. The Goal Outcome Assessment List was preferred across most domains, complemented by gait analysis and quality of life tools to capture both clinical and patient-reported impacts.
• PTOTSLPRCT2026Transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves dual-task performance in people with stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA single session of brain stimulation improved walking speed and thinking accuracy during complex dual tasks, but did not significantly reduce the interference between them. The benefit was strongest on cognitive tasks like serial subtraction, not on gait stability.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2026Case Report: A period-based upper limb rehabilitation program using a degrees-of-freedom constraint strategy in severe post-stroke hemiparesis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn one patient with severe post-stroke arm weakness, a three-phase program using gravity support, electrical stimulation, and orthoses to progressively release joint constraints was associated with reduced spasticity, less pain, and slight motor improvement. This is a single case, not evidence of efficacy.
• PTOTOther2026Structural-functional connectivity coupling in motor-brain networks following acute ischemic stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn people one week after a stroke, stronger coupling between specific brain structure and function links correlated with worse arm and hand movement. This suggests the brain's compensatory wiring may sometimes hinder recovery rather than help it.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2026Effects of virtual reality and robot-assisted therapy on rehabilitation outcomes in cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRange of motion did not clearly improve, but gross motor function improved with VR or robot-assisted therapy compared with conventional rehab in children with cerebral palsy. Balance and daily-activity gains were small and may not matter clinically.