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 75 OF 78 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTMeta-Analysis2024Implications of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on gait ability, balance and kinematic parameters after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWalking speed results were split: the larger ten-metre walk test found no difference with electrical stimulation, while instrumented gait analysis did. Cadence, step length, ankle dorsiflexion, walking endurance and balance improved with stimulation.
• PTSystematic Review2024Genetic Variants and Persistent Impairment Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationIn people with mild traumatic brain injury, the APOE ε4 gene variant was linked to worse memory, thinking and symptoms in 17 of 24 studies, though two found better outcomes and five found none. Evidence for other genes is unclear.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023The influence of seated exercises on balance, mobility, and cardiometabolic health outcomes in individuals living with a stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationSeated exercise improved balance and mobility after stroke, with Berg Balance Scale scores rising 9.84 points. It did not lower blood pressure in the one trial that measured it. The trials were small and most raised concerns about bias.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Neurophysiological and clinical outcome measures of the impact of electrical stimulation on spasticity in spinal cord injury: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesNon-invasive electrical stimulation reduced lower-limb spasticity measured by the Ashworth scale in people with spinal cord injury, but that pooled result rests on three small randomised crossover trials and the pendulum test trials disagreed, one of them favouring control.
• PTOther2025Mim-pong: a serious game for assessment and treatment of the lower limb in hemiparetic stroke patients.Archives of physiotherapyAfter ten weeks, a game-based leg programme did not beat conventional therapy on strength, walking or motor impairment; only motor control differed between the groups. The game's score matched measured leg strength well, and the 16 patients using it improved on nearly every measure.
• PTOTRCT2025Functioning and activity outcomes of the Akwenda Intervention Program for children and young adults with cerebral palsy in Uganda: A cluster-randomized trial.Developmental medicine and child neurologyTraining and supporting caregivers improved self-care, social function and, to a smaller degree, gross motor skills in children and young adults with cerebral palsy in rural Uganda. Children who waited a year for the program also improved, which the authors could not fully explain.
• PTRCT2024Individualized orthotic alignment and footwear for balance and mobility in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy: A randomized trial.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy improved more in balance over three months when their rigid ankle-foot orthoses were individually aligned and their shoes modified than when the same braces stayed at 90 degrees. Parents also reported better community mobility; pain and satisfaction did not differ.
• PTRCT2024Short-term intervention effect analysis of neuromuscular joint facilitation in patients who experienced stroke with shoulder subluxation: a clinical randomized controlled trial.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn recent stroke with a dropped shoulder, adding neuromuscular joint facilitation to usual rehabilitation narrowed the gap between shoulder blade and arm bone and thickened the supraspinatus in 18 patients. The control group did not change, but the groups were never directly compared.
• PTSLPMeta-Analysis2022The Prognostic Utility of Electroencephalography in Stroke Recovery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairAcross 75 studies, EEG recorded after stroke predicted later independence and stroke severity, and in most studies added prognostic information beyond the initial clinical score. Evidence for upper limb, speech, balance and cognition was mixed, and no single best EEG measure has been agreed.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Effects of electrical and magnetic stimulation on upper extremity function after stroke: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationCombining repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation with electrical stimulation ranked highest for upper limb recovery after stroke, ahead of electrical stimulation alone, but confidence is very low and spasticity did not improve with any of these treatments.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Non-invasive brain stimulation enhances motor and cognitive performances during dual tasks in patients with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationStimulation over the front of the brain gave small improvements in walking and in thinking while walking for people with Parkinson's, but stimulating the motor cortex did nothing. Every positive result came from tDCS, not rTMS.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Aerobic fitness in children with cerebral palsy compared to typically developing peers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brazilian journal of physical therapyChildren with cerebral palsy average 32.84 mL/kg/min of peak oxygen uptake at maximal exercise, against 45.02 in typically developing peers. Values were lowest in the children with the most limited mobility.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2023Comparison of Different Rehabilitation Techniques of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in the Treatment of Motor Dysfunction After Stroke Based on Frequency Method: A Network Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAdded to routine stroke rehabilitation, biofeedback, acupuncture and virtual reality beat routine therapy alone on movement, balance and hand function scores. Most comparisons between therapies showed no significant difference and the authors say the rankings are only for reference.
• PTOTRCT2022Usage Patterns of an mHealth Symptom Monitoring App Among Adolescents With Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationTeens who used the concussion app logged their symptoms about nine times each but mostly stopped before the learning modules, so most got feedback without the education meant to help them act on it. Total app time averaged just over an hour.
• PTOTRCT2025Hand Functions Following Prone-weight Bearing on Upper Limb with Active Elbow Extension Versus Modified Constraint Induced Movement Therapy in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy - A Randomised Clinical Trial.NeuroRehabilitationIn 38 children with unilateral cerebral palsy aged 2 to 5, two weeks of prone weight-bearing on the arms improved hand-function scores more than modified constraint therapy did, though both improved. The weight-bearing group started lower and no one was followed up.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Cognitive approaches in the rehabilitation of upper limbs function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineAdding action observation therapy to usual rehabilitation did not significantly improve upper limb function in children with cerebral palsy when five trials were pooled. Individual trials reported gains, and mirror therapy trials also reported improvements, but mirror therapy could not be pooled.
• PTRCT2022Impact of mindfulness training on emotion regulation in multiple sclerosis: Secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial.Rehabilitation psychologyPeople with multiple sclerosis who did a four-week mindfulness group used acceptance more often when worry or rumination hit, and the other two groups did not. Their use of unhelpful strategies such as avoidance and suppression fell just as much in all three groups.
• PTPilot2025Early rehabilitation with lumbar-type hybrid assistive limb for acute stroke patients: a pilot study and clinical review.Journal of physical therapy scienceAdding lumbar-type HAL to usual rehab for 15 people in the first days after stroke improved balance more than usual rehab alone, but walking, independence and motor scores were the same in both groups. No falls or injuries.
• PTOTRCT2025Early developmental trajectories of the impaired hand in infants with unilateral cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyWith early therapy, 63 infants with unilateral CP followed three paths of hand development: 29% barely improved, 35% improved steadily, 36% began high-functioning. Which therapy they got, the dose, the side affected and the brain lesion did not predict the path.
• PTSystematic Review2023Vestibular Rehabilitation as an Early Intervention in Athletes Who are Post-concussion: A Systematic Review.International journal of sports physical therapyVestibular rehabilitation alone did not beat a behavioral control on balance, and the reviewers say more data are needed. Combined with cervical manual therapy and usual physiotherapy, 11 of 15 athletes were cleared to return to sport within eight weeks, against 1 of 14 controls.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Association Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Increased Risk of Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationAdults who had a traumatic brain injury were about twice as likely to have a stroke as adults who did not. All eight studies were retrospective; the authors rate the overall evidence moderate, but low for mild injury and for risk beyond a year.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Exploring Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Effects on Physical Outcomes in People With Parkinson's Disease: An Umbrella Evidence Mapping Review With Meta-analyses.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairNon-invasive brain stimulation probably gives a small improvement in Parkinson's motor scores, walking and freezing of gait, but not in standing balance. The pooled motor effect shrank from moderate to small once studies at high risk of bias were removed.
• PTSLPSystematic Review2025Pain in adults with cerebral palsy: A systematic review.Developmental medicine and child neurologyBetween 24% and 89% of adults with cerebral palsy report pain, more than adults without it. What helps is unclear: botulinum toxin A and pallidal stimulation showed no benefit, and a physical activity programme and somatosensory therapy showed promise in one small study each.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Upper extremity function and disability recovery with vibration therapy after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding vibration to usual stroke rehabilitation improved arm and hand movement and daily independence across 30 trials in 1,621 people. Most participants also received standard therapy, so how much the vibration itself contributed is unclear, and benefits faded beyond three months.
• PTOTRCT2021Corticospinal Tract Microstructure Predicts Distal Arm Motor Improvements in Chronic Stroke.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPTIn chronic stroke with mild-to-moderate arm weakness, people whose corticospinal tract looked more damaged at baseline improved more on a timed hand and arm test after four months of practice. That reversed what the authors expected. Do not use imaging to pick who to treat.
• PTRCT2022An 8-week aerobic cycling intervention elicits improved gait velocity and biomechanics in persons with Parkinson's disease.Gait & postureEight weeks of aerobic cycling three times a week improved walking speed in people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease: the cycling group gained 0.14 m/s while the control group declined by 0.09 m/s. Changes to the walking pattern itself mostly did not reach significance.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Changes in walking speed following resistance training in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationResistance training improved walking speed by 0.10 m/s more than usual activity, the threshold considered a meaningful change. But only one of six trials found that difference alone, and resistance training beat no other form of exercise.
• PTRCT2024Effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation combined with threshold inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function in neurocritical patients with weaning failure: a randomized controlled trial.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptationIn neurocritical patients who could not be weaned from a ventilator, adding proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation to threshold inspiratory muscle training improved maximum inspiratory pressure more than the training alone. Diaphragm movement, diaphragm thickening and lung function did not differ between the groups.
• PTOTRCT2023Fidelity of Delivery in a Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial of Intervention Efficacy for Infants With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationTherapists delivered baby bimanual and baby constraint-induced therapy as designed in 64 of 72 recorded home sessions. All 8 lower-fidelity sessions were Baby-BIM, 6 of them from home visit 4 onwards. This shows delivery, not whether either therapy works.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Global prevalence of cerebral palsy: A systematic analysis.Developmental medicine and child neurologyPre/perinatal cerebral palsy is falling in high-income regions, to about 1.5 per 1000 live births across 41 regions in 27 countries. Postneonatal CP showed no clear trend, and reported low- and middle-income rates are more than double.
• PTOTRCT2022Use of an EMG-Controlled Game as a Therapeutic Tool to Retrain Hand Muscle Activation Patterns Following Stroke: A Pilot Study.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPTChronic stroke survivors with moderate hand weakness got faster and more direct at steering a cursor with their hand muscles after nine sessions of an EMG-controlled game. Training with the affected hand alone or with both hands worked equally well.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Effects of brain-computer interface based training on post-stroke upper-limb rehabilitation: a meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding brain-computer interface training to usual rehabilitation improved upper-limb motor scores after stroke: 3.69 points more than control on the Fugl-Meyer upper-extremity scale. Independence in daily activities and spasticity did not improve.
• PTRCT2024Improving trunk posture control in children with CP through a cable-driven robotic hippotherapy: A randomized controlled feasibility study.Gait & postureChildren with cerebral palsy tolerated a robot horse that rocks the pelvis while they sit astride, and their trunk control improved more than with conventional training after 6 weeks. The difference was gone 8 weeks later.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Does Exercise Attenuate Disease Progression in People With Parkinson's Disease? A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairExercise slightly improved 'off'-medication motor scores and raised BDNF compared with no exercise, but the evidence is low to very low certainty and exercise did not change inflammatory or oxidative markers or brain volume. No one exercise type was clearly better.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Short-term effect of prism adaptation treatment on severity of unilateral spatial neglect following right hemispheric stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePrism adaptation improved unilateral spatial neglect symptoms shortly after treatment in people with right-hemisphere stroke, but not how they managed daily activities, and the evidence is very weak. The improvement appeared only with prisms of 10° or more.
• PTRCT2024Effectiveness of simple and basic home-based exercise programs including pediatric massage executed by caregivers at their homes in the management of children with spastic cerebral palsy: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineAdding pediatric massage to a home exercise programme did not improve gross motor function more than the exercises alone; both groups of children with spastic diplegia improved over 12 weeks. Massage reduced spasticity a little more than exercise alone.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Optimizing physical fitness in chronic stroke patients: the impact of exercise training modality and dosage on maximal and sub-maximal fitness - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAerobic exercise improved fitness and walking distance in people more than six months after stroke; mixed training also improved peak fitness. Trials of 45-minute sessions, three times a week for at least eight weeks, showed the largest gains.
• PTOTCohort2026Father and Sibling Involvement in Home Rehabilitation: Longitudinal Effects on Infant Development and Maternal Wellbeing in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.Child: care, health and developmentInfants whose fathers and siblings joined the home rehabilitation programme scored 4.4 points higher on the Bayley cognitive scale after three months than those with mothers alone. Mothers' mental health improved most in the three-caregiver group. Families were not randomly assigned, so causation is unproven.
• PTCase Series2026Clinical Outcomes of Individualized Electrostimulation Using a Wearable Electro Suit and Qualitative Feedback From a Mixed Cohort of Survivors of Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury With Spasticity: Case Series.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesOne 60-minute session in the suit improved walking speed in 4 of 7 people with spasticity after stroke or spinal cord injury, but spasticity itself barely moved: only 2 of 7 improved by more than the measurement's own error margin. No control group.
• PTOTCohort2026Real-world participation after spinal cord injury: longitudinal associations with return to work and long-term social integration.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineIn this US spinal cord injury registry, better mobility, more education and greater life satisfaction went with both working and better social integration, while non-private housing and greater care needs went with worse. Depressive symptoms tracked with social integration, not employment.
• PTCohort2026Temporal trajectory and predictors of hemiplegic shoulder pain after stroke: a 12-month longitudinal clinical-ultrasound study.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineShoulder pain after stroke is lowest in the first days, peaks around three months and eases by a year. Loss of passive shoulder movement tracked pain at every timepoint; subluxation, capsular changes and tendon tears each mattered at different stages.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Rehabilitation outcomes of patients with posterior circulation stroke after acute inpatient rehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences90.3% of patients were home three months after a posterior circulation stroke and 59.7% walked independently with or without an aid, up from one person when they arrived on the rehabilitation ward. Only 11.1% had returned to work. No comparison group.
• PTSurvey2026Physiotherapists' knowledge, attitude and practice of motor learning in stroke rehabilitation.The South African journal of physiotherapyOf 40 South African physiotherapists surveyed, most had only moderate knowledge of motor learning and none scored well, though nearly all valued it. Most gave feedback with an internal focus rather than the external focus the literature recommends.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022State of the science in inflammation and stroke recovery: A systematic review.Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicineCRP and IL-6 in the first 24 hours after stroke are associated with worse functional recovery at 1 year. Twelve weeks of resistive training did not increase inflammation in 20 subacute patients. Evidence is preliminary; studies are small.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2021Pharmacological and neurosurgical interventions for individuals with cerebral palsy and dystonia: a systematic review update and meta-analysis.Developmental medicine and child neurologyIntrathecal baclofen and deep brain stimulation may improve dystonia and some functional outcomes in cerebral palsy, but all evidence is low to very low certainty. Trihexyphenidyl and levodopa show little to no benefit. Four of ten interventions have no evidence at all.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Clinical Tools for Assessing One-Handed Skills in Children With Cerebral Palsy: An Umbrella Review.Occupational therapy internationalAmong 17 tools for measuring one-handed skills in children with cerebral palsy, three (PMAL-R Uswatte, COPM, ACHES) earned the highest ratings for both measurement quality and practical use in clinic.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Dyad interventions for health-related quality of life, activity, and participation after stroke: a systematic review.Disability and rehabilitationAcross 17 trials of stroke survivor-caregiver dyad interventions, health-related quality of life results were mixed. Joint psychosocial approaches had the biggest effects in the studies that found any, while caregiver training and caregiver-mediated exercise did not consistently help.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Active mobility, active participation: a systematic review of modified ride-on car use by children with disabilities.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyChildren as young as 7 months activated modified ride-on cars, and a majority enjoyed using them. No adverse events were reported. The evidence is very weak, so treat these findings as promising rather than proven.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2022The Short-term Effects of Hippotherapy and Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Spasticity in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Meta-analysis.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationThe meta-analysis found a significant short-term reduction in lower-limb spasticity after hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding in children with cerebral palsy. No difference was found between a single session and multiple sessions. The effect is temporary, not cumulative.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2022Effect of vagus nerve stimulation paired with rehabilitation for upper limb function improvement after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptationVNS added to rehabilitation produced a 3.59-point gain on the FMA-UE, below the 4.25-to-7.25 range one study sets as clinically meaningful. The Wolf Motor Function Test gain met its threshold. Hand function, grip, and dexterity did not differ from rehabilitation alone.