Anatomy of stroke injury predicts gains from therapy.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

Many therapies are emerging that aim to improve motor function in people with stroke. Identifying key biological substrates needed for treatment gains would help to predict treatment effects and to maximize treatment impact. The current study addressed the hypothesis that behavioral gains from therapy targeting distal upper extremity are predicted by the structural integrity of key motor system white matter tracts.

Methods

Twenty-three subjects with chronic left-sided stroke underwent robotic therapy targeting the distal right upper extremity. MRI was obtained at baseline and used to outline the infarct. For each subject, the degree to which stroke injured each of 4 descending white matter tracts (from the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area

SUBMITTER: Riley JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3026869 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature