mCIMT and Eye Patching for Neglect Rehabilitation Post Stroke: A Longitudinal Study of Separate and Combined Effects

December 20, 2005 updated by: National Taiwan University Hospital

Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy and Eye Patching for Neglect Rehabilitation Post Stroke: A Longitudinal Study of Separate and Combined Effects

The purpose of the current study is to evaluate relative efficacy of (1)modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) combined with eye patching, (2)mCIMT, and (3) traditional rehabilitation on motor, attentional, and activities of daily living functions in stroke patients with unilateral neglect (UN). UN represents a failure to respond or orient to stimuli presented contralateral to a brain lesion. Constraint-induced movement therapy is made up of a family of treatment that involve repeatedly practicing use of the affected limb and constraining use of the unaffected arm in the clinic and at home. mCIMT is an intervention based on modifications to conventional CIMT by distributing practice sessions to a longer period of time. mCIMT attempts to supplement the inadequacy of the current rehabilitation programs and to fit better into rehabilitation schedules. This technique has been suggested to be especially relevant for treatment of patients with UN.Half-field eye patching involves occlusion of the hemifield of both eyes (in the case of left UN, the right hemifields of both eyes). Patching the ipsilateral hemifield is believed to increase activation of the involved hemisphere, resulting in increased attention to the contralateral neglected side.

Despite the promising relevance of mCIMT for rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia, it remains unclear whether mCIMT is effective for alleviating UN. A further issue that warrants investigation is the combined effects of mCIMT and eye patching. Both approaches involve the use of controlled sensory input that may lead to increased activation of the lesioned hemisphere. Integration of both approaches may be more efficacious than mCIMT without direct intervention for UN. This project is proposed to study the combined effects of both approaches. It is hypothesized that combining both approaches will be more effective than mCIMT, which is hypothesized to be superior to traditional rehabilitation involving the same amount of therapy time. To test the hypotheses, 60 patients with unilateral stroke and UN will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups (i.e., mCIMT and eye patching, mCIMT, and traditional rehabilitation). Testing for UN will include the use of the line bisection test, cancellation tasks, and examination for extinction to double simultaneous stimulations.

The outcome measures will include traditional motor function tests, kinematic analysis, a circle discrimination test, and daily life functional measures. Each eligible participant will be tested before and immediately after the assigned intervention and at three months and six months after the treatment. Each type of treatment will be three-week long. Multivariate analysis of covariance will be used to analyze the obtained data in order to test for the relative effects of the three treatments. Each participant will be tested for motivation for participating in treatment sessions using the Pittsburgh Rehabilitation Participation Scale. It is hypothesized that patients with higher participation will improve more than those with lower participation.

The uniqueness of this proposed project pertains to (1)modification of the CIMT protocol in a more feasible way; (2)concurrent use of mCIMT and eye patching for treating UN post stroke; and (3)use of kinematic analysis for detecting precise changes in motor behavior post intervention. Kinematic analysis is relevant for identifying trajectory control deficits that may accompany clinically "recovered" UN. Findings of this investigation will improve assessment and treatment for UN that is devastating to functional recovery from stroke.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

60

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Recruiting
        • Keh-chung Lin
        • Contact:
          • Keh-chung Lin

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

45 years to 75 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • (1) a single unilateral stroke with stable medical conditions; (2) presence of UN; (3) demonstration of the proximal part movement in the affected upper extremity and a minimum of 20 degrees of active wrist extension and 10 degrees of finger extension; (4) no severe aphasia that hampers command following; (5) no severe cognitive impairments (Mini-Mental State Examination score >= 22); (6) being right-handed premorbidly by self-report.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: SINGLE

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
traditional motor function tests,
kinematic analysis,
a circle discrimination test,
and daily life function measures

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Keh-chung Lin, Sc.D, National Taiwan University, Department of Occupational Therapy

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

November 1, 2005

Study Completion

July 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 14, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 14, 2005

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

November 15, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

December 21, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 20, 2005

Last Verified

August 1, 2005

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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