Neural Correlates of Lower Extremity Motor Recovery in Stroke Patients: Longitudinal Diffusion Spectrum Imaging Studies

To investigate the relationship between the integrity of the white matter, including the corticospinal tracts and the corpus callosum, with the recovery of lower extremity function in patients with cerebral stroke at the subacute and chronic stages.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stroke

Detailed Description

Recent studies have provided strong evidence that motor recovery after adult ischemic stroke is a function of neural plasticity. Up to date, it remains largely unknown as to the relationship between the integrity of the subcortical white matter with the lower extremity function recovery. Given the fact that the white matter is more resistant to ischemia after acute stroke than the gray matter (Falcao et al., 2004) and that the intensity of white matter in stroke has been found to be much greater in many brain areas in stroke than in healthy controls (Wen et al., 2004), it is of interest to study how the integrity of the subcortical white matter, primarily the corticospinal tracts and the corpus callosum, contributes to the recovery of lower extremity function in subacute and chronic stroke with lesions involving different areas of the brain.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 24

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Taiwan
    • Taipei, Taiwan, China
      • School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy College of Medicine, National Taiwan University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 30 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

stroke patients

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• between 30 to 80 years old
• diagnosis of the first-time onset of stroke as confirmed by imaging studies
• within 30 days post onset University Hospital
• brain lesions mainly involving either the cortical primary motor cortex (M1) area or confined to the subcortical (M1 spared)
• No neurological or orthopedic problems which would affect their lower extremity function
• no contraindications for MRI studies

Exclusion Criteria:

• medically unstable
• unable to communicate with the experimenters

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
clinical assessments, included balance, motor, walking,ADL, will be obtained for tests performed on D7, D30 and D90	D30, D90 and D180 post stroke onset

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital
• Collaborators: National Science Council, Taiwan
• Investigators: Study Chair: Pei-Fang Tang, PhD, National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2006
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2009
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 3, 2006
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 3, 2006
• First Posted (Estimate): December 5, 2006

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): July 8, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 4, 2013
• Last Verified: January 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Stroke; Lower extremity; Functional MRI (fMRI); Diffusion spectrum tractography
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Stroke
• Other Study ID Numbers: 9561703031; NSC95-2314-B-002-238-MY3