Effects of Locomotion Training With Assistance of a Robot-Driven Gait Orthosis in Hemiparetic Patients After Subacute Stroke

February 17, 2014 updated by: Yonsei University

The investigators aimed in this study to investigate the effects of 4 weeks robot-assisted locomotor training on motor recovery of lower extremities and walking ability compared with the conventional gait training in subacute post-stroke non-ambulatory hemiplegic patients.

72 first-ever stroke patients who could not walk independently (FAC < 2), and suffered within 6 months were enrolled and randomly assigned into 2 groups. The subjects with congestive heart failure, malignancies, cardiopulmonary dysfunctions, and who could not walk independently before stroke attack were excluded.

Two groups received 30 minutes conventional gait training including Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) basically. The robotic assisted locomotor training group received additional robotic-assisted gait therapy for 30minutes with Lokomat® (Hocoma, Zurich, Switzerland) daily for 4 weeks, and the conventional gait training group received additional daily conventional gait training with NDT for the same periods. The independent walking ability(FAC ≥ 3), Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), Motricity index (MI), Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), Modified Barthel Index (MBI), Medical Research Council (MRC) for each lower extremity muscles were assessed before, during (2weeks) and after training. And the independent walking ability were followed until 3 months.

Study Overview

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

72

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

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

20 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Hemiparesis as result of 1st stroke
  2. No other neurologic or orthopedic disorder
  3. Independent ambulation before the stroke
  4. No severe medical illnesses
  5. Hemiparesis: lower extremity strength graded ≤ 3 in more than 2 muscle groups
  6. Functional ambulation classification (FAC) ≤ 1 : indicating a need for personal assistance in ambulation
  7. The interval between stroke and start of the treatment
  8. Time since stroke onset < 6 months
  9. age: 20-80yrs old

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Unstable fractures
  2. Severe osteoporosis
  3. Severe skin problems
  4. Severe joint problems
  5. Major difference in leg length,
  6. Body weight over 130 kg,
  7. Orthostatic circulatory problem
  8. Severe cognitive impairment

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 Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Lokomat Group
Two groups received 30 minutes conventional gait training including Neurodevelopmental Treatment(NDT) basically. Robot-assisted gait therapy for 30 minutes with Lokomat® (Hocoma, Zurich, Switzerland) daily for 4 weeks, and the conventional gait training group received additional daily conventional gait training with NDT for the same periods.
Active Comparator: conventional gait training group
Two groups received 30 minutes conventional gait training including Neurodevelopmental Treatment(NDT) basically. Robot-assisted gait therapy for 30 minutes with Lokomat® (Hocoma, Zurich, Switzerland) daily for 4 weeks, and the conventional gait training group received additional daily conventional gait training with NDT for the same periods.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
change of functional ambulation category point
Time Frame: baseline, during training (2weeks), post training (4weeks) & followed for 2months after training
FAC is a functional walking test that evaluates ambulation ability. This is an 6-point scale.
baseline, during training (2weeks), post training (4weeks) & followed for 2months after training

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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

March 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 7, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 9, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

November 15, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 19, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2014

Last Verified

February 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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