Status:
COMPLETED
Tactile Learning in Stroke Patients
Lead Sponsor:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Conditions:
Stroke
Eligibility:
All Genders
18-90 years
Brief Summary
This study will determine if stimulation of the stroke-injured side of the brain combined with stimulation to the paralyzed hand can temporarily improve the sense of touch in stroke patients. Healthy...
Detailed Description
Chronic stroke is often accompanied by tactile impairments that contribute to long-term disability in activities of daily living. While new rehabilitative interventions recently became available in th...
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion
- INCLUSION CRITERIA:
- We will include left- and right-handed stroke patients, aged 18-90 years, with thromboembolic or hemorrhagic hemispheric lesions at least 3 months after the stroke. We will choose patients who initially had a severe motor paresis (below MRC grade 2), and subsequently recovered to the point that they have a residual motor deficit but can perform the required tasks. Moreover, only chronic stroke patients with moderate tactile deficits (defined by absolute touch thresholds below 4 N using von Frey filaments) who are able to differentiate the alignment of a grating dome (either orthogonal or parallel to the index finger) of at least 5 mm grooves that is applied on the fingertip will be included in the protocol.
- Assessment of the initial functional state will be taken either from patient reports or medical records. Right-handed healthy volunteers, aged 18-90 years, should be able to concentrate on the required tasks. Handedness will be assessed by the Edinburgh inventory scale as well as the hand dominance test (HDT). We will additionally perform a pregnancy test for women of child-bearing potential. All experimental sessions will be on outpatient basis.
- EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
- Chronic stroke patients will be not be eligible for the study if they:
- are unable to perform the behavioral tasks,
- have a sensory neglect,
- have had more than one clinical stroke,
- have both sides of the brain affected,
- have had a stroke in the cerebellum or brainstem,
- have a history of alcohol or drug abuse or severe language disturbances or serious cognitive deficits,
- have uncontrolled medical problems, such as heart, lung or kidney disease, epilepsy or diabetes mellitus,
- have severe tactile deficits (defined by Frey filaments exerting a force of 4 N to the distal pad of the finger on the paretic and non-paretic hand),
- are pregnant,
- have a cardiac pacemaker, intracardiac lines, implanted medication pumps, neural stimulators, metal in the cranium, with the exception of dental braces in the mouth.
- Exclusion criteria for healthy volunteers:
- Healthy volunteers will not be eligible for the study if they:
- are unable to perform the tasks,
- have a history of alcohol or drug abuse or severe language disturbances or serious cognitive deficits,
- have uncontrolled medical problems, such as heart, lung or kidney disease, epilepsy or diabetes mellitus,
- have severe tactile deficits (defined by Frey filaments exerting a force of 4 N to the distal pad of the finger),
- are pregnant,
- have a cardiac pacemaker, intracardiac lines, implanted medication pumps, neural stimulators, metal in the cranium except in the mouth, dental braces.
Exclusion
Key Trial Info
Start Date :
January 25 2006
Trial Type :
OBSERVATIONAL
End Date :
Estimated Enrollment :
70 Patients enrolled
Trial Details
Trial ID
NCT00283881
Start Date
January 25 2006
Last Update
July 2 2017
Active Locations (1)
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1
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892