Priming and task-specific training for arm weakness post stroke: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The objective of this work was to evaluate if task-specific training (TST) preceded by bilateral upper limb motor priming (BUMP) reduces upper limb impairment more than TST preceded by control priming ([CP], sham electrical stimulation) in people with chronic stroke.

Methods: In this single-blind, randomized controlled trial, 76 adults with moderate to severe upper limb hemiparesis ≥6 months post-stroke were stratified by baseline impairment and randomized to receive either BUMP or CP prior to receiving the same TST protocol. Participants completed 30 h of treatment in 15 days over 6 weeks.

Families on the Space-Time Continuum: Conceptualizing and Measuring Temporal and Spatial Dimensions.

The "space-time continuum" is a theoretical framework in physics that removes the distinction between time and space and, instead, treats them as part of a seamless continuum. In this paper, I use it as the basis for a new approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges for low-income families through a focus on two key dimensions of family life: time and space. The spatial element refers to the physical proximity of family members and the temporal pertains to the duration of time in which family members maintain particular arrangements in response to economic shocks, health challenges and new opportunities for social mobility.

Blood flow modulation to improve motor and neurophysiological outcomes in individuals with stroke: a scoping review.

Ischemic Conditioning (IC) is a procedure involving brief periods of occlusion followed by reperfusion in stationary limbs. Blood Flow Restriction with Exercise (BFR-E) is a technique comprising blood flow restriction during aerobic or resistance exercise. Both IC and BFR-E are Blood Flow Modulation (BFM) strategies that have shown promise across various health domains and are clinically relevant for stroke rehabilitation.

Employment, income, and sleep in South Africa: An actor-partner interdependence model approach.

Objective: We analyze the relationship between employment status, income, and sleep in South Africa to address two research questions: (1) How does employment status influence the sleep quantity of the individual and their partner? (2) How does income impact the sleep quantity of the individual and their partner?

Method: Using data from 1600 Black African couples in the South African Time Use Study, we employ the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to investigate the relationship between employment status, income, and sleep in couples. We categorize nighttime sleep into three categories: recommended sleep (7-9 hours), short sleep (<7 hours), and long sleep (>9 hours).

Results: Employed individuals were more likely to get the recommended amount of sleep and less likely to experience long sleep.

Safety & efficacy of a robotic hip exoskeleton on outpatient stroke rehabilitation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the safety and efficacy of using a robotic hip exoskeleton designed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Korea, called the Gait Enhancing and Motivating System-Hip (GEMS-H), in assistance mode only with the poststroke population in an outpatient-rehabilitation setting.

The Association of Interlimb Coordination and Temporal Symmetry With Walking Function and Motor Impairment After Stroke.

Objective: Interlimb coordination during walking is impaired after stroke, with unknown effects on walking function. This cross-sectional study determined associations of interlimb coordination and temporal symmetry with walking function and motor impairment.

Design: During walking, participants wore wireless sensors to detect heel strikes.

Barriers to Enrollment in a Post-Stroke Neuromodulation and Walking Study: Implications for Recruiting Women.

Background: Women have a higher risk of stroke and related disability than men but are underrepresented in stroke clinical trials. Identifying modifiable recruitment and enrollment barriers for women can improve study generalizability, statistical power, and resource utilization.

Objective: In a post-stroke neuromodulation study, we determined the impact of sex on the occurrence of exclusion criteria and compared the sex distribution of screened and enrolled individuals with a broader stroke-affected population.

A map of evidence using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve cognition in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Introduction: Cognition impairments often occur after a traumatic brain injury and occur at higher rates in military members. Cognitive symptoms impair daily function, including balance and life quality, years after the TBI. Current treatments to regain cognitive function after TBI, including medications and cognitive rehabilitation, have shown limited effectiveness.

Concurrent validity of walking speed measured by a wearable sensor and a stopwatch during the 10-meter walk test in individuals with stroke.

Background: Walking speed is often measured with a stopwatch throughout stroke recovery. Wearable sensors also have been used recently to measure walking speed and provide information about spatiotemporal characteristics of walking.

Research Question: Do walking speeds measured with stopwatch and APDM wearable sensors have concurrent validity?

Methods: Individuals with chronic stroke (n = 62) performed the 10-meter walk test at comfortable and maximal speeds.

Understanding corticomotor mechanisms for activation of non-target muscles during unilateral isometric contractions of leg muscles after stroke.

Purpose: Muscle activation often occurs in muscles ipsilateral to a voluntarily activated muscle and to a greater extent after stroke. In this study, we measured muscle activation in non-target, ipsilateral leg muscles and used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to provide insight into whether corticomotor pathways contribute to involuntary activation.

Materials And Methods: Individuals with stroke performed unilateral isometric ankle dorsiflexion, ankle plantarflexion, knee extension, and knee flexion.

Non-paretic leg movements can facilitate cortical drive to the paretic leg in individuals post stroke with severe motor impairment: Implications for motor priming.

Cross-education, a phenomenon where unilateral strength (or skill) training enhances strength (or skill) in the contralateral untrained limb, has been well studied in able-bodied individuals. Cross-education effect accompanies bilateral changes of corticomotor activity in the motor cortex (M1). Recent reports demonstrated greater cross-education effect in stroke survivors compared to healthy individuals, however, corticomotor responses to cross-education in stroke remains unclear.

Can post stroke walking improve via telerehabilitation? A systematic review in adults with stroke.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze primary studies investigating the effects of telerehabilitation on walking outcomes for the treatment of adult stroke survivors.

Methods: Data sources included PubMed, Embase and CINAHL searched until August 2022, using combinations of several keywords such as "telerehabilitation", "stroke", and "gait". Studies were required to have bidirectional form of videoconferencing with assessor presence, and include assessment of walking function (speed, endurance and/or balance).

Understanding the Interaction of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Visual Feedback During an Ankle Movement Task.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been demonstrated to facilitate motor performance in healthy individuals; however, results are variable. The neuromodulatory effects of tDCS during visuomotor tasks may be influenced by extrinsic visual feedback. However, this interaction between tDCS and visual feedback has not been explored for the lower limb.

Video parameters for action observation training in stroke rehabilitation: a scoping review.

Purpose: Action observation training (AOT) is a therapeutic approach used in stroke rehabilitation. Videos form the core of AOT, and knowledge of constituent parameters is essential to make the intervention robust and generalizable. Currently, there is a dearth of available information on video parameters to be used for AOT.

Post-migration emotional well-being among Black South Africans.

Internal migration has been an institutionalized part of life for Black South Africans from the 1800s, when men left their rural homes to work in mines, through apartheid and into the present. Like other settings in the Global South, we know surprisingly little about the emotional well-being of migrants, especially in sub-Saharan African contexts. We investigate changes in the emotional well-being of 2281 working-age Black South Africans after migration, drawing on four waves of data, from 2008 to 2015, from the nationally representative National Income Dynamics Study.

A cognitive task, deep breathing, and static stretching reduce variability of motor evoked potentials during subsequent transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Background: Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) demonstrate trial-to-trial variability limiting detection and interpretation of changes in corticomotor excitability. This study examined whether performing a cognitive task, voluntary breathing, or static stretching before TMS could reduce MEP variability.

Methods: 20 healthy young adults performed no-task, a cognitive task (Stroop test), deep breathing, and static stretching before TMS in a randomized order.

Functional connectivity of proximal and distal lower limb muscles and impact on gait variability in stroke.

Background: Higher gait variability after stroke increases risk of falls and compromises safe community ambulation. Corticomotor connectivity plays an important role in walking after stroke, however, its relation to gait variability remains unknown.

Research Question: Do corticomotor characteristics of the proximal and distal lower limb muscles predict gait variability in individuals with chronic stroke?

Methods: Retrospective analysis of data from 30 individuals with chronic stroke was conducted.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Game-Based Cortical Priming and Functional Lower Limb Training in a Remotely Supervised Home Setting for Chronic Stroke: A Case Series.

Background: Movement-based priming has been increasingly investigated to accelerate the effects of subsequent motor training. The feasibility and acceptability of this approach at home has not been studied. We developed a game-based priming system (DIG-I-PRIME) that engages the user in repeated ankle movements using serious games.

Effects of Cross-Education on Neural Adaptations Following Non-Paretic Limb Training in Stroke: A Scoping Review with Implications for Neurorehabilitation.

Current stroke rehabilitation interventions focus on intensive task specific training of the paretic limb, which may not be feasible for individuals with higher levels of impairment or in the early phase of stroke. Cross-education, a mechanism that improves strength or skill of the untrained limb following unilateral motor training, has high clinical relevance for stroke rehabilitation. Despite its potential benefits, our knowledge on the application and efficacy of cross-education in stroke is limited.

Motor overflow in the lower limb after stroke: Insights into mechanisms.

Motor overflow (involuntary muscle activation) is common after stroke, particularly in the non-paretic upper limb. Two potential cortical mechanisms are as follows: (1) The contralesional hemisphere controls both limbs, and (2) inhibition from the ipsilesional to the contralesional hemisphere is diminished. Few studies have differentiated between these hypotheses or investigated motor overflow in the lower limb after stroke.

Understanding factors contributing to participant satisfaction in stroke walking recovery clinical trials.

Background: Individuals with stroke face a distinct set of challenges, barriers and facilitators that need to be understood to streamline efficacy of stroke clinical trials and improve participant retention. Few long-term stroke rehabilitation trials have evaluated participant perception of their laboratory experience.

Methods: We collected data regarding trial satisfaction from 33 individuals with stroke who participated in 12 sessions of treadmill training which included pre, post and follow-up non-invasive brain stimulation and clinical assessments.

Economic Inequality and Divergence in Family Formation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Economic inequality has been rising in many sub-Saharan African countries alongside rapid changes to union and family formation. In high-income countries marked by rising inequality, union and family formation practices have diverged across socioeconomic statuses, with intergenerational social and health consequences for the disadvantaged. In this study, we address whether there is also evidence of demographic divergence in low-income settings.

"Magic" Number of Treadmill Sessions Needed to Achieve Meaningful Change in Gait Speed After Stroke: A Systematic Review.

The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the number of treadmill training sessions needed to make a meaningful change in gait speed for chronic stroke survivors. Relevant databases were searched up through February 2020. Articles were included if they fit the following criteria: stroke onset more than 5 mos, intention to treat with traditional treadmill training, and gait speed included as an outcome.