Combining Robotic-Assisted Therapy and Pharmacotherapy in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation
Status:
Withdrawn
Trial end date:
2017-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Stroke is the leading cause of acquired long-term disability in adults in developed
countries. Despite aggressive rehabilitation, lasting upper extremity impairment remains in
the majority of stroke survivors. It is hypothesized that enhancing neuroplasticity through
the combination of drug therapy and physical therapy could enhance outcomes for stroke
survivors. The combination of levodopa and intensive physical therapy shows promise in
enhancing the functional motor recovery of stroke patients during the sub-acute and chronic
period without reported significant side effects. Robotic-aided training is a promising tool
that has the potential to deliver high-intensity, task-oriented, reproducible therapy that
can decrease the burden on a therapist. Since the evidence behind dopaminergic potentiation
of neuroplasticity and stroke recovery is promising, it is the investigators aim to combine
dopaminergic drug therapy with highly intensive robotic-assisted therapy to provide superior
upper extremity functional recovery over traditional stroke rehabilitation.