New Treatments

[Sharon Wagoner]

Robot helps to retrain brain
The Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device (HoWARD) has successfully been tested on seven women and six men who had suffered a stroke at least three months before the study. These results, while encouraging, need to be balanced. There must be enough residual motor power in the arm and hand of stroke patients to initiate some movement for this robotic therapy to work.

The HoWARD robotic device has been developed by Steven C. Cramer, an associate professor in neurology, anatomy and neurobiology at University of California, Irvine (UCI), and his colleagues.


Electrostimulation

Electrostimulation is a potential treatment to improve recovery of movement control and functional ability after stroke.
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003241.html

[Dean Reinke]

Sounds like HoWARD uses the easy neuroplasticity to recover, similar to CIMT, where the penumbra of the stroke was knocked unconscious and is recovering. This is compared to hard neuroplasticity where the epicenter of the stroke is dead and what it controlled has to find a new place to work. Considering that I have 12 square inches of dead space I need to move a lot of control and I haven't seen any research that addresses this issue.
Dean

[Sharon Wagoner]

Here are some interesting articles on stroke recovery:

http://www.rehabpub.com/news/2009-02-09_02.asp

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/31/1/223

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&art...

Have you read about research on Nogo-A inhibitors enabling regrowth of damaged nerve cells?

[Sharon Wagoner]

Another robot that helps with therapy--RUPERT(Robotic Upper Extremity Repetitive Therapy)

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/23909.php

[Dean Reinke]

Sharon, Thanks for the NOGO link, i had not seen that specific one.I may have to see a new physiatrist again and ask what is new in stroke rehab. I know neuroplasticity works, it is just a matter what exactly needs to be done to get it going. Of course i have to turn off my spastic muscles before i can turn on the ones i want to fire. Maybe i have enough brain power to accomplish this but I'm afraid that it will start canabalizing my frontal cortex.
Dean

[susan barreca]

what exactly is neurospasticity?

[Sharon Wagoner]

Susan,

Neuroplasticity (also referred to as brain plasticity, cortical plasticity or cortical re-mapping) is the changing of neurons, the organization of their networks, and their function via new experiences. In reference to a stroke it means other brain areas can be reprogrammed to take over the job of damaged areas of the brain. Read more about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity

spasticity a form of muscular hypertonicity with increased resistance to stretch.

[Sharon Wagoner]

Dean,

I just watched a 2001 NOVA production Secrets of the Mind. The phantom sensation of stroking an amputated hand when the face is stroked shows that brain areas can be re-assigned.

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Secrets_of_the_Mind/70061002?trkid=226870

http://www.amazon.com/NOVA-Secrets-Mind-V-S-Ramachandran/dp/B000JJ5...

Sharon