Stroke Clinical Trials

A community-academic partnership composed of a State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University inter-disciplinary team of scientists (representing public health, medical informatics, vascular neurology/stroke center) and the Digital Equity Community Advisory Board (DECA) will guide our research. This is an NIH R21 pilot study. Our Specific Aims are designed to inform the sample design and research priorities for a larger NIH R01 experimental study and to serve as a platform for similar studies with other health conditions. We propose a mixed-methods study design with the following aims: 1. Assess and build setting, community, and user fit of DESA, leveraging qualitative methods and simulation telehealth encounters between the patient and neurologist. 2. Conduct a 9-month pilot randomized control trial (RCT) of DESA in a Central Brooklyn stroke population to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy. We will randomize 50 adults to DESA and 30 to usual care. The primary outcome will be BP control. Secondary outcomes include the number of BP measurements and medication compliance. Our primary hypothesis is that patients randomized to the DESA will significantly reduce systolic blood pressure at 9 months. 3. Examine barriers and facilitators to the adoption and integration of DESA into routine stroke care utilizing key informant interviews and user satisfaction surveys with neurologists and intervention participants. Read Less

Stroke is among the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. Post-stroke neuromotor impairments are heterogeneous, yet often result in reduced walking ability characterized by slow, asymmetric, and unstable gait patterns. Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) is an emerging rehabilitation approach that leverages auditory-motor synchronization to retrain neuromotor control of walking. Indeed, walking with RAS can enhance walking rhythmicity, gait quality, and speed. RAS is a potentially valuable tool for walking rehabilitation after stroke; however, despite extensive research evidence on the overall benefits of RAS in people with chronic stroke, the notable variability in the walking characteristics of individual patients is likely to influence the effectiveness of RAS intervention, and thus requires study. Furthermore, beyond stroke-related factors, age-related changes may also affect how well individuals post-stroke respond to RAS. This study aims to recruit 24 individuals post-stroke and 20 older adults to evaluate the effects of stroke- and age-related neuromotor impairment on RAS intervention. Each study participant will complete two six-minute walk tests: one without RAS (baseline) and the other with RAS delivered using a metronome. The investigators hypothesize that post-stroke individuals will, on average, exhibit a positive response to RAS intervention (i.e., walk farther and with greater gait automaticity (i.e., reduced stride time variability), with the degree of response predicted by specific baseline characteristics. Furthermore, the investigators anticipate that these walking enhancements will be accompanied by improvements in gait biomechanics and a reduction in the metabolic cost of walking. The investigators hypothesize that older adults will exhibit similar, but attenuated, effects of RAS. Read Less

The Smart Ankle-Foot Orthosis (Smart AFO) system is an investigational system that combines a diagnostic ankle-foot orthosis with a mobile application to assist clinicians in optimizing an AFO user's gait by adjusting AFO stiffness and range of motion settings, and quantifying functional walking improvements in post-stroke individuals. The purpose of the clinical testing is to evaluate the Smart AFO system with its target users: post-stroke AFO users and orthotists. This may include, but is not limited to, identifying any aspects of the Smart AFO system that could be improved through clinical testing and evaluating the gait of post-stroke AFO users walking with an AFO adjusted using the Smart AFO system. Read Less

The purpose of this Phase I study is to conduct a pilot clinical trial using a mobile app-connected, wire-free surface electromyography (sEMG) system, called mGain, that provides biofeedback-based therapy in individuals with upper limb weakness due to neurologic injury or with upper limb amputation. Our overarching hypothesis is that the mGain wireless sEMG device and mobile therapeutic gaming environment will demonstrate improved adherence to therapy when compared to standard of care and will be feasible, acceptable, and usable in individuals with upper limb weakness or limb amputation. All participants will undertake four weeks of therapy. Conducting therapy five days a week for 30 minutes a day. In addition, participants will have an initial and final assessment visit at a study site, with each visit expected to last 1-2 hours. Read Less

TRACTs (DeconsTructing Post StRoke HemipAresis for PreCision NeurorehabiliTation) is a single timepoint study that aims to deconstruct post-stroke deficits of the upper extremity into distinct components and relate these components to brain anatomy and physiology. Read Less

People post-stroke retain the capacity to modify walking patterns explicitly using biofeedback and implicitly when encountering changes in the walking environment. This proposal will assess changes in muscle activation patterns associated with walking modifications driven explicitly vs. implicitly, to determine whether individuals generate different amounts of co-contraction during explicit vs. implicit walking modifications. Understanding how walking modifications driven explicitly vs. implicitly influence co-contraction will allow the investigators to identify approaches that can more effectively restore muscle activation toward pre-stroke patterns, promoting mechanism-based recovery of walking function. Read Less

Individuals with and without neurologic diagnoses greatly benefit from participation in regular exercise but the majority are physically inactive. This is an issue for both them and their care partners as their health is often linked. This study aims to examine the long-term physical and psychosocial effects of structured, group-based, high intensity functional training (HIFT) exercise for people with neurologic diagnoses and their care partners. Read Less

For stroke patients, early initiation of therapy typically yields the best functional outcomes. Rehabilitation of stroke patients immediately after hospitalization minimizes deleterious effects of immobility and facilitates restoration of function. The investigators are testing if coordinated efforts between the medical and rehabilitation disciplines may improve stroke patient's functional recovery and subsequent follow-ups after discharge. Read Less

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the primary cause of long-term disability in the United States, affecting approximately 795,000 people each year. Hemiparesis, or unilateral weakness, is common after stroke and responsible for changes in muscle activation and movement patterns as well as declines in walking speed. It has been shown that increased walking speed directly corresponds to a higher quality of life in older adults and therefore, is often the goal of motor rehabilitation after stroke. However, there is no consensus on the best method for improving walking function after stroke and the results of post-stroke gait studies vary widely across sites and studies. Walking is one of the human's most important functions that serve survival, progress, and interaction. The force between the foot and the walking surface is very important. Although there have been many studies trying to understand this, there is a need for the development of a system that can advance research and provide new functionality. In this work, we will conduct a series of studies that attempt to analyze human gait and adaptations from different perspectives. Read Less

Determine if Telehealth intervention can allow/empower a caregiver (who is untrained) to effectively implement and utilize a Brain-Computer Interface for communication with a participant who is "Locked in" following progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and other conditions. Read Less

This project seeks to determine how post-stroke cognitive impairment moderates motor learning during walking in older adults with chronic stroke and identify brain structural markers that mediate this relationship. The chosen experimental design integrates biomechanical analyses, neuropsychological assessments, and brain imaging techniques to determine the impact of post-stroke cognitive impairment severity on two forms of motor learning (explicit and implicit) and examine the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the relationship between cognition and explicit motor learning. Ultimately, this work may lead to the development of a more comprehensive, effective treatment approach to improve walking dysfunction in older adults post-stroke. Read Less

If a subject agrees to participate, the primary investigators will collect some basic information including age, height, and weight. Intake of some general questions regarding health will be performed and each subject will complete some tests that measure walking speed, cognition, and balance. During these tests participants will be asked to stand from a chair, walk up \& down a staircase, walk over objects in a forward, backward, and sideways directions, walk around objects in forward and backward directions. After completing those tests, participants will be asked to repeat them while doing another task such as counting out loud, naming objects, or passing an object from one hand to another. Read Less