Advances in Stroke 2017.

Abstract

For stroke rehabilitation and recovery, 2017 was a year of reviews and research advances. Reviews included all aspects of poststroke rehabilitation and recovery. Cognitive rehabilitation for memory deficits was effective for memory improvements in the short term, but not in the long term.1 Circuit class therapy could improve mobility after stroke in a clinically meaningful way, even after 12 months poststroke.2 Electromechanical-assisted training for walking was most beneficial for subacute stroke survivors who were not ambulatory.3 Repetitive task training was effective regardless of the amount of task practice, type of intervention, or time since stroke.4 Physical activity training could positively affect poststroke cognition with small-to-moderate treatment effects that were apparent even in the chronic stroke phase.5 In all cases, more research was required to improve the quality of the findings, and a review of poststroke fatigue reported that the overall quality of the research was poor.6 Discovery research provided more insight into basic aspects of stroke rehabilitation and recovery. Stradecki-Cohan et al7 studied Sprague–Dawley rats subjected to 5 to 6 days of no (0 m/min), mild (6 m/min), moderate (10 m/min), or heavy (15–18 m/min) treadmill exercise 3 to 4 days poststroke and demonstrated that moderate exercise enhanced cognitive function for 1 week after exercise completion, independent of changes in physical fitness. Chang et al8 demonstrated that the number of Met alleles in brain-derived neurotrophic factor genotypes and corticospinal tract (CST) functional integrity may be independent predictors of upper extremity motor outcome 3 months poststroke. Tu et al9 found that concentrations of FABP4 (fatty acid–binding protein 4), an intracellular lipid chaperone involved in coordination of lipid transportation and atherogenesis, were a novel independent prognostic marker for poor functional outcome and mortality 3 months poststroke. Imaging of the CST also played a …