Stroke subtype and motor impairment influence contralesional excitability.
Publication/Presentation Date
8-11-2015
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The nonlesioned motor cortex (M1NL) is thought to be hyperexcitable in patients with subacute or chronic stroke and offers a promising therapeutic target. However, whether M1NL excitability behaves the same for subcortical and cortical strokes is unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine whether cortical, or purely subcortical, strokes have a different effect on M1NL excitability.
METHODS: We looked for correlations between the Fugl-Meyer (FM) score and M1NL resting motor threshold (RMTNL) in 34 stroke survivors classified according to lesion location (cortico-subcortical or purely subcortical). In addition to the FM, the Wolf Motor Score and motor power were measured.
RESULTS: FM correlated with RMTNL for subcortical (r = 0.82; p = 0.001) but not for cortical strokes (r = 0.11; p = 0.62). Likewise, Wolf Motor Score (r = -0.62; p = 0.03) and motor power (r = 0.64; p = 0.023) were correlated with RMTNL for the subcortical group, but not for the cortical group.
CONCLUSION: We show that the impact on M1NL depends on lesion location and conclude that protocols aimed at reducing M1NL cortical excitability may be worth exploring for subcortical but not for cortical stroke.
Volume
85
Issue
6
First Page
517
Last Page
520
ISSN
1526-632X
Published In/Presented At
Thickbroom, G. W., Cortes, M., Rykman, A., Volpe, B. T., Fregni, F., Krebs, H. I., Pascual-Leone, A., & Edwards, D. J. (2015). Stroke subtype and motor impairment influence contralesional excitability. Neurology, 85(6), 517–520. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001828
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
26187228
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article