Substrates for Post-Stroke Arm Rehabilitation

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Stroke Rehabilitation, Stroke, Neurorecovery

In brief

Difficulty moving the arm is very common and a major cause of disability after stroke. Although rehabilitation therapies (i.e., occupational and physical therapy) are the most common treatments used to improve arm motor function, it remains unknown how therapy actually changes brain pathways after stroke. This project seeks to generate fundamental knowledge about brain pathways that allow people to move their arm after stroke and how these pathways change with rehabilitation; we expect this knowledge to translate to new therapies to reduce stroke-related disability. We plan to enroll N = 50 patients with moderate to severe difficulty moving their arm after ischemic or hemorrhage stroke during the subacute period (3 to 6 months post stroke) into either 30 hours over 6 weeks of Arm Basis Training (a protocolized form of occupational therapy targeting motor control) or usual care. We will perform kinematic motor assessments, neuroimaging, and neurophysiology before and after therapy in order to test the hypothesis that intensive, target training improves arm motor control and induces corresponding anatomical and physiological changes of associated brain pathways.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06998485

Run by

Massachusetts General Hospital

People needed

50

Starts

2025-10-07

Expected to finish

2030-04-30

Last updated by the study team

2026-03-11

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• first time unilateral ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke occurring within the 3-6 months
• upper extremity motor impairment as measured by the Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (UE-FMA) Score <= 44
• ability to participate in a 6-week intensive upper extremity intervention in English as determined by a licensed occupational therapist.

You may not qualify if…

• bilateral stroke
• unstable medical status affecting functional status
• pre-stroke upper extremity injury or conditions that limited use
• visual or auditory impairment limiting ability to participate in study procedures
• significant aphasia (NIHSS sub-item 9 > 1) or cognitive (NIHSS 1a or 1b or
• 1c > 1) deficits
• known or expected inability to maintain follow-up through the study intervention and post- assessment
• contraindications to MRI
• contraindications to TMS
• known history of uncontrolled seizure disorder.

Where it is running

• Laboratory for Translational Neurorecovery, Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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