Stroke rehabilitation researchers at Kessler Foundation report an association between acute, severe spatial neglect post stroke and long-term recovery of mobility. This new study indicates that severity of spatial neglect during the acute inpatient rehabilitation for right brain stroke may predict functional mobility in the community after discharge. The article, "Severity of spatial neglect during acute inpatient rehabilitation predicts community mobility post stroke," was epublished ahead of print in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation on January 9, 2014. The authors are Mooyeon Oh-Park, MD, and Peii Chen, PhD, of Kessler Foundation, Cynthia Hung, MD, of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and A.M. Barrett, MD, director of Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Foundation, and chief of Neurorehabilitation Program Innovation at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. Drs. Barrett, Chen and Oh-Park have faculty appointments at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Spatial neglect is a disabling disorder of functional vision that often complicates recovery after right brain stroke," observed Dr. Oh-Park. "This study shows that there may be implications for physical, as well as cognitive, rehabilitation in patients who exhibit severe spatial neglect during acute inpatient rehabilitation." The research team looked at whether stroke survivors with more severe spatial neglect during their acute inpatient rehabilitation … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Jan-2014 Contact: Micah Dorfner dorfner.micah@mayo.edu 507-304-7178 Mayo Clinic MANKATO, Minn. Jan. 27, 2014 For patients who have experienced a large stroke that cuts off blood supply to a large part of the brain, the use of standardized medical management protocol and surgery to decompress swelling can improve life expectancy, Mayo Clinic researchers found in a recent study. The medical protocol provided each patient with consistent procedures for airway management, ventilator settings, blood pressure control, fluid and electrolyte management, gastrointestinal and nutritional management, hematologic monitoring and management, intracranial pressure monitoring, sedation, use of medication, anticonvulsants, prevention against deep-vein thrombosis and rehabilitation. Surgery involved removing a large portion of the skull over the area of the stroke to provide extra room for the brain swelling. This reduced pressure in the head and risk of death. For surviving patients, the piece of skull was replaced via a second surgery after the brain swelling had resolved. "We discovered who out of this patient group was most at risk for mortality. We also determined that by using a standardized medical protocol in other words, treating every patient in the exact same way and preparing for each issue we may encounter we were … Continue reading →

Released: 1/27/2014 11:00 AM EST Source Newsroom: Mayo Clinic Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise MANKATO, Minn. Jan. 27, 2014 For patients who have experienced a large stroke that cuts off blood supply to a large part of the brain, the use of standardized medical management protocol and surgery to decompress swelling can improve life expectancy, Mayo Clinic researchers found in a recent study. The medical protocol provided each patient with consistent procedures for airway management, ventilator settings, blood pressure control, fluid and electrolyte management, gastrointestinal and nutritional management, hematologic monitoring and management, intracranial pressure monitoring, sedation, use of medication, anticonvulsants, prevention against deep-vein thrombosis and rehabilitation. Surgery involved removing a large portion of the skull over the area of the stroke to provide extra room for the brain swelling. This reduced pressure in the head and risk of death. For surviving patients, the piece of skull was replaced via a second surgery after the brain swelling had resolved. We discovered who out of this patient group was most at risk for mortality. We also determined that by using a standardized medical protocol in other words, treating every patient in the exact same way and preparing for each … Continue reading →