Effects of treatment intensity in upper limb robot-assisted therapy for XXXX : a pilot randomized controlled trial.

@entity1 @entity64 @entity34
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: @entity34 ( @entity34 ) is a current promising intervention in @entity64 rehabilitation, but more research is warranted for examining its efficacy and the dose-benefit relation. The authors investigated the effects of higher intensity versus lower intensity @entity34 on movements of forearm pronation-supination and wrist flexion-extension relative to conventional rehabilitation (CR) in @entity1 poststroke for a mean of 21 months. METHODS: In this pilot study, 18 @entity1 with initial mean Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) of 37 to 44 for the upper extremity were randomized to higher intensity @entity34 , lower intensity @entity34 , or CR intervention for 4 weeks. The dose of the higher intensity @entity34 was twice the number of repetitions in the lower intensity @entity34 . Outcome measures at pretreatment and posttreatment were administered to @entity1 to evaluate beneficial and adverse effects of interventions. Primary outcomes were the FMA and Medical Research Council scale. RESULTS: There were significant differences in motor function (P = .04) and daily performance (P = .03) among the 3 groups. The higher intensity @entity34 group showed better improvement in motor function, muscle strength, performance of daily activities, and bimanual ability than the other 2 groups. The intensive @entity34 intervention did not induce higher levels of an oxidative DNA biomarker. CONCLUSIONS: Higher intensity of @entity34 that assists forearm and wrist movements may lead to greater improvement in motor ability and functional performance in @entity64 @entity1 . A sample size of only 20 to 25 in each arm of a larger randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm the findings for similar subjects.
