kes1212Kessler Foundation, headquartered in West Orange, NJ, recently linked acute, severe spatial neglect post-stroke to long-term recovery mobility.

The association, researchers say, indicates that severity during the acute inpatient rehabilitation for right brain stroke may help predict functional mobility in the community after discharge.

The article appears ahead of print in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Authors included 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.

“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,” notes Oh-Park.

According to a news release from the Foundation, the study encompassed 31 patients with right brain stroke who demonstrated spatial neglect within 2 months post-stroke. The researchers assessed participants with the Behavioral Inattention Test and Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) tests of neglect recovery, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging Life-Space Assessment for community mobility.

Researchers report that the results indicate community mobility, defined by the extent and frequency of traveling in home and the community, was poorest among patients who exhibited severe spatial neglect post-stroke.

Barrett emphasizes that the findings highlight, “another reason to support early detection and intervention of spatial neglect. Even when neglect improved, there was an impact on community mobility 6 months later.”

Source: Kessler Foundation