Functional versus Nonfunctional Rehabilitation in Chronic Ischemic Stroke: Evidences from a Randomized Functional MRI Study.

Motor rehabilitation of stroke survivors may include functional and/or nonfunctional strategy. The present study aimed to compare the effect of these two rehabilitation strategies by means of clinical scales and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Twelve hemiparetic chronic stroke patients were selected. Patients were randomly assigned a nonfunctional (NFS) or functional (FS) rehabilitation scheme. Clinical scales (Fugl-Meyer, ARA test, and modified Barthel) and fMRI were applied at four moments: before rehabilitation (P1) and immediately after (P2), 1 month after (P3), and three months after (P4) the end of rehabilitation. The NFS group improved significantly and exclusively their Fugl-Meyer scores at P2, P3, and P4, when compared to P1. On the other hand, the FS group increased significantly in Fugl-Meyer at P2, when compared to P1, and also in their ARA and Barthel scores. fMRI inspection at the individual level revealed that both rehabilitation schemes most often led to decreased activation sparseness, decreased activity of contralesional M1, increased asymmetry of M1 activity to the ipsilesional side, decreased perilesional activity, and decreased SMA activity. Increased M1 asymmetry with rehabilitation was also confirmed by Lateralization Indexes. Our clinical analysis revealed subtle differences between FS and NFS.

Development and characterization of the InVesalius Navigator software for navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Neuronavigation provides visual guidance of an instrument during procedures of neurological interventions, and has been shown to be a valuable tool for accurately positioning transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) coils relative to an individual's anatomy. Despite the importance of neuronavigation, its high cost, low portability, and low availability of magnetic resonance imaging facilities limit its insertion in research and clinical environments. NEW METHOD: We have developed and validated the InVesalius Navigator as the first free, open-source software for image-guided navigated TMS, compatible with multiple tracking devices. A point-based, co-registration algorithm and a guiding interface were designed for tracking any instrument (e.g. TMS coils) relative to an individual's anatomy. RESULTS: Localization, precision errors, and repeatability were measured for two tracking devices during navigation in a phantom and in a simulated TMS study. Errors were measured in two commercial navigated TMS systems for comparison. Localization error was about 1.5 mm, and repeatability was about 1 mm for translation and 1° for rotation angles, both within limits established in the literature. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: Existing TMS neuronavigation software programs are not compatible with multiple tracking devices, and do not provide an easy to implement platform for custom tools. Moreover, commercial alternatives are expensive with limited portability. CONCLUSIONS: InVesalius Navigator might contribute to improving spatial accuracy and the reliability of techniques for brain interventions by means of an intuitive graphical interface. Furthermore, the software can be easily integrated into existing neuroimaging tools, and customized for novel applications such as multi-locus and/or controllable-pulse TMS.