Mirror Box Imaging Study

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Status

Completed

Conditions

Stroke

Treatments

Other: Mirror Box therapy

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02776306

P0868

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of mirror box therapy on upper extremity, motor recovery and motor functioning in patients that have suffered a stroke.

Full description

Arm and hand weakness as a result of stroke occurs in approximately 70% of stroke survivors, with 30%-60% of patients being unable to fully recover functional use of their upper limbs. As recovery may be due to insufficient or inadequate therapeutic interventions, the progress and evaluation of upper limb treatment is currently being investigated.

Mirror Box therapy is a task orientated, non-invasive, economic and patient directed therapy for hemiparetic upper limb post stroke patients. The study is intended to evaluate cerebral reorganization by using mirror therapy. Movements of the stronger limb trick the brain into thinking that the weaker arm is moving and to stimulate the respective brain areas.

Patients are enrolled into two groups using standard upper limb rehabilitation for three weeks followed by standard rehabilitation plus Mirror Box for another three weeks (Group 1). Group 2 will receive the same therapy in inverted order.

Patients will receive clinical and functional assessment at baseline, three weeks and six weeks including brain MRI using functional resting state MRI.

The primary outcome is functional connectivity (correlation coefficient) at baseline and after treatment. Secondary endpoints include motor and functional recovery using outcome measures like Fugl Meyer assessment, Action Research Arm Test, grip and pincer strength. Further secondary endpoints are increase in sensorimotor cortex activation across the period of therapy and cortical reorganization.

Enrollment

40 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 105 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

18yrs to 105yrs
Hemiparetic upper limb post stroke
Capable of providing informed consent
Intact vision: if diagnosis of peripheral field defect, patient should be able to compensate for it.

Exclusion criteria

Any contraindication to MRI scanning
Clinically significant psychiatric disorder (e.g. depression)
Pre-existing neurological or psychiatric disease that could confound the study results.