The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment designed to reduce the disabling effects of post-stroke conditions that affect around one third of survivors.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme (EME) has provided funding of PS1.26m for the study.
The program is a collaboration between the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) and the Medical Research Council. Researchers at the University of East Anglia are leading the stroke rehabilitation study.
Strokes can cause the brain to lose its ability to interpret and process information. In some cases, the stroke survivor may become less attentive to the things that are on their left side.
Even if the person has good vision, the brain will not be able to process the information that comes from the side with the impairment. The result is a cognitive disorder called spatial inattention, or spatial neglect. There is no treatment for this condition.
It is often associated with long-term disability and poor recovery. In earlier, small trials, the therapy ‘SIGHT (Spatial InattentionGrasping Therapy), showed promise for improving this condition.
Dr Stephanie Rossit from the School of Psychology at UEA said that there are 1.3million stroke survivors in Britain, and 390,000 of them suffer from spatial inattention. The condition is persistent, with 40% of stroke victims still experiencing symptoms one year after the stroke.
There is currently no effective treatment available for spatial inattention. “This new trial helps to fill the urgent gap in the search for successful treatment,” Dr Rossit said.
Those with spatial neglect must balance and grasp rods using their non-affected hand. The rods will tilt when the person first tries to balance them. The rods tilt during the first attempts.
The study will also investigate why some people benefit from therapy more than others. The trial will assess grasping, cognition and stroke severity to identify those who may benefit the most.
The trial will start in January 2025, and run until February 2028. It is the largest trial to date involving post-stroke spatial negligence. The trial will split 206 stroke victims with spatial inattention into two groups.
The SIGHT will be given to one group, and the treatment will continue as normal. For the other group, only treatment will be provided. The participant and the research team at the site will not know which treatment is given.
The team will measure the patients’ ability before, during, and after the therapy to perform daily tasks.
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