Researchers at Cleveland Clinic led a first-of-its-kind trial using a therapy for stroke patients called deep brain stimulation that showed safe and effective results, according to an Aug. 14 news release.
The treatment is designed to target the dentate nucleus, which controls movements, sensory function, language and cognition, according to the release.
The study, which was published Aug. 14 in Nature Medicine, points to deep brain stimulation as a possible path forward to improve the outcomes of stroke patients in the future. While the study was small and enrolled only 12 participants, it revealed "at least minimal preservation of distal motor function at enrollment showed gains that almost tripled their initial scores," according to the researchers.
Nine out of 12 patients who experienced first-time, unilateral, ischemic strokes were enrolled in the study for around 20 to 24 months and saw improvements in their conditions, experts Andre Machado, MD, PhD, and Kenneth Baker, PhD, who led the research found.
"We saw patients in the study regain levels of function and independence they did not have before enrolling in the research," Dr. Machado said in the release. "This was a smaller study, and we look forward to expanding as we have begun the next phase."