This is the time when robotic assistance of movements, applied multiple times, may be especially useful in properly selected patients, especially those with evidence of abundant preserved regions of the corticospinal tract.
"It takes a lot of practice to make the brain better," he said.
Perhaps, he said, that practice should begin during the "black box" period, during the 90 days following hospital discharge. In fact, Dr. Cramer and his colleagues are now enrolling up to 72 patients who had a hemiparetic stroke within the past 11-26 weeks in a phase II trial of 3 weeks of therapy with the HWARD robot.
Dr. Cramer disclosed that he has received grant support and has served as a paid consultant for GlaxoSmithKline, and has also consulted for PhotoThera, Allergan, Pfizer/CogState, and Johnson & Johnson.