Dose in stroke rehabilitation trials

Key Contact: Elisabetta Colucci

Elisabetta Colucci, Allan Clark, Catherine Lang, Valerie Pomeroy

So far, the exact dose of therapeutic exercise required for maximising motor recovery after stroke is unknown. Appropriate dose optimization studies to identify the optimal therapeutic dosages of rehabilitative interventions after stroke are inexistent but welcomed by the research community.

The main aim of this research project is to fulfil the lack of effective methodologies of dosage optimization suitable for stroke rehabilitation research.

In this research I have devised a novel dose-finding study derived from pharmaceutical dose optimization approaches and have adapted it to suit stroke rehabilitation research. I have tested the feasibility of using these novel methodologies to dose-finding by undertaking a feasibility phase I study with stroke survivors engaged in an upper-limb training task.