Skip Navigation and Go To Content
Quicklinks
Give

Stroke Recovery

Explore this Section
Explore this Section
Explore this Section
Explore this Section

The UTHealth Houston Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease Stroke Recovery program is dedicated to improving post-stroke recovery for patients through innovative research and care. Our research focuses on limb impairment, language cognition, gait, swallowing and stem cell therapy.

Stroke Recovery Clinical Trials

Our stroke recovery clinical trials are designed to improve our understanding of the trajectory and potential of improvement for a patient over time. We cover studies in stem cell therapy, chronic stroke, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pediatric stroke, access to care and machine learning. The following are clinical trials we are currently recruiting patients for:

Stem Cell Trials

  • NCS-01 - Phase 1/2, dose-finding, randomized study to evaluate the safety, tolerability of intracarotid artery administration of stem cells in AIS
    • PI: Savitz, Sean I.
    • stems cells are administered via intracarotid infusion within 32 hours of AIS
  • MultiStem® Administration for Stroke Treatment and Enhanced Recovery Study (MASTERS-2) 
    • PI: Savitz, Sean I. 
    • Multistem is administerd IV, one-time, within 36 hours of AIS

Chronic Stroke

  • PISCES 3 - A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Intracerebral Stem Cells (CTX0E03 DP) in subjects with Disability Following an Ischemic Stroke (PISCES III)
    • PI: Dragojlovic, Nikola (PMR)
    • A one-time intracranial infusion of fetal neural cells in patients with chronic stroke 

tDCS - Dr. Francisco (PMR)

  • TRANSPORT-2 – TRANScranial direct current stimulation for Post-stroke motor Recovery – a phase II sTudy
    • PI: Francisco, Gerard
    • tDCS+CIMT for with 6 months of 1st ever, unihemispheric AIS

Pediatric Stroke

  • i-ACQUIRE – Perinatal Arterial Stroke: A Multi-site RCT of Intensive Infant Rehabilitation
    • PI: Thakur, Nivedita < [email protected]> 
    • In-home constraint induced movement therapy in chronic pediatric AIS

Access to Care

  • GRASP – Geographic Rehabilitation Access for Stroke Patients (GRASP)
    • PI: Savitz, Sean <[email protected]
    • Statewide survey of available outpatient rehabilitation services for stroke survivors

Machine Learning

  • BIONICS - aBnormal motION capture In aCute Stroke (BIONICS)
    • PI: Savitz, Sean
    • motion capture and machine learning in stroke rehabilitation and recovery

Other Non-interventional Recovery Trials

  • BITE - Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)  of the Corticobulbar Tract (CBT) and Dysphagia Assessments as Predictors of Swallow Recovery in Stroke Patients

Publications

In addition to the research and trials we conduct, our team studies recovery and rehabilitation treatments. Listed below are a few of these publications categorized by publishing year.

2020

  • Chuan Zhang, Yen-Ting Chen, Yang Liu, Elaine Magat, Monica Gutierrez-Verduzco, Gerard E. Francisco, Ping Zhou, Sheng Li, Yingchun Zhang (2020). Improving Botulinum Toxin efficiency in treating spasticity using 3D innervation zone imaging. International Journal of Neural Systems (in press) https://doi.org/10.1142/S0129065721500076
  • Rihui Li, Sheng Li, Jinsook Roh, Chushan Wang, Yingchun Zhang (2020). Multimodal neuroimaging using concurrent EEG/fNIR for post-stroke recovery assessment. Neurorehabilitation and Repair 2020; 34(12), pp. 1099–1110.
    Sheng Li (2020) Ankle and foot spasticity patterns in chronic stroke survivors with abnormal gait. Toxins 2020, 12, 646. Online: Oct 7, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12100646
  • Zhiyuan Lu, Amy Briley, Ping Zhou, Sheng Li (2020) Electromyographical evidence of dry needling effects on spastic finger flexors in chronic stroke. Frontiers in Neurology. 11:78 doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00078. PMID: 32153489. PMCID: PMC7047231
    Yen-Ting Chen, Chuan Zhang, Yang Liu, Elaine Magat, Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, Gerard E. Francisco, Ping Zhou, Yingchun Zhang, Sheng Li. The effects of botulinum toxin injections on spasticity and motor performance in chronic stroke with spastic hemiplegia. TOXINS 12(8):E492. Published 2020 Jul 31. doi:10.3390/toxins12080492. PMID: 32751970
  • Ning Cao, Brian Nguyen, Stephanie Li, Richa Lamba, Ryan Hafner, Sheng Li (2020). An overview of acupuncture in stroke recovery – a narrative review. J Int Soc Phys Rehabil Med 2020;3:80-6, http://www.jisprm.org/text.asp?2020/3/3/80/294129
  • Dawson J, Engineer ND, Prudente CN, Pierce D, Francisco G, Yozbatiran N, Tarver WB, Casavant R, Kline DK, Cramer SC, Van de Winckel A, Kimberley TJ. Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired with Upper-Limb Rehabilitation After Stroke: One-Year Follow-Up. Neuorehabil Neural Repair. 2020 Jul;34(7):609-615
  • Francisco, G.E., Balbert, A., Bavikatte, G., Bensmail, D., Carda, S., Deltombe, T., Draulans, N., Escaldi, S., Gross, R., Jacinto, J. and Ketchum, N., 2020. A practical guide to optimising the benefits of post-stroke spasticity interventions with botulinum toxin-A: an international group consensus. Journal of rehabilitation medicine.
  • Awad LN, Esquenazi A, Francisco GE, Nolan KJ, Jayaraman A. The ReWalk ReStore™ soft robotic exosuit: a multi-site clinical trial of the safety, reliability, and feasibility of exosuit-augmented post-stroke gait rehabilitation. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2020 Jun 18;17(1):80. doi: 10.1186/s12984-020-00702-5. PMID: 32552775; PMCID: PMC7301475.

2019

  • Zhiyuan Lu, Kai-yu Tong, Xu Zhang, Sheng Li, Ping Zhou (2019) Myoelectric pattern recognition for controlling a robotic hand: a feasibility study in stroke. IEEE TMBE, 66(2):365-372 10.1109/TBME.2018.2840848
    Sheng Li, Yen-Ting Chen, Gerard E. Francisco, Ping Zhou, Zev Rymer (2019). A unifying pathophysiological account for post-stroke spasticity and disordered motor control. Frontiers in Neurology 10:468 doi: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00468.
  • Chuan Zhang, Yen-ting Chen, Yang Liu, Ping Zhou; Sheng Li, Yingchun Zhang (2019) Three Dimensional Innervation Zone Imaging in Spastic Muscles of Stroke Survivors. Journal of Neural Engineering. 16(3):034001. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab0fe1. Epub 2019 Mar 14. PubMed PMID: 30870833.
  • Yen-Ting Chen, Shengai Li, Elaine Magat, Ping Zhou, Sheng Li (2019) A startling acoustic stimulation (SAS)-TMS approach to assess the reticulospinal system in stroke and healthy subjects. Journal of Neurological Sciences 399:82-88. PMID: 30782527
  • Yen-Ting Chen, Shengai Li, Craig DiTommaso, Ping Zhou, Sheng Li (2019) Possible contributions of ipsilateral pathways from the contralesional motor cortex to the voluntary contraction of the spastic elbow flexors in stroke survivors: a TMS study. American Journal of PM&R, 98(7):558-565. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001147. PubMed PMID: 30672773; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6586481.
  • Huang, T, Yang, J, Pushaj, E, Silvanov, V, Yu, S, Yang, X, Su, H, Chang, S, & Francisco, G. "Soft Physiology Sensors and Machine Learning to Enhance Spinal Cord Injury and Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes in Home Settings." Proceedings of the 2019 Design of Medical Devices Conference. 2019 Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. April 15–18, 2019. V001T05A001. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/DMD2019-3267

2018

  • Bo Yao, Cliff Klein, Huijing Hu, Sheng Li, Ping Zhou (2018) Motor unit properties of the first dorsal interosseous muscle in chronic stroke subjects: concentric needle and single-fiber EMG analysis. Frontiers in Physiology, 9:1587
  • Yen-Ting Chen, Shengai Li, Elaine Magat, Ping Zhou, Sheng Li (2018) Motor overflow and post-stroke spasticity share a common pathophysiological process. Frontiers Neurology, 9:795. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00795
  • Sheng Li, Gerard E. Francisco, Ping Zhou (2018) Post-stroke hemiplegic gait: new perspective and insights. Frontiers in Physiology 9:1021, doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01021
  • Ya Zong, Henry Shin, Ying-Chih Wang, Sheng Li, Ping Zhou, Xiaoyan Li (2018) Assessing hand muscle impedance in stroke. Frontiers in Neurology, 9:296. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00296, May 8, 2018
  • Kimberley TJ, Pierce D, Prudente CN, Francisco GE, Yozbatiran N, Smith P, Tarver B, Engineer ND, Dickie DA, Kline DK, Wigginton JA, Cramer SC, Dawson J. Vagus nerve stimulation paired with upper limb rehabilitation after chronic stroke. Stroke, 2018; Nov;49(11):2789-2792
  • Harvey RL, Edwards D, Dunning K, Fregni F, Stein J, Laine J, Rogers LM, Vox F, Durand-Sanchez A, Bockbrader M, Goldstein LB, Francisco GE, Kinney CL, Liu CY; NICHE Trial Investigators. Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial of Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Motor Recovery in Stroke. Stroke. 2018 Sep;49(9):2138-2146.
  • Pila O, Duret C, Gracies JM, Francisco GE, Bayle N, Hutin É. Evolution of upper limb kinematics four years after subacute robot-assisted rehabilitation in stroke patients. Int J Neurosci. 2018;128(11):1030-1039. doi:10.1080/00207454.2018.1461626
  • Creamer M., Cloud G., Kossmehl P, Yochelson, M., Francisco, G.E., Ward, A.B., Wissel, J., Zampolina, M., Abouihia, A., Berthuy, N., Calabrese, A., Loven, M., Saltuari, L. Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy Versus Conventional Medical Management For Severe Poststroke Spasticity: Results From a Multicentre, Randomised, Controlled, Open-Label Trial (SISTERS). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2018 Jun;89(6):642-650. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2017-317021. Epub 2018 Jan 11. PubMed PMID: 29326296
  • Contreras-Vidal, J.L., Bortole, M., Zhu, F., Nathan, K., Venkatakrishnan, A., Francisco, G.E., Soto, R. and Pons, J.L. Neural Decoding of Robot-Assisted Gait during Rehabilitation after Stroke. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2018 Aug;97(8):541-550. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000000914. PubMed PMID: 29481376
  • Creamer, M.J., Cloud, G.C., Kossmehl, P.K., Yochelson, M.R., Francisco, G.E., Ward, A.B., Wissel, J.H., Zampolini, M., Abouihia, A., Calabrese, A., Saltuari, L.S. (2018). Poster 51. Efficacy of Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy Compared to Oral Medication on Pain and Quality of Life in Post-Stroke Spasticity: the SISTERS Study. September 2018. Increase PM&R, 10(9), S24-S25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.08.084