ABSTRACT
The aim of this randomised, double-blind study was to investigate the therapeutic effectiveness of left-hand electrical stimulation for patients with post-stroke left visuo-spatial neglect. This approach was hypothesised to enhance activation of the right hemisphere attention system and to improve visual exploration of extrapersonal space. Participants (n = 40) in the study were in a relatively early stage of recovery from their first right hemisphere stroke, and were randomly assigned to the experimental (E) or control (C) group. Group E received conventional visual scanning training combined with electrostimulation of the left hand, while Group C received scanning training with sham stimulation. Their visuo-spatial neglect was assessed twice, prior to the rehabilitation programme and on its completion, using cancellation tests and a letter-reading task. The effect of electrostimulation on hemineglect was assessed following a single administration and after a month-long rehabilitation programme. Although the immediate effect of stimulation was poor, after a month-long rehabilitation period we found significantly greater improvement in Group E patients than in Group C patients. Interestingly, the presence of hemisensory loss did not weaken the observed effect. Therefore, we claim that contralesional hand stimulation combined with visual scanning was a more effective treatment for hemineglect rehabilitation than scanning training alone.
Subject(s)
Electric Stimulation Therapy , Perceptual Disorders/etiology , Perceptual Disorders/rehabilitation , Stroke Rehabilitation , Stroke/complications , Adult , Aged , Analysis of Variance , Brain Ischemia/complications , Brain Ischemia/rehabilitation , Female , Functional Laterality , Hand , Humans , Intracranial Hemorrhages/complications , Intracranial Hemorrhages/rehabilitation , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Rehabilitation/methods , Space Perception , Treatment Outcome , Visual PerceptionABSTRACT
Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a genetic metabolic disease which generally occurs in childhood, surprisingly it can also occur during adulthood. Adult forms have very often characteristic presentations with progressive dementia. The authors presented a case of metachromatic leukodystrophy in an adult, differential diagnosis and examinations which possible made diagnosis.
