Deans' stroke musings: Exploratory Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Botulinum Therapy on Grasp Release After Stroke (PrOMBiS)

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Exploratory Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Botulinum Therapy on Grasp Release After Stroke (PrOMBiS)

Well, what did you expect? Botox does nothing to cure spasticity. It treats the secondary effect of tight muscles, NOT where the problem lies in the junction between spinal cord commands and brain commands.

Exploratory Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Botulinum Therapy on Grasp Release After Stroke (PrOMBiS)

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Amanda Claire Wallace, PhD

, Penelope Talelli, PhD, Lucinda Crook, ...

First Published November 20, 2019 Research Article

Abstract

Background.
Onabotulinum toxinA injections improve upper-limb spasticity after stroke, but their effect on arm function remains uncertain.
Objective. To determine whether a single treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA injections combined with upper-limb physiotherapy improves grasp release compared with physiotherapy alone after stroke.
Methods. A total of 28 patients, at least 1 month poststroke, were randomized to receive either onabotulinum toxinA or placebo injections to the affected upper limb followed by standardized upper-limb physiotherapy (10 sessions over 4 weeks). The primary outcome was time to release grasp during a functionally relevant standardized task. Secondary outcomes included measures of wrist and finger spasticity and strength using a customized servomotor, clinical assessments of stiffness (modified Ashworth Scale), arm function (Action Research Arm Test [ARAT], Nine Hole Peg Test), arm use (Arm Measure of Activity), Goal Attainment Scale, and quality of life (EQ5D).
Results. There was no significant difference between treatment groups in grasp release time 5 weeks post injection (placebo median = 3.0 s, treatment median = 2.0 s; t(24) = 1.20; P = .24; treatment effect = −0.44, 95% CI = −1.19 to 0.31). None of the secondary measures passed significance after correcting for multiple comparisons. Both groups achieved their treatment goals (placebo = 65%; treatment = 71%), and made improvements on the ARAT (placebo +3, treatment +5) and in active wrist extension (placebo +9°, treatment +11°).
Conclusions. In this group of stroke patients with mild to moderate spastic hemiparesis, a single treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA did not augment the improvements seen in grasp release time after a standardized upper-limb physiotherapy program.

Keywords

stroke, randomized controlled trial, botulinum toxins, type A, rehabilitation, upper extremity, muscle spasticity