How EXACTLY is this research going to be used to prevent dementia? No answer, then this was useless research.
Neurodegeneration After Stroke: Is the Grass Really Greener on the Other Side?
Research Objectives
The purpose of this project was to use magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and determine how the size and location of a stroke can affect neurodegeneration on the non-lesioned side of the brain. In hypothesis, we believe that both hemispheres will experience neurodegeneration but there will be a significantly higher amount of neurodegeneration in the lesioned side.
Design
T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) of the brain was collected in 23 patients with chronic stroke and 14 healthy controls. We quantified the amount of neurodegeneration in the lesioned and non-lesioned hemisphere in the cerebral peduncles (CP) and the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC). The size and the white matter integrity in the region of interest were determined. The amount of neurodegeneration between groups was statistically compared, a p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Setting
General Community.
Participants
Random selection of stroke patients and healthy controls.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Fractional anisotropy (FA) of the brain, upper extremity fugyl-meyer score.
Results
We observed that CPs in the lesioned hemisphere were smaller compared to the non-lesioned hemisphere and healthy controls (304mm3 vs 488 mm3 vs 374 mm3). In addition, patients with stroke had reduced white matter integrity in both the lesioned (255.99±35.43) and non-lesioned (257.36 ± 39.21) hemispheres compared to controls (329.98 ± 23.45). Thus, both sides of the brain experience neurodegeneration after a stroke.
Conclusions
Our results indicated that the stroke caused neurodegeneration on both sides of the brain with damage being significantly higher in the lesioned side. This suggests that therapists should consider targeting both sides of the body rather than just the more affected limb.
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