Trial reportJournal of neurology2021
Age is negatively associated with upper limb recovery after conventional but not robotic rehabilitation in patients with stroke: a secondary analysis of a randomized-controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02879279 (Efficacy of a Multi-segmental Robotic and Technological Upper Limb Rehabilitation Program, Compared With Traditional Therapy, in Individuals With Acute and Sub-acute Stroke), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Efficacy of a Multi-segmental Robotic and Technological Upper Limb Rehabilitation Program, Compared With Traditional Therapy, in Individuals With Acute and Sub-acute Stroke: a Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review of physical therapy rehabilitation for stroke survivors in Arab countries and Saudi Arabia: current approaches and future challenges.Saudi medical journal · 2025Pooled it
- Upper limb robotic rehabilitation following stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating efficacy and the influence of device features and program parameters.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Exercise in Improving Physical Function of Stroke Patients: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Do predictors of motor recovery differ between robotic and conventional post-stroke rehabilitation?Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Machine learning-based study of the predictors of clinically important change in patient-reported outcomes in bilateral upper-limb function in patients receiving robotic stroke rehabilitation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Article
- Development of an upper limb muscle strength rehabilitation assessment system using particle swarm optimisation.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Available rehabilitation technology with the potential to be incorporated into the clinical practice of physiotherapists: A systematic review.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Robot Fully Assisted Upper-Limb Functional Movements Against Gravity to Drive Recovery in Chronic Stroke: A Pilot Study.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is consistent evidence that robotic rehabilitation is at least as effective as conventional physiotherapy for upper extremity (UE) recovery after stroke, suggesting to focus research on which subgroups of patients may better respond to either intervention. In this study, we evaluated which baseline variables are associated with the response after the two approaches.
methodsThis is a secondary analysis of a randomized-controlled trial comparing robotic and conventional treatment for the UE. After the assigned intervention, changes of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment UE score by ≥ 5 points classified patients as responders to treatment. Variables associated with the response were identified in a univariate analysis. Then, variables independently associated with recovery were investigated, in the whole group, and the two groups separately.
resultsA sample of 190 patients was evaluated after the treatment; 121 were responders. Age, baseline impairment, and neglect were significantly associated with worse response to the treatment. Age was the only independently associated variable (OR 0.967, p = 0.023). Considering separately the two interventions, age remained negatively associated with recovery (OR 0.948, p = 0.013) in the conventional group, while none of the variables previously identified were significantly associated with the response to treatment in the robotic group.
conclusionsWe found that, in our sample, age is significantly associated with the outcome after conventional but not robotic UE rehabilitation. Possible explanations may include an enhanced positive attitude of the older patients towards technological training and reduced age-associated fatigue provided by robotic-assisted exercise. The possibly higher challenge proposed by robotic training, unbiased by the negative stereotypes concerning very old patients' expectations and chances to recover, may also explain our findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02879279.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.