“At the end of two years, several patients who came in with substantial speech deficits after stroke were back to normal,” Taub said.ĭuring the past several years, the researchers, in collaboration with University Professor Karlene Ball, Ph.D., also in the Department of Psychology, have developed a form of CI Therapy, CI Cognitive Therapy, that combines speed-of-processing training with the procedures they use to transfer improvements made in the lab into patients’ everyday lives.
The researchers first worked specifically on cognitive effects by developing therapy for aphasia, the loss of speech ability that is common after stroke. “We found in the motor rehabilitation work that the therapy is effective for a number of different types of brain damage,” Uswatte said. Now, Uswatte explained, “we have turned our attention to patients with persisting cognitive impairment after recovering from COVID-19.” Brain scans showing significant rewiring after CI Therapy had long since convinced Taub and Uswatte that the technique could restore cognitive function in the same way it restored a person’s ability to move their arms or legs. (In 2014, when the Dalai Lama and experts in neuroplasticity visited UAB for a conference on the topic, one described UAB as “a national treasure” and “the premier place in the world to get treatment for movement problems following stroke.”) Gitendra Uswatte, Ph.D. Some 97% of the thousands of stroke patients who have taken part in CI Therapy have seen meaningful improvement, and the average patient uses his or her affected limb five times more post-therapy than pre-therapy. The improvement in function that results remains, even after years have passed, Taub said. Using MRI scans, they have shown that the therapy rewires the brain following two weeks of intensive training in the clinic and ongoing practice at home. In a host of studies (including patients with stroke, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy) Taub and his longtime collaborator, Professor Gitendra Uswatte, Ph.D., with other members of their research group, have demonstrated the effects of CI Therapy. Individuals who think they can benefit are welcome to contact the project directly at 20 or learn more about the study at uab.edu/citherapy. “It feels as though I am under anesthesia,” one patient said.ĬI Therapy also is used to treat patients with traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy, and with anoxial and other brain damage in pediatric patients. Studies in France and the United States reveal that a third of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have experienced memory loss and other cognitive difficulties in the months after their recovery. CI is used around the world to help patients regain limb function and language abilities after stroke. Known as Constraint-Induced Therapy (CI Therapy), it was developed by Edward Taub, Ph.D., University Professor in the Department of Psychology and director of the CI Therapy Research Group, in collaboration with colleagues at UAB.
Black forest bakery canaan ct trial#
But a new clinical trial at UAB is testing a proven rehabilitation method with a record of success in restoring lost function.
There are no current treatments for brain fog attributed to COVID-19. Patients talking to the New York Times said “it is debilitating,” “it feels as though I am under anesthesia” and “everything in my brain was white static.” Several described how the brain fog has made it difficult or impossible for them to return to work. A researcher in the United Kingdom, discussing an initial report on more than 84,000 people, said in severe cases it is as if the brain had aged 10 years, almost overnight.
One physician described it as akin to the fuzzy-headed feeling the day after a sleepless night. In another study, a hospital network in Chicago reported that, among 509 patients, nearly a third experienced altered mental function of these, 68% were unable to handle routine daily activities such as cooking or paying bills. A new clinical trial at UAB is testing a proven rehabilitation method to remedy that.Ī report on 120 patients in France, published in October 2020, found that more than a third had memory loss and 27% had cognitive difficulties months after recovering from COVID-19. One of the most troubling is a change in cognitive function - commonly called “brain fog” - that is marked by memory problems and a struggle to think clearly. A new clinical trial at UAB aims to improve cognitive function in patients with "brain fog" and other lingering cognitive symptoms after they have recovered from COVID-19.Even after their bodies have cleared the virus that causes COVID-19, many patients experience long-term effects.
0 kommentar(er)
