Table 1.
Characteristics and results of the included trials
| Number of patients | Control group | Stroke type | Time of inclusion in study | Localization of lesion | Neurological deficit | MEP evaluation following stroke onset | Follow-up | Ref. no. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| When | Outcome measures | |||||||||
| Hand specific | General scales | |||||||||
| 25 | 16 healthy subjects | Ischemic stroke | Within 48 hours of stroke onset | 11 cortico-subcortical, 7 subcortical and 7 limited capsular infarcts | Complete hand palsy | Within 48 hours | 6 months | MRCS | NIHSS, mRS, BI | 11 |
| 31 | 20 age-matched healthy subjects | First ischemic stroke in the MCA territory | Within 24 hours of stroke | Cortical or corticosubcortical infarct | MRC 0–2 points | 1st and 8th day | 8th, 30 th, 90 th, 180 th and 360 th day after stroke | MRCS | NIHSS, mRS, BI | 16 |
| 12 | 12 subjects | Supratentorial | 1–7 days post-stroke | Lacunar, hemorrhagic, ischemic, supratentorial | 2 paresis, 10 plegia | 1st −7thdays, 30th day and 3 months after stroke | 3 months | Degree of paresis (no paresis, mild to severe paresis, plegia) | BI | 17 |
| 52 | 32 healthy subjects | Ischemic | Within 3 days of admission | Cortico-subcortical locations, cortical lesions or foci located in the depth of the hemispheres (unclear) | Unclear | Single evaluation within 3 days of stroke | 20–25 days | No | Gusev-Skvortsova Scale, CANS, and Orgogozo scale | 18 |
| 15 | No | Ischemic, first-ever stroke | Within 48 hours post-stroke | MCA territory that was due to either thrombosis or embolism | Complete hand palsy | On day 1 and after 1 year | After 1 year | MRCS | NIHSS, BI | 9 |
| 26 | No | Ischemic stroke | Within the first 24 hours of stroke onset | First-ever ischemic stroke in the MCA territory | Complete hand palsy | Days 1 and 14 | 14 days | MRCS | mRS at day 1, NIHSS at days 1 and 14, and BI at day 14 | 7 |
| 21 | No | First-ever strokes, 16 ischemic and 5 hemorrhagic | 1–5 days post-stroke | Single vascular lesion | SSS 0–6 points | Days 1–5 | 6 months | SSS | Clinical evaluation 1–5 days, 15 days and 6 months after stroke | 10 |
| 50 | No | Ischemic | Within 24 hours | Cortical, corticosubcortical, subcortical, vertebrobasilar | MRC 0–4 points | 3–7 days | 6 months | MRCS | CANS and BI | 13 |
| 33 | No | Ischemic | Within 7 days | First-ever stroke from the MCA territory | MRC 0–4 points | Within 7 days | 4 months | MRCS, Motricity Index (upper limb subscale score) (MI) | NIHSS | 19 |
| 44 | No | Ischemic | Within 10 days of stroke | No data | Complete paralysis of the upper or lower extremity | Within 10 days and then 40 days post-stroke | 26 weeks | Fugl-Meyer motor assessment | SSS | 20 |
| 50 | No | Ischemic | Within 4 days | MCA territory, cortical and subcortical | No data | Within 4 days and after 6 weeks and 3 months | 3 months | no | BI and mRS | 8 |
| 38 | 17 healthy subjects | Ischemic | 1st day | Occlusion of the MCA | Hemiplegia | Days 1 and 14 | 2 weeks | Hemiplegia, no specific scale | BI, mRS, Modified CANS (MCNS), | 21 |
| 50 | No | Acute ischemic stroke | Within 24 hours | Cortical and sub-cortical | No data | 1, 3, 30 and 90 days after stroke | 1 year | No | mRS, Toronto Stroke Scale | 22 |
| 27 | No | 19 ischemic and 8 hemorrhagic strokes | Within the first 7 days | 19 acute ischemic stroke and 8 hemorrhagic stroke | 0–4 pts (muscle strength: 0, no strength; 5, full strength) | Within 1 week and 3 to 6 months after the event | 3 and 6 months | No specific scale: muscle strength: 0, no strength; 5, full strength | mRS and BI | 14 |
| 6 | No | Ischemic stroke | Within 8 hours | No data | Hemiparesis, mean NIHSS 2 in paretic limb | Within 89 hours and after 15 days | 15 days | NIHSS | No | 23 |
Abbreviations: NIHSS=National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; mRS=modified Rankin Scale score; BI=Barthel Index; SSS=Scandinavian Stroke Scale; CANS=Canadian Neurological Scale, MRC=Medical Research Council scale, MCA=middle cerebral artery