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Introduction/Background Neuroplasticity is believed to be an important mechanism related to motor improvement of spinal cord injury (SCI) during rehabilitation program, which may be enhanced using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS). The better understanding of this process is important for the improvement of rehabilitation therapy since it can be used as a prognostic biomarker, surrogate outcome and to guide the parameters of tDCS. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an instrument to measures hemodynamic responses in the brain, which allows studying functional brain connectivity reorganization. So, this study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of fNIRS to evaluate real-time activation of motor cortex SCI patients during robot-assisted gait. Besides, to compare changes induced by active vs. sham tDCS. Material and method It is a preliminary analysis of SCI patients enrolled in a randomized double-blind clinical trial, with two arms (active tDCS vs. sham tDCS). Both groups received 30 sessions of tDCS for 20 minutes immediately before gait training with robotic-assisted device Lokomat-Pro ® (Hocoma). For fNIRS, 32 optodes was positioned parallel to the coronal plane. Software and hardware are from NIRX Medical Technologies. The differential hemoglobin index at rest (standing) and during movement were evaluated using paired T-test. The null hypothesis was that during gait, metabolic consumption would increase in the primary motor cortex (M1). Results Patients had an enhanced activation of M1, next to Cz, C1 and C2 (10-20 EEG system) during gait, when compared with standing position. This activation seems to be higher in active group comparing to sham group ( Fig. 1 ). Conclusion This study shows the viability of use fNIRS to measure brain activity of SCI patients during robot-assisted gait. Future analyses, with a larger sample, are necessary to confirm these findings and correlate it with clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Background Stroke is the one of the main causes of adult disability and up to 80% of the stroke survivors will develop upper extremity motor dysfunction. Currently, Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and Robotic Therapy (RT) have high level of evidence for upper limb dysfunction treatment. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no studies comparing CIMT and RT on functionality and motor recovery of upper limb in stroke patients. Therefore, this study aims to compare RT and CIMT and understand their effects of on upper limb motor recovery and functionality of chronic stroke patients. Material and method This is a parallel, single blinded, randomized (1:1) clinical trial. From May 2012 to May 2015, 51 patients, who fulfilled the eligibility criteria, were enrolled into one of treatment groups–CIMT or RT. The outcomes of upper limb function were measured by Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Fugl-Meyer Assessment–Upper Limb (FMA-UL), Arm motor Ability Test (AMAT), Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Stroke Impact Scale (SIS). Results Our results showed that both treatments are equally beneficial to chronic stroke patients, with no statistical difference between the groups for primary or secondary outcomes. From baseline, the mean improvement, standard deviation and P -value are described in Table 1 . Additionally, patients kept the gains along the follow up visits, 3 and 12 months after treatment. Conclusion CIMT and RT could be equally effective in improve upper limb function, motor recovery, functionality and quality of life in chronic stroke patients, even when compared 12 months after the end of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]