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The Effects of High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Performance After Stroke: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.
- Source :
- Journal of Central Nervous System Disease; 4/22/2019, Vol. 11, pN.PAG-N.PAG, 1p, 1 Diagram, 5 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Background: Aerobic exercise is an effective treatment to improve aerobic capacity following stroke and might also improve cognitive impairments in sub-acute stroke survivors. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of high-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive impairments in sub-acute stroke survivors. Methods: A pilot, randomised controlled trial on the effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive impairments of stroke patients in the sub-acute (1-3 months) phase was conducted. Thirty patients with moderate cognitive impairments (maximum score of 5 on at least two items on the cognitive subscales of the Functional Independence Measure [FIM]) were included in the study and randomly assigned to either the intervention group – performing high-intensity aerobic exercise (above 70% of maximum heart rate), or the control group – performing low-intensity aerobic exercise (below 60%). Patients in both groups exercised for 50 min twice a week for 4 weeks. Primary neuropsychological outcome: Trail Making Test B. Results: Thirty stroke patients completed the interventions. The results showed that the high-intensity group, compared with the low-intensity group, achieved significant improvements on Trail Making Test B, which assesses processing speed and divided attention (P =.04 after training and P =.01 at follow-up). However, the significant improvements on Trail Making Test B might relate to a ceiling effect in the control group. Conclusions: This study does not provide evidence to support that aerobic exercise can improve cognition in stroke survivors, even though significant improvement was revealed on the primary outcome in sub-acute stroke survivors following high-intensity aerobic exercise compared with low-intensity general exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 11795735
- Volume :
- 11
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Central Nervous System Disease
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 141073592
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1179573519843493