Stroke therapies evaluated in large scale study

Stroke patients who underwent physical therapy at home improved their walking ability as well as those in a technological training program, according to a new study.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that stroke patients treated in a training scheme that required the use of a body-weight supported treadmill device and walking practise showed the same level of recovery as those who did physical therapy at home.

Walter Koroshetz, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which provided primary funding for the study, said that comparing physical therapy treatments is "essential".

"The results of this study show that the more expensive, high tech therapy was not superior to intensive home strength and balance training, but both were better than lower intensity physical therapy," he expanded.

Meanwhile, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that stroke and heart attack risk in middle aged people could be predicted through a simple fitness test involving running a mile.

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