Longitudinal quantitative electroencephalographic study in mono-hemispheric stroke patients

The identification of individual factors modulating clinical recovery after a stroke is fundamental to personalize the therapeutic intervention to enhance the final clinical outcome. In this framework, electrophysiological factors are promising since are more directly related to neuroplasticity, which supports recovery in stroke patients, than neurovascular factors. In this retrospective observational study, we investigated brain neuronal activity assessed via spectral features and Higuchi's fractal dimension (HFD) of electroencephalographic signals in acute phase (2-10 days from symptom onset, T0) and sub-acute phase (2.5 months, T1) in 24 patients affected by unilateral middle cerebral artery stroke. Longitudinal assessment of the clinical deficits was performed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), together with the effective recovery calculated as the ratio between difference of NIHSS at T0 and T1 over the NIHSS value at T0. We observed that delta and alpha band electroencephalographic signal power changed between the two phases in both the hemispheres ipsilateral (ILH) and contralateral (CHL) to the lesion. Moreover, at T0, bilateral higher delta band power correlated with worse clinical conditions (Spearman's r(s) = 0.460, P = 0.027 for ILH and r(s) = 0.508, P = 0.013 for CLH), whereas at T1 this occurred only for delta power in ILH (r(s) = 0.411, P = 0.046) and not for CHL. Inter-hemispheric difference (ILH vs. CLH) of alpha power in patients was lower at T0 than at T1 (P = 0.020). HFD at T0 was lower than at T1 (P = 0.005), and at both phases, ILH HFD was lower than CLH HFD (P = 0.020). These data suggest that inter-hemispheric low band asymmetry and fractal dimension changes from the acute to the sub-acute phase are sensitive to neuroplasticity processes which subtend clinical recovery. The study protocol was approved by the Bioethical Committee of Ospedale San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefretelli (No. 40/2011) on July 14, 2011.

Publication type: 
Articolo
Author or Creator: 
Zappasodi, Filippo
Tecchio, Franca
Marzetti, Laura
Pizzella, Vittorio
Di Lazzaro, Vincenzo
Assenza, Giovanni
Publisher: 
Publishing House of Neural Regeneration Research., Shenyang , Cina
Source: 
Neural Regeneration Research 14 (2019): 1237–1246. doi:10.4103/1673-5374.251331
info:cnr-pdr/source/autori:Zappasodi, Filippo; Tecchio, Franca; Marzetti, Laura; Pizzella, Vittorio; Di Lazzaro, Vincenzo; Assenza, Giovanni/titolo:Longitudinal quantitative electroencephalographic study in mono-hemispheric stroke patients/doi:10.4103/167
Date: 
2019
Resource Identifier: 
http://www.cnr.it/prodotto/i/414336
https://dx.doi.org/10.4103/1673-5374.251331
info:doi:10.4103/1673-5374.251331
Language: 
Eng
ISTC Author: 
Franca Tecchio's picture
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