title: A pilot study of contralateral homonymous muscle activity simulated electrical stimulation in chronic hemiplegia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  For the recovery of hemiparetic hand function, a therapy was developed called contralateral homonymous muscle activity stimulated electrical stimulation (CHASE), which combines electrical stimulation and bilateral movements, and its feasibility was studied in three chronic stroke patients with severe hand hemiparesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with a subcortical lesion were asked to extend their wrist and fingers bilaterally while an electromyogram (EMG) was recorded from the extensor carpi radialis (ECR) muscle in the unaffected hand. Electric stimulation was applied to the homonymous wrist and finger extensors of the affected side. The intensity of the electrical stimulation was computed based on the EMG and scaled so that the movements of the paretic hand looked similar to those of the unaffected side. The patients received 30-minutes of therapy per day for 2 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Improvement in the active range of motion of wrist extension was observed for all patients. There was a decrease in the scores of modified Ashworth scale in the flexors. Fugl-Meyer assessment scores of motor function of the upper extremities improved in two of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest a positive outcome can be obtained using the CHASE system for upper extremity rehabilitation of patients with severe hemiplegia.
authors.affiliation: ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan. osu@atr.jp
authors.forename: Rieko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Osu
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otaka
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ushiba
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Tomofumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Kunitsugu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Meigen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014953:Wrist / Q000503:physiopathology