title: Aerobic Exercises for Cognition Rehabilitation following Stroke: A Systematic Review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cognitive impairments are highly prevalent in stroke survivors and can substantially affect their physical rehabilitation and quality of life. The management of these impairments currently remains limited, but increasing studies reported the effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive performance in patients suffering from stroke. The purpose of this review was to assess the effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive function following stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven electronic databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database [VIP], Wanfang, China Biology Medicine disc [CBM], Science Citation Index [SCI], EMBASE, and PubMed) were searched from their inception to May 31, 2015, for the effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive ability compared to usual physical activity in stroke survivors. RevMan V5.3 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre) was used to analyze the data and to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten eligible studies including 394 participants were identified. Six studies showed that aerobic exercise significantly improved global cognitive ability in stroke survivors. Four studies reported aerobic exercise to be beneficial in improving memory, but only one showed statistical significance. Two studies investigated the effects of aerobic exercise on attention, and one showed a significant improvement. One study reported a significant benefit of aerobic exercise on visuospatial ability in stroke survivors. No adverse events were reported in the included studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aerobic exercise may have a positive effect on improving global cognitive ability and a potential benefit on memory, attention, and the visuospatial domain of cognition in stroke survivors. However, further large, rigorously designed trials are needed to confirm these findings.
authors.affiliation: College of Health Information Technology and Management, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou China.
authors.forename: Wenji
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou China; Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address: cld@fjtcm.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lidian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013028:Space Perception; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014796:Visual Perception
keywords: Aerobic exercise; cognitive ability; post stroke; systematic review