Rehabilitation of Motor Function.
Neurological Disorders: Course and Treatment: Second Edition.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability and handicap in the industrialized world. Each year 750,000 subjects suffer a stroke in the United States, the prevalence is 200-300 patients/100,000 inhabitants. Approximately 90% of these subjects have persisting neurological motor deficits, leading to disability and handicap, namely incompetence in their daily activities, impaired arm and hand function, and walking ability. Large outcome studies reported that only 5% of stroke survivors regain full arm function, and 20% of them cannot use their arms at all. A large groups of patients, usually early in life, develop motor deficits after spinal cord injury (SCI), the prevalence in the United States is 200,000 persons, and the estimated national economic impact of SCI is approximately $9.73 billion per year. Although considered a variable and unpredictable condition, most patients move from a relapsing/remitting phase into a secondary progressive phase over time, and it has been estimated that 50% of those affected will require assistance to walk within 15 years of onset. This is usually the result of weakness and spasticity of spinal cord origin but may also be complicated by cerebellar deficits and sensory disturbance. Although Parkinson's disease, which has a prevalence of up to 200/100,000, is regarded as a treatable condition, it is progressive in nature in most patients and it can result in considerable disability, which may be compounded by the comorbidities of the older patient. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
|Title:||Rehabilitation of Motor Function|
|UCL classification:||UCL > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
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