BACKGROUND: Post-stroke cognitive impairments negatively affect the results of rehabilitation, worsening the outcomes of motor functions recovery, daily activity, and also increase the likelihood of recurrent stroke and premature death. Therapeutic physical factors contribute to the activation of the body's reserve capabilities and aim at correcting metabolic and vascular disorders, improving the functional status of the nervous system, which allows them to be used in a complex of rehabilitation measures.
AIM: to substantiate the use of dynamic electric neurostimulation in the correction of cognitive impairment in patients in the early recovery period of ischemic stroke.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 60 patients in the early recovery period of ischemic stroke, with mild and moderate cognitive impairment, at an average age of 62.44.5 years, divided by random sampling into 3 groups: group 1 (n=25), in addition to the basic rehabilitation complex, which included medication, sessions with a neuropsychologist, massage and physical exercise therapy, received a 15-day course of dynamic electric neurostimulation from the "Neurodance-PCM" device; group 2 (n=20) received the basic rehabilitation complex and procedures from the placebo device similar to procedures on "Neurodance-PCM"; group 3 (n=15) received only the basic rehabilitation treatment. All patients underwent an assessment of cognitive status using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and the study of psychophysiological status on the psycho-physiological tester "NS-Psychotest", using the following tests: tapping test, the SchultePlatonov tables with red-black cells, test of simple visual-motor reaction, reaction to a moving object test.
RESULTS: Over the two-week rehabilitation, it was found that the inclusion of dynamic electrical stimulation, in addition to the standard therapy of cognitive impairment in patients in the early recovery period of ischemic stroke, improves attention, memory, speech fluency, generalization functions, complicated choice reaction, increases the functions of visual attention and the speed of sensorimotor response, which was not noted in the comparison groups.
CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of dynamic electric neurostimulation in the rehabilitation complex of patients in the early recovery period of ischemic stroke with mild and moderate cognitive impairment may affect cognitive functions by stimulating the third block of the brain according to A.R. Luria and improving the neurodynamic support of higher mental functions.