Functional prognosis of acute ischemic stroke patients from their neuropsychological features

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the relationship between the patient neuropsychological condition and recovery of his/her motor activity disorder due to acute cerebrovascular accident. Materials and Methods. The study involved 103 patients with ischemic stroke in the pools of middle and anterior cerebral arteries. We carried out clinical and neurological assessments of the patient condition, and conducted neuropsychological testing via Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MоCA), SF-36, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The examination was performed on three occasions: during the acute phase of cerebral circulatory disorders, after two weeks and within the range of 24-36 months. After the long-term follow-up, all patients were distributed among two groups: with a favorable outcome and with unfavorable outcome. We attempted to identify the most typical values of above-mentioned scales for each group. Results. The general physical health (GPhH) indicators based on the results of SF-36 (p=0.007), BHS (p=0.003 and 0.002), and VAS (p=0.025), collected after acute ischemic stroke, were prognostically significant. In both groups, the most important indicators for the stroke prognosis were MоCA (p=0.038), BHS (p=0.009) and SF-36 (GPH) (p=0.002), regardless of the stroke phase. Conclusion. The connection between the patient neuropsychological condition and restoring the motor functions after the stroke was revealed. The investigated questionnaires can be included in the multivariate forecast model of the stroke prognosis among other criteria for the outcome of this disease.