Functional significance of ipsilesional motor deficits after unilateral stroke.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether ipsilesional motor skills, which have been related to independent functioning, are present chronically after unilateral stroke and are more common in people with apraxia than in those without apraxia.

DESIGN

Observational cohort comparing the performance of an able-bodied control group, stroke patients with left- or right-hemisphere damage matched for lesion volume, and left-hemisphere stroke patients with and without ideomotor limb apraxia.

SETTING

Primary care Veterans Affairs and private medical center.

PARTICIPANTS

Volunteer right-handed sample; stroke patients with left- or right-hemisphere damage about 4 years poststroke; a control group of demographically matched, able-bodied adults.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Total time to perform the (1) Williams doors test and the (2) timed manual performance test (TMPT), which includes parts of the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test.

RESULTS

Ipsilesional motor deficits were present after left- or right-hemisphere stroke when using both measures, but deficits were consistently more common in patients with limb apraxia only for the TMPT.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings add to a growing literature that suggests that ipsilesional motor deficits may have a functional impact in unilateral stroke patients, especially in patients with ideomotor limb apraxia.