The purpose of this study is to assess efficacy, as well as safety, of Ropinirole in improving movement among patients with chronic stroke.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability. Current treatments target injury and must be delivered within hours. A body of literature suggests that there are processes ongoing days-months after stroke that can be targeted therapeutically, and improve function. The current study evaluates one such potential therapy, the dopamine agonist ropinirole. The current study tests the hypothesis that patients with chronic stroke randomized to ropinirole+physiotherapy will show improved gait velocity over the 12 weeks of study participation as compared to patients randomized to placebo+physiotherapy. A secondary aim is to test the hypothesis that ropinirole will improve three secondary endpoints at 12 weeks after study entry: the proportion of patients with no significant disability (Barthel Index ≥ 95); overall motor status, measured with the arm/leg FM score; and overall physical function, defined as the score on the Stroke Impact Scale-16 (SIS-16). This study will also evaluate the safety of ropinirole in patients recovering from stroke.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
52
University of California, Irvine Medical Center
Orange, California, United States
Barthel Index
Time frame: Measured at weeks 1, 9, and 12
Leg motor Fugl-Meyer scale
Time frame: Measured at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12
Stroke Impact Scale-16
Time frame: Measured at weeks 1, 4, 7, 9, and 12
Gait endurance
Time frame: Measured at weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12
Hamilton Depression Scale
Time frame: Measured at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 9, and 12
Safety
Time frame: 12 weeks
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