MetroHealth Research Study Highlighted by American Heart Association

The American Heart Association’s prestigious journal Stroke recently featured the results from a multi-site clinical trial led by MetroHealth researcher Jayme Knutson, PhD, that demonstrated the effectiveness of a groundbreaking technology that helps stroke survivors regain function.

Featured articles in Stroke are selected by the journal’s editors for their high impact on stroke research and their value to clinicians, epidemiologists, and health authorities through important new insights, findings or methods. You can read the article here.

Dr. Knutson’s study centered around the effectiveness of contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation (CCFES) – an innovative stimulation therapy developed by researchers at the MetroHealth Center for Rehabilitation Research, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation Center.

The study showed that CCFES technology helped stroke survivors with hand weakness recover more upper extremity movement and function than two alternative therapies. In fact, 67% of participants using the technology achieved clinically meaningful reductions in motor impairment – significantly higher than the other therapies tested, including the standard of care.

At the end of treatment, 86% of the participants who received CCFES agreed they could use their hand better than at the start of the study, and 89% expressed they wished CCFES had been part of their original rehabilitation following their stroke.

The study, which enrolled 132 participants, took place at four sites: MetroHealth, Kessler Foundation (West Orange, N.J.), Emory University (Atlanta, Ga.), Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.). The study’s outcomes were not significantly different across study sites, suggesting the benefits are not dependent on the specific expertise or environment of the research center.

The study was funded by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

Senior investigators leading the study at each of the four study sites included Drs. Jayme S. Knutson, Douglas D. Gunzler and John Chae at MetroHealth; Dr. Olga Boukrina at Kessler Foundation; Drs. A.M. Barrett and Fadi Nahab at Emory University; and Dr. Preeti Raghavan at Johns Hopkins University. Additional co-authors include Amy Friedl, OTR/L; Kristine M. Hansen PT; Mary Y. Harley, OTR/L; Shannon D. Hogan, OTR/L; David A Cunningham, PhD; Terri Z. Hisel, OTR/L; and Ela B. Plow, PhD, PT.

CCFES was developed by Drs. Jayme Knutson and John Chae. Dr. Knutson is the Director of Research and staff scientist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at MetroHealth and Professor of PM&R at the CWRU School of Medicine. Dr. Chae is Executive Vice President, Chief Academic Officer at MetroHealth and Senior Associate Dean and Professor of PM&R and Biomedical Engineering at the CWRU School of Medicine.