Functional implications of ipsilesional motor deficits after unilateral stroke

To investigate the functional impact of ipsilesional motor deficits after unilateral stroke and the best predictors of those deficits.

Observational cohort.

Primary care Veterans Affairs and private medical center.

Volunteer right-handed sample; stroke patients with left (LHD) or right hemisphere damage (RHD) a mean of 3.9 to 5.2 years poststroke and able-bodied participants who were tested using their left (LAB) or right hand.

Not applicable.

The Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JHFT).

Ipsilesional JHFT performance was impaired to the same extent in the LHD and RHD groups. LHD patients with apraxia had poorer scores on the JHFT than LHD patients without apraxia and the LAB group. Regression analyses showed that severity of apraxia was the best predictor of JHFT performance for the LHD group and that right (ipsilesional) motor performance (grip strength, finger tapping) was the best predictor of JHFT performance for the RHD group.

Ipsilesional deficits are present on simulated activities of daily living after LHD or RHD, suggesting that rehabilitation after stroke should include the ipsilesional arm and that ipsilesional limb apraxia is a better predictor of ipsilesional functional motor skills after LHD than aphasia or simple motor skills (grip strength, finger tapping). These findings suggest that limb apraxia should be assessed more routinely after stroke of the left hemisphere.