Cognitive, behavioral and brain lesional factors in the neurorehabilitation of stroke patients: prognostic and clinical outcomes

Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide and the main cause of adult disability in Western Countries, with 40% of stroke survivors reporting problems in activities of daily living. functional and clinical outcomes of the rehabilitative process may vary as a function of a number of variables, and predicting the degree of recovery after stroke, although essential, can be challenging, such that patients with similar baseline impairments might show different recovery trajectories.In the present study, we explored this issue in a sample of 48 stroke patients (right hemisphere damage) admitted to the IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, a neurorehabilitation hospital located in Rome, Italy. Specifically, we focused on cognitive, neuropsychiatric and brain lesion measures to predict clinical outcome.Results revealed that age, baseline neuro-functional, neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric data, along with sparing of temporal pole and inferior frontal regions, mediate post-stroke recovery. Such results could provide further hints in considering the clinical variables involved in functional recovery and return to work in stroke patients.