Why the ICARE Trial?

Each year about 700,000 people in the United States experience first or recurrent attacks of stroke. About 65 percent of stroke survivors experience significant disability, such as the loss of use of one arm. This can lead to a reduced quality of life and loss of independence. More effective rehabilitation treatments could lessen the disability, caregiver burden and economic impact of stroke.

To this end, the NIH-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the NIH-National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have provided funding for a five-year study of a promising rehabilitation therapy program for stroke patients who have lost movement in the upper extremity.

The trial will investigate the effectiveness of the Accelerated Skill Acquisition Program, an "intense and focused" outpatient rehabilitation program that emphasizes activities-based training and resistance exercises, and includes 30 hours of one-on-one therapy early in the rehab process. The ASAP program also uses motivational techniques to encourage patients to self-manage their therapy.

The ICARE trial links the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy with two other academic clinical research centers in the U.S.:National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., and the Emory University Center for Rehabilitation Medicine in Atlanta, GA. USC will serve as the primary project administrative and data management and analysis center.

ICARE will also involve five Southern California physical rehabilitation sites, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, Huntington Rehabilitation Medicine Associates in Pasadena, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey.

This extensive study is expected to generate a wealth of useful data about stroke rehabilitation that could provide useful information to current and future trials of experimental interventions.