Brain and spinal cord changes after stroke, studied with MRI scans
Uses MRI scans to study brain and spinal cord changes in adults after stroke.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: CNS Changes Following Stroke
Key facts
- Where
- Zurich, SwitzerlandSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 80 years old?
Source: NCT04059276, who can take part
Where in Switzerland
- Universitätsklinik BalgristZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University of Zurich
- Trial code
- NCT04059276
- Record updated
- 15 December 2025
- Original description
The objective of this study is to better understand the structural and functional changes that the CNS undergoes following stroke and how these changes relate to clinical measures. Both macroscopic and microscopic changes of the brain and the spinal cord will be examined in stroke patients and compared to healthy controls. In terms of structural plasticity, we aim to identify MR biomarkers that allow predicting the course of the patient's neurological status and accurately describe the course of the disease and the recovery. Importantly, we aim to investigate which factors scale the patients' symptoms.Read full original descriptionShow less
Functional, Structural, and Metabolic Central Nervous System Changes Following Damage of the Central Nervous System
The objective of this study is to better understand the structural and functional changes that the CNS undergoes following stroke and how these changes relate to clinical measures. Both macroscopic and microscopic changes of the brain and the spinal cord will be examined in stroke patients and compared to healthy controls. In terms of structural plasticity, we aim to identify MR biomarkers that allow predicting the course of the patient's neurological status and accurately describe the course of the disease and the recovery. Importantly, we aim to investigate which factors scale the patients' symptoms.
In terms of functional plasticity, we will combine fMRI with behavioural motor and sensory testing to understand i) the structural and functional interplay between spinal and supraspinal neural circuits after stroke possibly driven by beneficial plasticity/regeneration vs. maladaptive plasticity/degeneration and ii) which clinical and behavioural determinants drive functional hand representations in the primary somatosensory and motor cortices to be maintained and which determinants drive reorganisation of functional representations following sensory input loss. We will further investigate the contribution of brainstem reorganisation to plasticity observed at the cortical level and, by doing so, aim to better understand the mechanistic underpinnings of functional reorganisation.
Inclusion: Age 18-80; Stroke (> 3months); Signed informed consent; Age 18-80; Signed informed consent.
Exclusion: Neurological impairment of body function impairments not induced by stroke; Neurological illness; Impairment of body function induced by stroke; Contraindications to magnetic resonance imaging; BMI > 40; Pregnancy; Claustrophobia; Contraindications to magnetic resonance imaging; Pregnancy; Claustrophobia; BMI >40.