New guidelines aim to bring precision medicine to stroke rehabilitation

A University of Maryland School of Medicine stroke rehabilitation expert played a key role in drafting new recommendations to advance precision medicine for stroke recovery. The guidelines, published in the International Journal of Stroke, aim to help researchers design large-scale studies that collect blood samples and detailed recovery data over time.

Traditionally, stroke recovery studies have only measured outcomes at a single 90-day point, which misses important variations in a patient's unique recovery trajectory. The task force sought to create a framework for longitudinal studies that could identify the biological signals driving recovery, enabling clinicians to determine the most effective therapies and optimal timing for intervention.

Stroke survivors often face long-term challenges like mobility and cognitive impairments. While emergency stroke care has significantly improved survival rates, scientists still lack understanding of the biological processes behind recovery in the weeks and months following a stroke. The task force identified several promising biomarkers, including neurofilament light chain, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and others, to study in-depth.

The recommendations emphasize the need for further research to understand how these biomarkers change over time and how they relate to the brain's ability to repair itself. Researchers also need to determine the best timing for rehabilitation interventions, as intervening too soon or too late can be detrimental. Large-scale data infrastructure and ethical safeguards are essential to support these studies while protecting patients' access to rehabilitation services.

The hope is that Maryland can become a hub for this precision medicine work, leveraging its strong infrastructure in neuroscience, rehabilitation, molecular biology, and data science to accelerate discoveries that improve stroke survivor outcomes.