NEUROPHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPY AND MOTOR RECOVERY AFTER STROKE

The concept of pharmacological intervention for recovery from brain injury is by no means new. However, most rehabilitation physicians still do not incorporate it into their practice, Over the past several years, scientific evidence has begun to reveal that certain medications can limit the extent of cerebral damage and others have the capacity to influence neurological recovery. Rehabilitation medicine emerged in the military out of a desperate need to rehabilitate injured soldiers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Although casualties are much less common in today's post-Cold War military, the need for expeditious neurorehabilitation still remains because of the growing military retired population. In keeping with this view, this paper begins by reviewing the neurobiological basis of spontaneous recovery after cerebral injury. It continues with a discussion about the pharmacological basis of motor recovery after stroke, and concludes by presenting some clinical guidelines useful in helping to expedite as well as maximize neurological recovery.