{"doi":"10.1109/ojemb.2023.3313396","title":"Enhancing Neuroplasticity in the Chronic Phase After Stroke: Effects of a Soft Robotic Exosuit on Training Intensity and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor","abstract":": High intensity training may enhance neuroplasticity after stroke; however, gait deficits limit the ability to achieve and sustain high walking training intensities. We hypothesize that soft robotic exosuits can facilitate speed-based gait training at higher intensities and longer durations, resulting in a corresponding increase in circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Results: Eleven individuals >6-mo poststroke completed a two-session, pilot randomized crossover trial (NCT05138016). Maximum training speed (Δ: 0.07±0.03 m/s), duration (Δ: 2.07±0.88 min), and intensity (VO2 peak, Δ: 1.75±0.60 ml-O2/kg/min) significantly increased (p<0.05) during exosuit-augmented training compared to no-exosuit training. Post-session increases in BDNF (Δ: 5.96±2.27 ng/ml, p=0.03) were observed only after exosuit-augmented training. Biomechanical changes were not observed after exosuit-augmented training; however, a deterioration in gait propulsion symmetry (%Δ: -5±2 %) and an increase in nonparetic propulsion (Δ: 0.9±0.3 %bw) were observed (p<0.05) after no-exosuit training. Conclusion: Soft robotic exosuits facilitate faster, longer duration, and higher intensity walking training associated with enhanced neuroplasticity.","journal":"IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology","year":2023,"id":367380,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":5,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9468,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2023-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":459770,"name":"Ashley N. Collimore","orcid":"0000-0001-6002-3667","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1124947,"name":"Johanna Spangler","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1124948,"name":"Lillian Ribeirinha-Braga","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":460476,"name":"Karen J. Hutchinson","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":364860,"name":"Qing Mei Wang","orcid":"0000-0003-4655-4917","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":288132,"name":"LaDora V. Thompson","orcid":"0000-0002-6481-9029","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":276919,"name":"Louis N. Awad","orcid":"0000-0002-0159-8011","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1124524,"name":"Anna V. Roto Cataldo","orcid":"0000-0001-6035-5215","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":50,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T01:15:12.215513Z","pmid":"38196979","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}