Rehabilitation Technique Increases Gray Matter

In an exciting study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, researchers found that a rehabilitation technique actually increased gray matter in the brains of stroke patients.

The technique, called constraint induced therapy, involves forcing the use of affected arms or legs by restraining the unaffected limbs for an extended period. When the researchers -- including Dr. Edward Taub, who pioneered the approach -- applied constraint induced therapy to 16 stroke patients, MRIs showed an increase in gray matter in areas of the brain responsible for motor skills; a control group showed no increase in gray matter.

What does this have to do with Alzheimer's disease? After Alzheimer's, vascular disease (such as stroke) is one of the second most common causes of dementia. Alzheimer's and vascular dementia can even occur together, resulting in mixed dementia.

Even though constraint induced therapy focuses on improvements in motor skills as opposed to memory, it's encouraging to see evidence that gray matter in the brain can actually increase in response to therapies aimed at helping people recover from traumatic injury or disease. Could an increase in gray matter slow Alzheimer's or improve symptoms? Sounds like a ripe area for research to me.

For More Information:

• What Is Vascular Dementia?
• Tips for Enhancing Brain Health

Illustration © A.D.A.M.