Posted on July 29, 2004 at 2:10 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Constraint-Induced (CI) Movement Therapy, a stroke rehabilitation technique developed by Edward Taub, Ph.D., professor of psychology at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham), has been included in a listing of the 10 most important translational neuroscience accomplishments by the Society for Neuroscience. The Society’s list details those areas where basic neuroscience research on animal models has been applied-or translated-to successful therapies for human brain disorders, including stroke.

The Society refers to Taub’s CI therapy as one of those therapies. Following a stroke, many patients experience inability to use the arm or leg on one side of the body. CI therapy immobilizes a patient’s unaffected or good arm or leg and forces the patient to make use of the affected, unused limb. Rigorous repetition produces a ‘re-wiring’ of the brain as new nerve connections are made, bypassing those damaged by the stroke. The society points out that follow-up studies in human stroke patients has confirmed the benefits of CI therapy to rehabilitation.

UAB opened the Taub Training Clinic in October of 2001 to make CI therapy available to stroke patients. Taub estimates that nearly 500 patients have successfully undergone CI therapy at UAB, regaining the ability to use their affected arm or leg in the accomplishment of everyday tasks. The therapy also is available at clinics across the United States and Europe. Taub is investigating the efficacy of CI therapy for other conditions such as cerebral palsy, hip fracture, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.