Study Limitations
cognitive and social status
ADVERSE EFFECTS, DISEASE
Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the results of this study. We did not consider factors that can affect the rehabilitation outcome, such as the side and localization of the lesion, motor network plasticity using functional neuroimaging, the presence of comorbidities, or the patient’s cognitive and social status. Another limitation of the study is that the results refer to patients with strict criteria for entering the study regarding disease severity. The duration of rehabilitation treatment for an individual patient is not registered but is given as an approximate minimum and maximum time. A limitation of the study is that no adverse effects were monitored after 90 days. The quality of life assessment was not considered in the current experimental design despite a longitudinal assessment of motor outcome measures after the infusion of Cerebrolysin. Furthermore, no direct assessment of the neurological outcomes, nor paretic versus non-paretic limb performance, was incorporated in the current experimental design.