The five-year study, known as the Locomotor Experience Applied Post-Stroke trial (LEAPS), is a collaborative effort among rehabilitation researchers at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., and clinicians in five community-based rehabilitation hospitals in Florida and Southern California.

“The (LEAPS) study compares the effectiveness of different rehabilitation interventions to improve walking after stroke and addresses the timing and length of these interventions and which patients may benefit the most from them,” says Richard Adams, M.D., director of Long Beach Memorial Stroke and Brain Injury Programs.

Researchers will study 400 stroke patients, ages 18 and older, to determine the best time to begin physical therapy and the effectiveness of a particular therapy used to reduce walking disabilities after stroke. The randomized trial will assess whether there is a difference in those who successfully recover walking ability using a body weight supported treadmill versus others participating in a therapist-supervised, home-based exercise program as well as the best time to begin therapy following a stroke.

“The results of this study will assist physicians and therapists in their decision making and treatment of gait disorders in the stroke population,” says Diemha Hoang, M.D., rehabilitation specialist and one of principal investigators for the Memorial site.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, is the largest rehabilitation trial funded by the NIH to date.