O015 - IMPACT OF SARCOPENIA ON FUNCTIONAL AND COGNITIVE RECOVERY IN CAUCASIAN POST-STROKE PATIENTS FOLLOWING REHABILITATION

O015

IMPACT OF SARCOPENIA ON FUNCTIONAL AND COGNITIVE RECOVERY IN CAUCASIAN POST-STROKE PATIENTS FOLLOWING REHABILITATION

A. Guerrini^1,2,*, M. Siotto², A. Fasano², C. Cocco², M. Germanotta², V. Cipollini², L. Cortellini², A. Pavan², S. Lattanzi², S. Insalaco², C. Bertoncini², D. Papadopoulou², E. Antonacci², E. Ruco², Y. M. Khazrai¹, I. G. Aprile²

¹Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, ²IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Florence, Italy

Rationale: Sarcopenia significantly hinders stroke recovery. However its impact in Caucasian populations remains underexplored. This study aims to evaluate the impact of sarcopenia, as defined by the EWGSOP2 criteria, on functional and cognitive recovery in subacute post-stroke patients undergoing a six-week rehabilitation program.

Methods: Prospective cohort study involving 87 subacute post-stroke patients (mean age 69 ± 12; 42 women) evaluated at admission (T0) and after six weeks of rehabilitation (T1). At T0 sarcopenia was diagnosed. The modified Barthel Index (mBI), Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), Motricity Index for upper and lower limbs (MI-UE, MI-LE), Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)—were evaluated at both T0 and T1, and changes from baseline (ΔmBI, ΔFMA-UE, ΔMI-UE, ΔMI-LE, and ΔMoCA) were also assessed. 

Results: Sarcopenia was confirmed in 24 patients (14 women). At T0, sarcopenic patients had poorer nutritional status and lower scores in mBI (46 ± 21 vs. 67 ± 23, p < 0.001), in FMA-UE (28 ± 22 vs. 39 ± 23, p = 0.045), in MI-UE (38 ± 31 vs. 56 ± 34, p = 0.008), in MI-LE (45 ± 28 vs. 65 ± 29, p = 0.007), in FAC (1 ± 2 vs. 3 ± 2, p = 0.002), and in MoCA (19 ± 6 vs. 22 ± 6, p = 0.019) compared to non-sarcopenic patients. At T1 both groups showed significant improvements in mBI, FMA-UE, MI-LE, MI-UE, and MoCA. However, although ∆FMA-UE, ∆MI-LE, ∆MI-UE, and ∆MoCA were comparable between the groups, sarcopenic patients exhibited lower ΔmBI (8 ± 12 vs 19 ± 16, p = 0.004), even after adjusting for confounders. Additionally, a greater proportion of non-sarcopenic patients achieved higher FAC levels at T1, whereas sarcopenic patients showed less improvement in walking ability.

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Conclusion: An early identification and targeted interventions for sarcopenia in stroke rehabilitation programs are crucial to enhance recovery outcomes.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared