Editorial: Understanding stroke recovery to improve outcomes: From acute care to chronic rehabilitation

Over the past decades, stroke outcomes have improved due to advances in treatment including the implementation of reperfusion therapies such as thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy for acute stroke and multidisciplinary care in stroke units (1, 2). In addition, progress in research about brain function, repair mechanisms and rehabilitation interventions informed by both animal and human studies, is helping shape both research and practice (3). Yet, stroke remains a major cause of death and disability worldwide (4). The integration of data about the predictors of recovery and responsiveness to interventions, as well as the impact of psychosocial factors such as motivation and self-efficacy, has the potential to decrease the burden from this condition.

The Research Topic “Understanding Stroke Recovery to Improve Outcomes: From Acute Care to Chronic Rehabilitation” included 30 manuscripts, consisting mainly of observational studies but also of proof-of-principle randomized trials, two narrative reviews, a systematic review, a meta-analysis, a study protocol and a case report. Most of the studies addressed the prediction of outcomes or effects of specific interventions on behavioral, neurophysiological and imaging metrics.