The Golden Neuroplastic Period: A Framework for Standardised Patient-centred Stroke Rehabilitation
Sudip Paul, Hrishita Das, Vijay Kumar, Dinesh BhatiaBackground
The issue of stroke continues to pose a serious problem for the world community with forecasts of a 50% increase in stroke-associated mortality rate by 2050. Around 90% of patients who suffered from stroke have cognitive deficits. Post-stroke recovery is the fastest within three months, and an interdisciplinary approach including cognitive, nutrition and motor rehabilitation can significantly improve patients’ quality of life.
Summary
The current review highlights the latest advances in interdisciplinary stroke rehabilitation and reveals the key components which are required for precision rehabilitation and durable recovery. An electronic database search was done using the following databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) until March 2026 according to the PRISMA guidelines. Based on screening of 235 studies, there were included 17 articles into the narrative review. For 43,000 stroke patients, interdisciplinary approach to treatment planning was associated with higher survival rate and functional independence compared with conventional care. Timely start of intervention and treatment within 14 days were connected with better motor results, and participation of neuropsychologists in the stroke team increased the cost-benefit ratio three times due to decrease in social care expenses.
Key Message
To move towards evidence-based treatment and precision rehabilitation, it is imperative to identify the ‘active ingredients’ of therapy: specific doses of exercise, dual-task complexity and specific timing for nutritional supplementation. Standardised and cost-effective models should be widely implemented to decrease the burden of caregivers and support long-term brain health