Stroke rehabilitation.

Stroke is the leading cause of brain damage and resultant disability. Rehabilitation measures help to restore lost abilities, improve quality of life and decrease the long-term economic cost of stroke. Proper patient selection, realistic goal setting, the active participation of both the patient and family, and the use of an interdisciplinary team approach are important for the success of stroke rehabilitation. Functional demand and intensive training are believed to trigger central nervous system reorganization, which is responsible for late functional recovery after stroke. The outcome following a stroke is most likely to be positive when patients have bladder and bowel continence, are able to feed themselves and have a healthy and caring spouse. Stroke rehabilitation must include the prevention or early diagnosis of medical complications as well as patient and family education concerning the prevention of recurrent stroke.