Dopaminergic Enhancement of Rehabilitation Therapy Early After Stroke
Phase: PHASE1
Conditions: Stroke
Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Study Overview 
STUDY TITLE: Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke 
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) #: 22-000104 
DESCRIPTION: Telerehabilitation (TR) is defined as delivery of rehabilitation services via 
communication technologies. This study uses an established TR system and protocol to 
supplement usual care, and also asks whether adding a dopaminergic drug enhances TR effects. 
In addition, the predictive value will be examined for two biomarkers that characterize capacity 
for brain plasticity. 
Patients with arm weakness due to a new stroke in the past 30 days will be randomized to 
receive [1] 6 weeks of TR + Sinemet 25/100 once/day, on top of usual care (UC), [2] 6 weeks of 
TR + placebo once/day, on top of UC, or [3] UC alone. TR consists of 70 minutes/day of activity 
targeting upper extremity (UE) function, delivered in the home and (when appropriate) 
initiated in the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) setting. Two previously validated predictive 
biomarkers are hypothesized to prospectively identify treatment responders: first, extent of 
stroke-related injury to the corticospinal tract (CST), obtained via MRI scan; and second, a 
polygene score focused on dopamine neurotransmission. 
The currently planned study uses very similar software and hardware as the TR system as in a 
prior national study that found that this TR system was safe, associated with significant gains in 
arm function3 and in global function14, and had efficacy comparable to that seen when the 
same dose of therapy was delivered in the clinic (i.e., delivered in the same manner as standard 
care). In that prior study, the FDA determined (Q140628) that the investigation was a non-
significant risk device study. 
STUDY AIMS: 
Aim 1. TR+UC is superior to UC alone: A 6-week program of TR targeting arm movement added 
to UC will result in better arm function as compared to UC alone. The primary endpoint is the 
change in Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) from baseline to 1 month after end of therapy. 
Aim 2. TR+Sinemet is superior to TR+placebo: Among patients randomized to TR, gains in arm 
function will be greater in those who take Sinemet (25/100) each day prior to TR, as compared 
to patients who take placebo each day prior to TR. 
Aim 3. Less CST injury and higher dopamine polygene score predict better recovery of arm 
function: Across all subjects, change in arm function will be highest in those with lower % CST 
injury and in those with higher dopamine polygene scores. These relationships will remain 
significant when examining only patients randomized to TR. The drug X gene score interaction 
term will be significant such that the slope of arm gains in relation to the polygene score will be 
smaller (less steep) in those receiving Sinemet.  
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Contact Information 
Primary Investigator:  
Steven C. Cramer, MD, MSc, FAAN, FAHA, FASNR 
Professor, Department of Neurology 
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA 
710 Westwood Plaza, Reed C239 
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769 
EMAIL: sccramer@mednet.ucla.edu  
 
 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Background 
Patients need higher doses of high-quality rehabilitation therapy: Stroke remains a 
leading cause of human disability. Motor deficits are a substantial contributor to this, 
particularly in the arm: few patients fully recover from arm weakness after a stroke, with the 
remainder demonstrating persistent arm impairments that are directly linked to larger activity 
limitations and participation restrictions, lower quality of life, and decreased well-being15-17. 
Increasing evidence suggests that intensive activity-dependent therapy can improve outcomes 
after stroke18-22. However, most patients do not receive intensive therapy for reasons that 
include difficulty traveling to a provider (particularly in the COVID-19 era), shortage of regional 
rehabilitation care, and poor compliance with assignments. 
The amount of rehabilitation therapy received as part of UC is generally small and inconsistent. 
During the acute stroke admission, the dose of occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy 
(PT) provided to a patient varies widely across hospitals23. After discharge from the acute 
admission, the type, location, and dose of rehabilitation therapy are also highly variable24-29. 
This is also true in the outpatient setting, where provision of OT and PT after a stroke remains 
sparse and inconsistent. A study of 23,413 U.S. patients found that during the first 30 days after 
discharge from the acute stroke admission, 59% did not see an OT or PT at all30. A later study of 
6,743 adult stroke survivors in the U.S. found that 67% of patients did not receive any 
outpatient rehabilitation therapy31. Medicare generally pays for very few outpatient OT and PT 
sessions32. Outpatient therapy is provided in an inconsistent way31, 33, despite the fact that 
outpatient therapy after stroke has the potential to improve functional status, survival, and 
quality of life; and to reduce the risk for several psychological disorders15, 31, 34-36. Furthermore, 
even when patients can access stroke rehabilitation, the amount of therapy provided in 
standard of care is limited4, 37-40, averaging just 32 arm movements/session4, vastly lower than 
the 600-924 movements/session deemed necessary in animal studies41-43. 
The quality of rehabilitation therapy is also important and can increase the extent to which 
clinical neuroplasticity is harnessed44. Effects are increased when therapy is challenging, 
motivating, and engaging1, 45-48. 
The promise of a telehealth approach for increasing rehabilitation therapy: Telehealth 
approaches have the potential to improve the quantity and quality of rehabilitation therapy 
after stroke. A telehealth approach can increase access to rehabilitation therapy31. A telehealth 
approach also increases the quality of rehab therapy by boosting motivation and thus 
improving patient compliance. 
TR is the delivery of rehabilitation services via communication technologies49. TR therapy is 
delivered by a licensed therapist via a computer and over the internet and can occur either 
synchronously (i.e., live interactions between therapist and patient) or asynchronously (i.e., the 
patient works alone and the therapist reviews performance later). TR follows the same 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
principles of traditional, person-to-person, individualized rehabilitation care. Such telehealth 
therapy provides a powerful supplemental option to brick-and-mortar delivery of rehabilitation 
services50-53, reducing the need for impaired patients to travel and increasing access to care by 
clinicians familiar with stroke rehabilitation, an option useful in regions with a shortage of 
providers. These potential advantages are particularly important in the COVID era. As such, 
even if benefits of TR over usual care (UC) are modest, TR could be of value to many patients as 
an alternative means to access rehabilitation therapy. 
Because TR incorporates a computer, therapy can be provided via games, which promote 
patient participation in health care5-9. Games motivate patients to engage in enjoyable play 
behavior that involves therapeutically relevant movements10, 11, important because patient 
compliance is often low when stroke rehabilitation is delivered through traditional methods54-
56. TR can also reduce the burden on caregivers and increase compliance; costs might also be 
lower57 but this issue will not be examined in the currently proposed clinical trial. 
Mounting evidence that TR helps with motor deficits after stroke: Increasing data 
support the utility of motor TR. A recent meta-analysis reported that all 18 studies of post-
stroke motor TR improved motor disabilities53. Another noted that effects of TR did not differ 
from those seen with in-person rehabilitation or UC, although findings from this review must be 
viewed cautiously given that the authors defined TR quite broadly (e.g., including interventions 
that relied on phone calls, a DVD, email, or an online chat room)58. Other reviews indicate that 
higher TR usage results in greater benefit59, although to date many studies have been small and 
uncontrolled53, 59-62. In one recent review of neurotechnological interventions for upper-limb 
motor rehabilitation, Coscia et al63 stated 
“We also promote the necessary conceptual change from ‘one-suits-all’ treatments within 
inpatient clinical rehabilitation set-ups towards personalized home-based treatment strategies 
by adopting novel technologies….’' 
In this regard, it is important to note that the current proposal employs a telehealth 
intervention that fosters a personalized treatment plan, is structured and therapist-supervised, 
maintains an ongoing relationship between therapist and patient1, is designed for use in the 
home64, and directly emulates the successful approach used in our prior national TR trial3. 
The active ingredients in the current telehealth approach: It is important to characterize 
the therapy that is delivered using telehealth methods. The active TR ingredients underlying the 
substantial behavioral gains seen in our national trial3 can be summarized using the 
Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS)65, 66. 
The main treatment targets promoted by the therapist and by TR system usage include five 
skills and habits: [1] improved UE motor function; [2] increased activity throughout the day (i.e., 
when not using the TR system); [3] increased capacity for sustained attention; [4] maintenance 
of a structured daily rehabilitation practice; and [5] healthier lifestyle choices. Treatment 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
targets also include three representations [1] improved mood, confidence, and quality of life; 
[2] increased knowledge about stroke; and [3] increased fun. 
The main direct target65 is improved UE motor function, which arises from CNS motor system 
plasticity and to a lesser extent from improved UE muscle strength; improved UE motor 
function is thus the main skill improved by TR and is captured by serial ARAT scoring. 
The main volitional target65 (i.e., the main accessible/verifiable measure of patient behavior 
that occurs without direct therapist supervision) is maintenance of a structured daily rehab 
practice, measured through daily usage statistics automatically calculated by the TR system and 
provided to patient and therapist.  
The dosing parameter is a daily 70-min therapy session, created by the patient’s treatment 
therapist, which includes 65 min of activity-based arm motor therapy (functional games and 
exercises) plus 5 minutes of stroke education, all of which involve targeted arm movement. The 
target TR dose for treatment therapists to assign is >800 arm movements/day, considerably 
higher than the 32 repetitions/session in routine clinical care4. 
Patient performance of many repetitions of activity-dependent therapy targeting the paretic 
arm is at the core of this TR program. The games in the TR system stress many different 
behaviors as part of motor training (e.g., memory load, sustaining a movement, movement 
precision, accurate timing of movement, and visuomotor tracking of a target).  
The biological model underlying treatment efficacy, therefore, is that UE motor repetitions 
performed during TR activate numerous brain circuits including memory, attention, 
somatosensory, visuomotor, and cognitive circuits to drive motor cortex, with convergence of 
output on the CST. For example, in the “Clay Shooting” game, the patient uses the UE to track a 
flying clay pigeon, activating the dorsal and lateral reaching systems67. In the “Target” game, 
the patient squeezes a force transducer to keep the cursor within increasingly narrow brackets, 
activating sensorimotor and reward circuits68. In the “Slots” game, the patient must time 
button pushes to line up the same image on three successive reels; activating error-detection 
networks69. 
The motor-related circuits activated by TR use have in common reliance on CST as the effector 
pathway, and so the model also suggests that a measure of CST injury will be a useful 
biomarker of treatment-related gains. While there are multiple CSTs arising from primary and 
secondary motor cortices, the focus here will be on CST arising from primary motor cortex; 
secondarily, we will also examine injury to CSTs arising from secondary motor, as we have done 
previously70. 
The rationale for using this 6-week (42-hour) program of therapist-supervised, home-
based TR: This dose and this approach proved to be an effective therapy in the national trial3, 
and so treatment dose and content will not be modified in the currently proposed study. The 
prior national trial found that 6 weeks of TR was safe and associated with substantial gains in 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
UE-FM, Box & Blocks, and mRS scores, among all patients. This was also true among those 
patients who were enrolled >90 days post-stroke, a timepoint where spontaneous motor 
recovery after stroke has generally reached a plateau and thus any gains are very likely 
attributable to the intervention itself3, 14. Given this evidence that the intervention is effective 
at improving arm function, current goals do not aim to change the intervention but instead to 
compare it to a control, UC alone, and to evaluate its efficacy when a dopaminergic drug is 
introduced prior to each day’s TR session. 
Why did the prior national TR trial3 study show significant benefit but 2 recent trials71, 72 of 
activity-based therapy in-clinic did not? These divergent results might be due to the TR trial 
providing a higher therapy dose (42 hours in the TR trial3 vs. 3072-32 hours71), a higher number 
of arm movements per session (1,031/session in the TR trial3 vs ≤300/session71), and studying a 
population that was closer to the time of stroke (4.4 months post-stroke in the TR trial3 vs. 12 
months post-stroke71). Intensity of therapy may also be a factor, which might explain why both 
the prior national TR trial3 and the CPASS trial73 both showed substantial benefits. 
The rationale for investigating increased dopamine neurotransmission with intensive 
rehabilitation therapy: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that has a key role in learning, and 
plasticity74-77, with increased dopamine associated with greater motor learning and motor 
cortex plasticity78, 79 and decreased dopamine associated with impaired motor learning 80 and 
motor cortex plasticity 79. Dopamine is also important to motivation81, action learning82, action 
selection83, and in the control of voluntary exercise84. Dopamine is also a central component in 
the limbic reward system, and reward significantly influences long-term motor learning85.  
Given these well-established roles, dopaminergic drugs have also been investigated for 
poststroke recovery. One key study that motivates Aim 2 was a randomized, double-blind, 
placebo-controlled study of levodopa performed in patients who experienced a stroke 3 to 26 
weeks prior, were admitted for inpatient rehabilitation, and lacked major depression86. A total 
of 53 patients were randomly assigned to 3 weeks of daily levodopa 100 mg (with carbidopa) or 
placebo coupled with physiotherapy. This study found that levodopa 100 mg/d combined with 
physical therapy was significantly better than placebo combined with physical therapy for 
improving arm and leg motor function at the end of the 3 weeks, measured using the 
Rivermead Motor Assessment. Motor gains were sustained or improved after an additional 3 
weeks. No levodopa-related adverse events were reported. 
A more recent study also found that levodopa was safe but, perhaps due to study design issues, 
did not find a benefit in motor recovery. The Dopamine Augmented Rehabilitation in Stroke 
trial87 was a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial with pragmatic 
design features that examined 6-weeks of daily carbidopa/levodopa (25/100) given prior to 
rehabilitation therapy in 593 patients recruited 5-42 days post-stroke who could not walk 
independently. Levodopa was safe; the main safety finding was that vomiting after study drug 
administration occurred more often in the levodopa group as compared to the placebo group 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
(6% vs. 3%), a fact that is clearly noted in the informed consent form (ICF). Key concerns exist 
with the design of this study88, concerns that limit interpretation of non-efficacy outcomes. 
First, the target population was not well defined, as this study enrolled patients with any deficit, 
of almost any severity, as long as gait was not independent; furthermore, the diagnosis of 
stroke was based entirely on clinical findings. Second, provision of concomitant physical 
therapy frequently did not follow study protocol. Third, the timing of pill ingestion relative to 
physical therapy was variable (e.g., the study drug was not taken per protocol in 45% of therapy 
sessions). Such details are critically important to trials of stroke recovery, and so perhaps the 
strongest message from this trial was that Sinemet 25/100 is safe early after stroke. 
The rationale for examining whether an intact corticospinal tract is needed to benefit 
from TR: Aim 3 hypothesizes that patients with milder CST injury are more likely to achieve 
gains in arm function. Neural repair after stroke benefits from patient stratification89, as 
patients with stroke are a heterogeneous population, with differing capacities to respond to 
rehabilitation therapy. Although several potential predictors of response to a restorative 
therapy in patients with subacute or chronic stroke have been identified90-93, analysis94 of data 
from patients receiving TR in the prior national trial3 found that clinical measures provided 
limited prediction of TR-related arm motor gains. Following bivariate screening of 43 baseline 
clinical measures from eight categories, a multivariable linear regression model predicted only 
17.6% of the variance in TR-related arm motor gains (p<.004). Other types of measurement 
beyond clinical data are needed to prospectively identify treatment responders. 
Neuroimaging measures are excellent candidates for predicting benefit from rehabilitation after 
stroke. Indeed, such measures can be superior predictors compared to clinical measures. CST 
injury is the focus here because it is a common pathway for TR components: the mechanism of 
action for TR efficacy revolves around cortical plasticity from multiple circuits driving signals 
down the CST--and so greater CST injury would be expected to limit treatment-related 
behavioral gains. Five prior studies from the Cramer lab70, 95-98 support this hypothesis, each 
finding that % CST injury was a significant predictor, explaining 17-33% of variance in arm motor 
recovery during receipt of a restorative therapy in subacute or chronic stroke. Importantly, in 
each of these studies, % CST injury was a better predictor than age, baseline behavioral status, 
and total infarct volume. For example, the largest of these studies97, focused on patients in the 
subacute phase post-stroke, found that ≥75% CST injury had 91.7% positive predictive value 
that a patient would fail to achieve a gain on the Action Research Arm Test that reached or 
exceeded the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of 5.7 points for this scale99-104. 
These data suggest that treatment non-responders are common and can be accurately 
identified at baseline based on severity of CST injury. 
The method we use for measuring % CST injury involves [1] generating in healthy subjects a 
canonical CST emanating from primary motor cortex using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) 
tractography, [2] outlining each patient’s infarct on an anatomical MRI, and [3] overlapping 
each infarct on top of the canonical CST tract in MNI standard stereotaxic space. Ideally, we 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
would like to measure the percentage of axons in each CST that is injured by stroke, but MRI 
resolution does not permit this. Towards this approach, the CST is divided into 16 longitudinal 
subsections, aiming to model the trajectory of groups of axons. Each subsection is classified as 
injured or not; as with axons, a subsection need only be destroyed by stroke once along its 
length for it to be classified as injured. 
The rationale for examining whether dopamine genetics predicts benefit from TR and 
benefit from Sinemet: Aim 3 hypothesizes that change in arm function will be highest in 
those with higher dopamine polygene scores. Dopaminergic drugs have long been studied 
towards the goal of improving outcome via enhanced brain plasticity after neural injury such as 
stroke. However, results to date have been inconsistent105-107, with motor learning and 
plasticity improved by dopaminergic drugs in some studies86, 108 but not in others109-111. Genetic 
measures might explain part of this variance and indeed might form a basis to personalize 
medicine by predicting which patients will be responders112, 113. Several prior studies suggest 
the utility of a dopamine polygene score based on 5 common and biologically active genetic 
polymorphisms. One study from my lab found that this polygene score can predict (a) motor 
learning, (b) motor cortex plasticity, and (c) their modulation with Sinemet 25/100114. 
Importantly, the predictive value of this dopamine polygene score was independently validated 
by Diaz Heijtz at the Karolinska Institutet115 in a study of intensive arm motor therapy provided 
to hemiparetic children with cerebral palsy. Separately, my lab also found that this polygene 
score predicted depression scores in healthy subjects and in subjects with major depression116. 
MacDonald et al at University of Auckland found that the same polygene score was able to 
predict extent of impulse control and whether these symptoms responded favorably to a 
dopamine agonist drug117. For these reasons, this polygene score will be tested as a predictor of 
treatment effect in each patient group. 
A pilot study of TR in patients with chronic stroke13 was an extension of the Cramer lab’s 
longstanding experience studying game-based robotic arm motor therapy for patients with 
stroke46, 96, 118-127. A pilot study transferred these and other games to a TR system, then tested it 
in 12 patients with chronic (>6 months post-onset) stroke. Each patient received 4 weeks of 
home-based, therapist-supervised TR targeting arm motor deficits. We found that  
• Patients were highly compliant (97.9% of assigned days) and rated the system 
favorably;  
• Therapists in the clinic were able to remotely review patient performances and 
revise therapy;  
• Videoconferences supported regular communication between the patient and 
treatment team;  
• Arm motor status improved significantly based on the FMA-UE;  

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
• Daily stroke education significantly increased secondary stroke prevention 
knowledge;  
• Screening for depression using telehealth methods was accurate;  
• No computer skills were needed, as computer literacy was not related to usage or 
treatment gains; and  
• With 60 min/day of TR in this pilot study, patients averaged 879 arm 
repetitions/day. 
These results support the feasibility and potential utility of this home-based program for 
improving outcomes after stroke. 
A multisite, randomized, assessor-blinded trial of TR: Subsequently, my lab led an 11-site 
national trial3 in the NIH StrokeNet clinical trials network. The primary aim was to determine 
whether treatment targeting arm movement delivered via a home-based TR system has 
comparable efficacy with dose-matched, intensity-matched therapy delivered in a traditional 
in-clinic setting. A randomized, assessor-blinded, non-inferiority design was employed. Entry 
criteria included stroke with onset 4-36 weeks prior and arm motor deficits (defined as UE-FM 
score of 22-56 of 66). Patients were randomized to TR therapy in the home or therapy at an 
outpatient clinic. All enrollees were assigned 36 sessions (70 minutes each) of arm motor 
therapy plus stroke education. Therapy intensity, duration, and frequency were matched across 
groups. 
Main results of the multisite, randomized, assessor-blinded trial: The 124 enrollees had baseline 
FMA-UE score of 43±8 (mean±SD) points (maximum score, 66 points; higher scores are better), 
and were enrolled 18.7±8.9 weeks post-stroke. Compliance was 98.3% in the TR group and 
93.4% in the in-clinic group. Change in FMA-UE score from baseline to 1-month post-therapy 
(the primary endpoint) was 8.4±7.0 points for the in-clinic group vs. 7.9±6.7 points in the TR 
group. The covariate-adjusted FMA-UE score change was 0.06 (95% CI -2.14, 2.26) points higher 
in the TR group (p=0.959). The non-inferiority margin fell outside this 95% CI, which indicates 
that TR is not inferior to dose-matched therapy provided in-clinic. Motor gains associated with 
TR therapy remained significant whether patients were enrolled early (<90 days) or late (>90 
days) post-stroke. Gains were also significant when examining change in the Box & Blocks Test 
(BBT) score, a measure of arm function (activities limitations). Stroke Knowledge scores also 
increased significantly (p<0.001). A post hoc analysis found that TR was associated with 
improved global function (mRS score) in 39.5% of patients beginning therapy after day 9014, a 
time when functional recovery generally stabilizes128. 
The number of arm movement repetitions over 36 TR treatment sessions was calculated in a 
convenience sample. With 70 min/day of TR, patients averaged 1,031 arm repetitions/day, 33-
times higher than the amount of arm movement provided during standard of care4. 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
In sum, a 6-week course of daily home-based TR supervised by a licensed OT or PT was safe, 
rated favorably by subjects, associated with excellent treatment compliance, and produced 
substantial gains in arm function that were not inferior to a dose-matched.  
A pilot study of TR for patients at an early timepoint after stroke: Most recently, we 
have performed a pilot study of TR in patients who were in the early weeks post-stroke. 
Patients were enrolled during admission to an IRF. Thus far we have enrolled 11 patients at 
California Rehabilitation Institute (Cal Rehab), each of whom had recent stroke and arm paresis. 
Enrollees received the 6-week TR program as described here, using the very same software and 
hardware described here. Each was assessed immediately before and after the 6-week course 
of TR.  
Baseline features include age 62.5±14.4 (mean  SD), median of 21 days post-stroke at time of 
first TR session, median of 6 TR sessions provided while the patient was still admitted to the 
IRF, FMA-UE score 33.2±5.4, and BBT score 7.6±9.6.  
Behavioral gains at the end of 6-weeks of TR included a mean increase in FMA-UE score of 
22.6±10.3 points; in BBT score, 26±8.4. These behavioral gains are strongly driven by 
spontaneous post-stroke recovery and it is difficult to understand which component may be 
attributable to TR effects, but these gains are nonetheless quite favorable.  
In terms of safety, there have been 9 adverse events (AEs), 2 of which were considered possibly 
or probably related to study participation. Both were non-serious. [1] one patient with 
hemianopsia felt nausea while using his own physician-prescribed prism glasses during TR, 
which was relieved by increasing breaks between TR activities and providing the option for anti-
nausea medication; and [2] one patient who was being treated for depression reported feeling 
demotivated and depressed when asked to score anxiety and depression scales online, which 
was addressed by removing these assessments from his future sessions. 
This study establishes the feasibility and safety of providing intensive TR to patients with severe 
motor deficits very early after stroke.  
In sum, we now propose to evaluate this intervention in a larger cohort of patients early after 
stroke, testing whether TR is better than an inactive control, and examining whether 
introducing levodopa enhances the benefits expected from daily intensive arm motor therapy 
delivered via TR. 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Schedule of Events 
The table below provides an overview of the schedule of assessments and other tasks that will be completed by subjects in all groups. 
ASSESSMENT/TASK 
ELIGIBILITY 
SCREENING 
VISIT 1 
VISIT 2 
TR 
Week 
1^ 
TR 
Week 
2^ 
TR 
Week 
3^ 
TR 
Week 
4^ 
TR 
Week 
5^ 
TR 
Week 
6^ 
VISIT 3 
VISIT 4 
VISIT 5^^ 
TR Session # 
 
 
 
1-6 
7-12 
13-18 
19-24 
25-30 
31-36 
 
 
 
Study Overview 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Informed Consent & HIPAA 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Research Participant’s Bill of Rights 
(handout) 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Past Medical History 
Demographic/Contact Information 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interval Medical History 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
Adverse Events 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
X  
Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)  
X  
Must be <32 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
X 
X  
AROM shoulder and elbow flexion 
OR able to use at least 3 different input 
devices 
X  
At least ≥45° 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Box and Blocks Test (BBT)α 
OR Wrist extension and finger flexionβ 
Gravity eliminated 
X  
BBT must be ≥1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
10-s and 3-block BBT 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
X 
X 
3 Rehab Practice Tasks 
X  
Must pass all 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Center for Epidemiologic Studies 
Depression Scale – 20 item (CES-D)Ω 
X  
Must be ≤24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short 
Depression Scale – 10 item (CESD-R-10)Ω 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) 
X  
Must be >22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Visual Acuity Screen 
X 
Must be ≥20/50 
in one eye 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trail Making Test: Part A only 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Must be >14 
Eligibility Checklist  
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Behavioral Contract  
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Randomization  
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pharmacy – Fill Prescription 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MRI Safety Screening Questionnaire  
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment – Upper 
Extremity (FMA-UE) 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
Modified Rankin Scale (mRS)µ 
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
Shoulder Abduction Finger Extension 
(SAFE) Score  
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Handedness Inventory  
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Star Cancellation Test (SCT) 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Language Screening Test (LAST) 
 
X   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT) 
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) – ADL subsection  
 
 
 
 
X* 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
SIS – Hand subsection 
 
 
 
 
X* 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
X  
Modified Ashworth Scale 
Pecs & Biceps 
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Review of TR System 
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reaction Time Test 
 
X  
 
 
 
X1 
 
 
X2  
 
 
 
Optimization in Primary and Secondary 
Control (OPS) Scale 
 
X 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) 
 
X  
 
 
 
X∑ 
 
 
X∑  
 
 
 
Screening Q re: Restless Legs Syndrome 
 
X  
 
 
X2*  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Genetic Testing  
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TR System Delivery 
 
 
 
X  
(TR 
Group) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
(UC 
Group) 
 
Call UC Subjects (reminder re: 
participation and logging therapy hours, 
inquire about adverse events) 
 
 
 
Every 1-2 weeks 
 
 
 
MRI+ 
 
 
X  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shoulder Pain 
 
 
 
Daily (Start and End of Therapy) 
 
 
 
Fatigue 
 
 
 
Daily (Start and End of Therapy) 
 
 
 
Daily Motor Assessment 
 
 
 
Daily (Start of Therapy) 
 
 
 
Finger Tap Assessment 
 
 
 
Daily (Start of Therapy) 
 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Degree of Perceived Effort 
 
 
 
Daily (End of Therapy) 
 
 
 
Stroke Education Quiz 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
X  
 
 
 
Stroke Education  
 
 
 
 
Daily 
 
 
 
 
Functional Module 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X** 
X** 
 
 
 
Euro-QoL Visual Analog Scale (VAS) 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
General Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale 
(GAD-7) 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social 
Support Survey (SSS) 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Guess Medication 
 
 
 
 
 
X2  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brief Resilience Scale  
 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
Functional Training Module 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
X  
 
 
 
Patient Satisfaction with TR Survey 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
TR System Pick-up 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
(TR 
group) 
 
 
X  
(UC 
Group) 
^ Only patients in the TR groups will be undergoing TR training for 6 weeks  
α Splint permitted for use during BBT for study eligibility only 
β Patient must show visible flicker (trace movement) in all 4 movements tested, if BBT not ≥1 
Ω Tally score on day assessment is completed, and contact the patient’s care team if the score is high, per SOP guidance 
µ At Visit 1, complete pre-stroke and current mRS; current mRS for all other visits 
∑ additional question to be asked post-assessment (refer to CRF for details) 
*completed within 5 days after DC home (SIS) or during week 2 (SIS or Restless Leg Screening Q); for UC subjects, the SIS ADL and hand and Restless Leg Screening question will be completed during 
Week 2, after randomization 
1completed during start of week 
2completed during last supervised session of week 
+ timing of the MRI may be modified per PI judgment 
**schedule 5-10 minutes on supervised days only, to observe practice of functional task related to goal 
^^ Visit 5 only applies to participants in the UC group who choose to participate in TR training after their initial study participant has ended 
 
 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
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Screening, Recruitment, and Enrollment 
Recruitment: Patients will be recruited from two main sources. First, patients with a recent 
stroke admitted to Cal Rehab, an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) in Los Angeles, CA, will be 
screened and when appropriate offered study enrollment and a Screening Visit. Second, 
patients with a recent stroke who have been discharged home then referred to the study will 
be invited to Cal Rehab for pre-screening and when appropriate study enrollment and a 
Screening Visit. These referrals may come from outside sites.  
Research activities at Cedars-Sinai: One of these referral sites will be Cedars Sinai, who will refer 
patients as above. Cedars personnel will also assist with (1) reviewing and refining study 
procedures, and (2) data analysis and results reporting.  
Pre-screening: Pre-screening will occur before the patient is asked to sign consent. For 
patients admitted to Cal Rehab, pre-screening will consist of review of the medical record plus a 
very brief pre-screening exam that aims to identify severe paralysis, severe cognitive or 
language deficits, or other major abnormalities that clearly indicate that a patient is not eligible 
for the study. For patients referred to the study from the community, pre-screening will occur 
during the initial phone call and during a very brief pre-screening exam performed after the 
patient arrives at Cal Rehab. Patients considered to have a reasonable likelihood of study 
eligibility will be offered study enrollment. The Screening Visit will then proceed, and this takes 
place at Cal Rehab. 
Enrollment 
The initial steps of study enrollment are as follows:  
• Provide the patient with an overview of the study and the study timeline 
• Have the patient sign the ICF and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 
(HIPAA) Research Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information (PHI) 
• Provide the patient with a copy of the Research Participant’s Bill of Rights  
• Gather demographic data, medical history, and contact information, from the patient, 
from a subsequently obtained copy of medical records, and when possible from the 
electronic health record 
• Complete baseline screening measures to confirm study eligibility, including: 
• Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) 
• Box and Blocks Test (BBT) 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
 
If unable to complete BBT, will examine wrist extension and finger flexion for a 
visible flicker (at least trace contraction must be present for both movements) 
• Examine range of motion against gravity in the paretic shoulder and elbow  
• 3 Rehabilitation Practice Tasks  
• Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D, 10 questions) 
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) 
• Trail Making Test (TMT): Part A 
• Visual Acuity Screen  
• Complete the Eligibility Checklist, which evaluates whether the patient fully meets 
inclusion and exclusion criteria  
• If the patient is an inpatient at Cal Rehab, enter a research progress note into the 
electronic health record (Epic) 
The Screening Visit may be broken into more than one session, as needed. 
If the patient meets all of the eligibility criteria and is amenable to study participation, they will 
given a Visit 1 follow-up appointment, ideally on the next day.  
  
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 
Below is a list of the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Eligibility Screening packet 
includes an eligibility checklist, which must be completed to confirm whether a patient is 
eligible or ineligible for participation. 
 
INCLUSION CRITERIA 
1. Age 18 years or older 
2. Stroke that has been radiologically verified and has time of onset 30 days or less from 
the time of randomization 
3. ARAT score of <32 (out of 57) at Visit 1 
4. At Visit 1, either  
a. BBT score with affected arm is at least 1 block in 60 seconds OR  
b. There is a visible flicker in each of the following movements with gravity eliminated: 
wrist extension and finger flexion 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
5. At Visit 1, either 
a. The range of motion against gravity must be ≥45 degrees in both the paretic 
shoulder and elbow OR 
b. the patient must be able to use at least 3 different telerehab system input devices 
6. Informed consent and behavioral contract signed by the subject (i.e., no surrogate 
consent) 
 
EXCLUSION CRITERIA 
1. A major, active, coexistent neurological or psychiatric disease (e.g., alcoholism or 
dementia) 
2. Major medical disorder that reduces subject’s ability to comply with study procedures 
3. Severe depression, defined as CES-D score >24 at screening visit 
4. Significant cognitive impairment, defined as presence of either 
a. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score <22 OR 
b. Trail Making Test: Part A score ≤14 
c. Note that lower scores may be permitted if due to aphasia and if the patient is 
specifically allowed by Dr. Cramer 
5. Deficits in communication that interfere with reasonable study participation 
6. Lacking visual acuity, with or without corrective lens, of 20/50 or better in at least one 
eye 
7. Life expectancy <6 months 
8. Pregnant  
9. Botox to arms, legs or trunk in the preceding 4 months, or expectation that Botox will be 
administered to the arm, leg or trunk within 3 months of study enrollment 
10. Unable to successfully perform all 3 rehabilitation exercise test examples 
11. Unable or unwilling to perform study procedures/therapy or attend study visits, or 
expectation of noncompliance with study procedures/therapy 
12. Non-English or non-Spanish speaking, such that subject does not speak either language 
sufficiently to comply with study procedures 
13. Isolation due to active COVID-19 
14. Any contraindication to L-Dopa: 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
a. 
Patient is currently taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor; if the patient took 
such a drug in the past, it must be discontinued at least two weeks prior to study 
enrollment 
b. 
Known hypersensitivity to any component of Sinemet 
c. 
Narrow-angle glaucoma; if wide-angle glaucoma is present, the patient can only 
be enrolled with explicit written approval from their ophthalmologist 
d. 
History of melanoma or suspected melanoma 
e. 
Patient is currently taking phenytoin, papaverine, isoniazid, or a dopamine D2 
receptor antagonist (such as a phenothiazine, butyrophenone, or risperidone) 
f. 
Currently taking a direct dopaminergic agonist 
15. Expectation that subject will not have single domicile address during 6 weeks of therapy 
that has either Verizon wireless reception or a home WiFi network and that has space 
for TR system, and is within 30 miles of Cal Rehab 
 
Any of the above entry/exclusion criteria can be waived by Dr. Cramer. 
 
In addition, we will enroll up to 3 patients in a beta study, in which Inclusion criteria 2 and 3 
are waived. 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
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Visit 1 
Visit 1 will occur at Cal Rehab. Seven key events occur at Visit 1:  
1. Baseline assessments are completed 
2. Blood is drawn for genetic testing 
3. MRI Screen 
4. The patient is randomized 
5. Dispense study medication (at or shortly after Visit 1) 
6. The patient is asked to sign the behavioral contract 
7. The TR system is introduced. 
 
Baseline Assessments 
Additional assessments will be completed during Visit 1 in order to more fully characterize the 
patient’s functional status at baseline: 
• Fugl-Meyer Arm Motor Assessment for the upper extremity (FMA-UE) 
• Modified Rankin Scale (mRS), scoring both  
• pre-stroke mRS 
• current mRS  
• Shoulder Abduction Finger Extension (SAFE) Score 
• Handedness Inventory (pre-stroke) 
• Star Cancellation Test (SCT) 
• The Language Screening Test (LAST)  
• Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT) 
• Optimization in Primary and Secondary Control (OPS) Scale 
• Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) 
• Screening question for Restless Legs Syndrome 
• Reaction Time Test 
• Modified Ashworth Scale (mAS) 
• paretic pectoralis major  
• paretic biceps brachii 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
All Visit 1 assessments are available in a single “Visit 1” packet, located in the lab’s Box folder. 
Details regarding administration of each assessment is found within individual CRFs. The Visit 1 
folder on Box also includes a handout for TR input devices, which can be given to patients for 
reference. Visit 1 may be broken into more than one session, as needed. 
After all assessments have been completed, provide an overview of how to access and use the 
TR system for daily arm motor training.  
Note that all study visits may be broken into more than one visit to the lab for any patient who 
requests this (e.g., due to time constraints). 
Genetic Testing 
For genetic testing, DNA and genotyping data will be collected from patients under the protocol 
described in IRB#10-001577 using a separate consent process. Two 4 mL tubes of blood will be 
drawn into lavender top (EDTA) collection vials and taken to the genetics lab at UCLA for 
processing, to test the genotype-based biomarker hypothesis (Aim 3). 
MRI Screen 
A standard MRI screen will be conducted at Visit 1. Patients eligible for MRI will proceed to Visit 
2 for the MRI scan, whereas those who are not eligible for an MRI scan may still be eligible for 
study inclusion per Dr. Cramer. The timing of the MRI may be modified per PI judgment. 
 
Randomize the patient 
Using a web-based randomization procedure, the patient will be randomized into one of three 
treatment groups: 
• TR + Sinemet: Patients in this group will receive 36 therapy sessions targeting arm 
motor function starting as soon as possible after randomization (target is next day). This 
therapy is structured as 6 weeks of TR, 6x/week, for 6 weeks. Up to 8 weeks are 
permitted to make up for lost sessions to achieve 36 sessions in which >50% of assigned 
minutes are completed by the patient. For the first 18 sessions (approximately the first 3 
weeks), the patient will take their study pill (Sinemet 25/100) 1-2 hours after breakfast 
or lunch, then 1 hour later begin their 70-min TR session. TR+Sinemet is in addition to 
UC (i.e., the patient is to continue all therapies and medication provided as part of 
standard medical care). 
• TR + placebo: Patients in this group will receive 36 therapy sessions targeting arm motor 
function starting as soon as possible after randomization (target is next day). This 
therapy is structured as 6 weeks of TR, 6x/week, for 6 weeks. Up to 8 weeks are 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
permitted to make up for lost sessions to achieve 36 sessions in which >50% of assigned 
minutes are completed by the patient. For the first 18 sessions (approximately the first 3 
weeks), the patient will take their study pill (placebo) 1-2 hours after breakfast or lunch, 
then 1 hour later begin their 70-min TR session. TR+placebo is in addition to UC (i.e., the 
patient is to continue all therapies and medication provided as part of standard medical 
care). 
• Usual care (UC): Patients in this group will not receive TR or a blister pack of study pills. 
Instead, each will receive UC (i.e., will continue all therapies and medication provided as 
part of standard medical care). In order to maximize participant retention, patients in 
this group will be offered a 6-week course of TR after Visit 4 (i.e., 5-6 months after 
stroke). At the end of their TR therapy, at the time that their TR system is picked up 
from their home, the therapist will perform ARAT, FMA-UE, BBT, NHPT, and mRS in the 
patient’s home. 
Dispense Study Medication 
Study medication will be dispensed at Visit 1, or shortly after. Patients randomized to the 
TR+Sinemet and the TR+placebo groups will be given a blister pack of 18 pills with instructions 
to take one pill an hour after breakfast or lunch 6 days/week for the first 18 sessions 
(approximately the first 3 weeks). TR will begin 1 hour after pill ingestion. Patients will be given 
apple sauce to take with their pill as needed, following dysphagia restriction guidelines, to 
mitigate concerns for potential nausea. As needed, patients may also be provided with an 
antacid drug. Patients in the UC group will not be given a blister pack of study pills or apple 
sauce. 
The UCLA Pharmacy will generate the two types of study pills (i.e., Sinemet 25/100 and 
placebo). These two pills will be indistinguishable internally and externally (i.e., the internal 
powder will be the same color, and the external over-encapsulation will be identical), across 
both pill types. Pills will be organized into an 18-pill blister pack. 
In patients with stroke, oral Sinemet 25/100 once/day is not associated with increased risk or 
with decreased acceptability of risks86, 87 For this reason, the current study does not need to be 
conducted under an investigational new drug application to the FDA. 
Behavioral Contract 
Patients sign a group-specific behavioral contract3, 12. For patients in the two TR groups, this 
contract describes the patient’s commitment to engaging in study-assigned therapy, includes a 
personal goal, outlines a plan to incorporate the paretic UE into daily life, and states the time of 
day when TR will generally begin. 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
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TR System Overview  
Patients will be participating in daily (6 days/week) TR training over the course of 6 weeks (up 
to 8 weeks is permitted to complete 36 sessions). If an enrollee is an inpatient at Cal Rehab at 
the time of enrollment, guidance for use of the TR system will be at the end of Visit 1 and at 
subsequent inpatient TR sessions. If the enrollee is an outpatient referred into the study, 
guidance for TR use will occur at Visit 1 and at the time that the TR system is delivered to the 
patient’s home. TR guidance will provide an understanding of the general TR layout, the nature 
of the functional games and exercises used for arm training, other modules such as education 
and assessment, how to respond to instructions (which are presented verbally and non-verbally 
as a TR system feature), and how to use each TR input device. 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
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Visit 2 
Visit 2 will be conducted on the UCLA campus. At Visit 2, the patient will undergo an MRI scan 
of the brain to acquire structural and functional brain images. Pulse sequences will include T1-
weighted, T2-weighted, resting state BOLD T2*, and diffusion tensor imaging. These data will be 
used to test MRI-based biomarker hypotheses (Aim 3). At this visit, the patient will also be 
asked about any interval medical history and AEs. 
Note: The timing of the MRI may be modified per PI judgment. 
 
TR System Home Delivery 
The TR system should be delivered to the patient’s home (a) as soon as possible after discharge 
from Cal Rehab, for patients enrolled while admitted to Cal Rehab, and (b) as soon as possible 
after Visit 2, for patients referred into the study. Two research staff members should be present 
for all home visits, when possible. 
In addition to setting up the TR equipment and connecting it to WiFi, patients should be given a 
quick overview of the TR system, confirm the patient’s study schedule, and ensure a caregiver 
will be available to assist with transfers and supervision if needed. The patient’s own home WiFi 
should be used to connect the TR system to the internet, if possible, else a study-provided 
wireless modem will be furnished and employed for this purpose, as we have successfully done 
previously129. 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
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TR Therapy 
The telerehabilitation intervention 
Summary: Patients are assigned 70 minutes of telerehabilitation (TR) therapy each day, 6 
days/week, for 6 weeks, targeting the paretic UE. Functional games and exercises comprise 65 
of these daily minutes, and 5 minutes/day is spent on stroke education (which requires 
targeted arm movement).  
Therapy must begin within 7 days of randomization. The first TR session will be a supervised 
session, whether in-person or via videoconference.  
TR is delivered over 36 sessions, each 70-minutes in duration. Of these, 18 sessions are 
supervised by a licensed OT or PT; for patients receiving TR while admitted to Cal Rehab, the 
therapist may be in the same room as the patient or communicate via videoconference, and for 
patients who are at home, the therapist is present via videoconference. The other 18 sessions 
are unsupervised (i.e., no OT or PT is present at any time during the session; for inpatients at 
Cal Rehab, the therapist can sit near the patient, with minimal interaction, at the therapist’s 
judgment). Ideally, a given patient will work with the same therapist1 for the entire 6 weeks. To 
accommodate possible external events (e.g., illness or family reasons), patients are permitted 
up to 8 weeks to complete these 36 treatment sessions. In the prior national trial3, the FDA 
determined (Q140628) that the investigation using an earlier generation of the same device 
was a non-significant risk device study. The FDA made the same determination (Q212693) for 
the current study. When possible, patients begin TR each day at the time indicated in the 
behavioral contract. Patients are free to pause between games and activities, as needed. 
Patients are also instructed to perform all UC that is provided to them–enrollment in this TR 
study does not interfere with any treatment provided as part of standard of care. A session is 
considered completed when the patient has completed >50% of the assigned 70 minutes by 
midnight. After the 36 treatment sessions are completed, or if that does not happen then at the 
end of 8 weeks, the team retrieves the TR system from the patient’s home. 
The TR treatment approach was based in part on an UE task-specific training manual130 and 
Accelerated Skill Acquisition Program72, building on games developed as part of previous 
studies from the Cramer lab that used a game-based approach to therapy after stroke, in the 
context of robotics46, 96, 118-127.  
Feedback to patients is a core feature and comes from two sources. First, therapists give 
feedback on supervised days based on their observations during videoconference plus their 
review of electronic data such as prior days’ device usage and scores on functional games. 
Second, the TR system gives patients feedback (e.g., during a game such as whether a game 
target was hit or not, and after a game when current/past scores game scores are presented). 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
In this way, incorporation of feedback in the current TR system directly builds on OPTIMAL 
theory131. Feedback provided by the TR system during gameplay and at the end of each game 
emphasizes enhanced expectancy and reward during gameplay. Positive feedback is also 
provided by the therapist during supervised sessions. Autonomy is promoted by using a home-
based treatment approach and by having half of treatment days be unsupervised (i.e., there is 
no interaction with a therapist). External focus on attention is facilitated by therapist feedback 
and by the approach to gameplay. 
The active ingredients of TR within the RTSS 65, 66 framework are summarized above, which 
emphasizes that playing the TR functional games is not simply rote movement repetition but 
instead targets specific brain circuits (memory, attention, somatosensory, visuomotor, and 
cognitive circuits) that drive motor output. Specific dosing parameter goals and dose 
progression strategies are outlined for treatment therapists. 
Therapist-facing software 
We developed a therapist-facing web portal that treatment therapists use for treatment 
planning and patient monitoring. All treatment is generated and supervised by a licensed OT or 
PT. Therapists use a graphical interface to drag treatment elements (functional games, 
exercises, and stroke education) into a 70-min planner for each day’s session; they then adjust 
the challenge level (games) and the duration (games and exercises) of each. 
Videoconferences: For the supervised sessions that occur for patients who are living in their 
home, the treatment therapist joins the patient for 60 minutes of their session using HIPAA-
compliant software (VSee; Sunnyvale, CA). Supervised sessions that occur while a patient is still 
admitted to Cal Rehab may have the therapist join the patient via VSee or live in the patient’s 
room, per the therapist’s judgment. During supervised sessions, therapists monitor therapy and 
provide patients with real-time positive feedback, answer questions, perform assessments, 
review treatment plans, and provide encouragement. Therapists also discuss how UE 
movements practiced during TR can be extended to become part of activity in the home. Any 
AEs and serious adverse event (SAEs) are reviewed. Note that 9.7% of patients receiving TR in 
the national trial3 had shoulder pain, and all patients could be helped by their therapist 
remotely, without pausing TR therapy. Therapists write an electronic clinic note after each 
videoconference, as standard good clinical practice. 
The same therapist-facing web portal allows therapists to review, at any time, from any secure 
location: 
Usage statistics: For games and for the stroke education module, we use the TR system’s 
sensors--every game click, tap, squeeze, or shot is sent to the lab server in real time.  
Performance data: We provide therapists with concise graphic readouts of scores on each 
game, over time. In this way, therapists can monitor patient compliance and performance, and 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
then use their professional judgment to modify game/exercise choices and difficulty levels 
accordingly, at any time.  
Patient-facing software 
Each of the 36 TR sessions is 70 min and includes 65 min/day of functional games and exercises, 
plus 5 min/day of stroke education–all of which require arm movements. 
(1) Arm exercises. A total of 114 UE exercises are available, each 1-5 min long and consisting of 
a video showing the assigned movement. Therapists may choose to demonstrate some of the 
exercises during videoconferences on supervised days. In addition, therapists have the option 
to incorporate standard exercise equipment (e.g., Theraband) that is also provided to patients 
at the time the TR system is delivered to the home and that can be incorporated into assigned 
exercises. 
(2) Functional training through games. There are 25 functional games, each 1-5 min long. These 
stress motor control features (e.g., varying movement speed, range of motion, squeeze 
strength, pinch strength, target size and features, extent of visuomotor tracking, memory 
demand, unilateral vs. bilateral movement, or level of cognitive demand). Features are selected 
and adjusted by the therapist, e.g., during the whack-a-mole game, higher difficulty level means 
a broader area where targets can appear and less time to hit the target to score points. 
Therapists also select which of the 11 input devices the patient will use for game play, based on 
UE motor status, e.g., vertical position of the flying bird in the flappy-bird game can be played 
using the grip force cylinder, pinch force cube, or trackpad. Feedback is provided during the 
game (e.g., when targets are hit), at the end of each game (today’s score along with prior 
scores), and at the end of the day (graphs of progress over time). 
(3) Five minutes/day of stroke education. The education content targets 5 categories (Stroke 
Risk Factors, Stroke Prevention, Effects of Stroke, Diet, and Exercise). During unsupervised 
sessions, patients answer multiple-choice questions, delivered via a video Jeopardy game 
format, an approach known to foster learning132, 133, and then receive feedback on their 
answers. Patients must make targeted arm movements to play the Stroke Jeopardy game. 
These 5 min/day significantly increase patient knowledge on stroke-related topics3, 13. A Stroke 
Knowledge Exam is administered through the TR system during the first and the last week, to 
measure knowledge gains in these five categories. 
To begin the day’s TR session, the subject hits a large green tabletop button. After each 
game/exercise is completed, the same green button is hit again to start subsequent 
games/exercises, an approach that provides patients with the freedom to take a break as 
needed. Unsupervised sessions have the same treatment content as supervised sessions but 
without any therapist contact. 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
All patient interactions with the TR system incorporate both verbal and non-verbal instructions. 
Instructions are simple and use a large-font and large symbols. 
TR hardware 
The telerehabilitation system hardware consists of an internet-enabled computer with table, 
chair, and 11 gaming input devices–but no keyboard, as no computer operations are required 
by subjects and no computer literacy is needed for high compliance or for arm improvement. 
The 11 devices are large tabletop buttons, small tabletop buttons, a trackball mouse, rotating 
shuttle wheel, trackpad, grip force cylinder, pinch force cube, a Wiimote equivalent inside 
gaming pistol, a tracking wand, joystick, and an accelerometer attached to an easy grip. 
The console itself is created using a 22cm x 22cm Ikea “Lack” side table, which is made of 
particle board. The legs aren’t used.  The top has its bottom and internal honeycomb structure 
removed, and holes are cut into the top and sides for all the components.  Drawer handles are 
attached for easier handling and transport. 
Gaming input devices are used to move through assignments, drive game play, and enable 
assessments and education. Some of these devices are connected directly to the top of the 
table. These are [1] four 100mm arcade buttons with internal LEDs, [2] a DIY arcade kit that 
includes ten 30mm JAMMA/MAME style arcade push buttons and joystick, [3] a 4.5cm PS/2 
Trackball mouse, [4] a 360-degree Rotary Encoder Digital Potentiometer with Push Button, and 
[5] a USB trackpad.  All of these components are available through Amazon.com except the USB 
trackpad, which we purchased directly from an original equipment manufacturer vendor. The 
Potentiometer is fitted with a ThunderStick GRS Spinner Knob that can be swapped out with 
custom 3D printed tops that require various types of finger grips. 
Other gaming input devices are connected to the side of the table via a plug: [1] a force sensor 
built using a 20kg Load Cell Sensor, [2] a pinch sensor using Interlink model 402 Force-Resistive 
Sensor, [3] a pistol built using an RB-Dfr-553 IR Tracker, [4] a wand that uses another RB-Dfr-
553 IR Tracker, and [5] a BNO055 sensor which is a 9 Degree of Freedom IMU.  All the housings 
for these devices are 3d printed in the lab. For sensors that require 2 wires, we use 3.5mm 
audio jack connectors and lightweight headphone cables. For sensors that require 3 or more 
wires, we use RJ45 Keystone adapters and Monoprice SlimRun ethernet cables to minimize the 
weight.  The pistol is made up of a commercially available Wii Remote gun shell, a 3D printed 
adapter to fit the IR tracker, and splicing of the Wii port connector to an RJ45 connector to 
make it detachable. 
Internally, all components are hooked up to 2 Arduino Mega microcontrollers.  The first 
controller handles all the button inputs and has had its firmware flashed to convert it into a 
standard USB human interface device keyboard; in this way, each button press translates to a 
standard keystroke viewable on any computer. The second microcontroller handles the LED 
outputs as well as other digital and analog sensors, and it communicates directly with a 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
controlling PC using a serial connection. To wire all the components together in a clean manner, 
a circuit board was designed and printed. We used JLCPCB.com for this service. The circuit 
board allows for direct mounting of all components since we can solder on screw terminals, JST 
pin connectors, resisters, and header pins. Using this approach makes things removable and 
reduces the number of wires required to assemble everything. Several of the sensors use an I2C 
connection, so we included an I2C Multiplexer into the circuit, as well as a HX711 AD Weighing 
Module that’s required for the load cell to function correctly. 
The final component is a standard USB hub, which is mounted internally as well, but accessible 
from the outside through a cutout. We used a 7 port USB 2.0 hub. Both Arduinos and the 
trackpad connect to the hub, which has a power connector as well as a USB connector that 
must be connected to a computer. Thin plywood bought from Home Depot and cut to match 
the Ikea Lack Table is screwed onto the bottom of the console to seal it. A barrel jack connector 
on the side of the table that is connected to the Arduino 5V output allows us to power the 
external 940nm IR LEDs necessary for the IR trackers to work. 
The console connects via USB to a computer, such as a Lenovo B50 All-In-One PC, which runs 
our custom TR program, Teamviewer, and VSee. These PCs run Windows 10 Pro and have i5-
4460T Processors, 8GB of RAM, and upgraded with Samsung 500GB SSD drives.  Video chat uses 
the internal webcam. Three 940nm IR LEDs are attached to the front for tracking. 
 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
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TR-based assessments 
Several behavioral assessments will be completed remotely during Weeks 1 to 6 using the TR 
system. These will be scored during supervised sessions, while the therapist is in the 
videoconference. In addition, once each week, the therapist will ask the patient about interval 
medical history and AEs. 
 
Daily assessments performed using the TR system 
• 
Daily motor assessment (Whack-A-Mole game using the hand, scores # targets hit in 90 seconds) 
• 
Daily finger tap assessment (scores # index finger taps on small button in 10 sec, reported in Hz) 
• 
Daily shoulder pain scoring– uses Visual Analog Scale (VAS) 
• 
Daily fatigue scoring– uses VAS  
• 
Degree of Perceived Effort – uses VAS 
 
Week 1 additional assessments 
• 
EuroQoL Visual Analog Scale (EQ VAS) 
• 
Stroke Education Quiz (5 questions/day x 6 days) 
• 
The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Week 2 additional assessments 
• 
Stroke impact scale – ADL and Hand subsections (administered during week 2 or within 5 days of 
DC home) 
• 
General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) Scale 
• 
Screening question for possible diagnosis of Restless Legs Syndrome 
• 
The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Week 3 additional assessments 
• 
Reaction Time Test 
• 
Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) 
• 
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CESD-R-10) 
• 
OPS and PACES 
• 
Guess Medication (Patients asked which pill they think they were taking each day.) 
• 
The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Week 4 additional assessments 
• 
Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) 
• 
The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Week 5 additional assessments 
• 
The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Week 6: additional assessments 
• 
Stroke Education Quiz (5 questions/day x 6 days) 
• 
Reaction Time Test 
• 
EQ VAS 
• 
CESD-R-10 
• 
OPS and PACES 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
• 
Patient Satisfaction with Telerehabilitation Survey 
• 
The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Visit 3 (End of Treatment) 
The end-of-treatment visit will generally be conducted at Cal Rehab, but accommodations for 
home assessment will be made as needed.  
If the testing occurs in the patient’s home, two research staff members should be present, 
when possible: one person to conduct final assessments with the patient and the other to 
deconstruct and clean equipment for transport back to the lab. 
Assessments 
Several standardized assessments will be conducted during this in-person visit: 
• FMA-UE 
• BBT 
• ARAT 
• NHPT 
• mRS 
• SIS-hand and ADL subsections 
• In addition, the patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
Deconstructing and cleaning equipment 
A member of the research team will deconstruct, clean, and pack the TR system for transport back to 
the lab while the examiner is conducting assessments with the patient.  
  
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Visit 4 (End of Study) 
The end-of-study visit will generally be conducted at Cal Rehab, but accommodations for home 
assessment will be made as needed; this visit occurs 1 month after Visit 3. Visit 4 may be 
broken into more than one session, as needed. All Visit 4 assessments are available in a single 
“Visit 4” packet, located in the lab’s Box folder. Details regarding administration of each 
assessment is found within individual CRFs. 
Assessments 
The following assessments will be completed during this final in-person visit: 
• ARAT 
• BBT 
• mRS 
• FMA-UE 
• NHPT 
• SIS—ADL and hand subsections 
• The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
  
Visit 5 (for UC only) 
As previously mentioned, patients in the UC group will be offered a 6-week course of TR after 
Visit 4 (i.e., 5-6 months after stroke). For those subjects who choose to complete this training, 
the same assessments administered at Visit 4 will be re-assessed at Visit 5. These include the 
following: 
• ARAT 
• BBT 
• mRS 
• FMA-UE 
• NHPT 
• SIS—ADL and hand subsections 
• The patient will be asked about interval medical history and AEs 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Randomization and Blinding 
Randomization 
A web-based randomization procedure will be used to assign patients to one of three groups in 
a 3:3:2 ratio. The three treatment groups are [1] TR plus Sinemet, [2] TR plus placebo, and [3] 
UC. 
Blinding 
With regard to TR vs. UC, study assessors will be blind to treatment assignment. Several steps 
will be taken to maintain this blind, including having assessments occur in a separate part of the 
building from TR therapy. 
With regard to TR+Sinemet vs. TR+placebo, enrollees and their family members, study 
assessors, study treatment therapists, clinicians involved in UC, the study PI, and all other study 
personnel will remain blinded to type of pill assigned. The sole person unblinded to pill type (for 
patients randomized to either TR+Sinemet or TR+placebo) will be the study statistician. With 
regard to the pill to which a TR patient was assigned, the study PI will be able to break the blind 
at any time in case of a medical emergency requiring this knowledge. To enable this, a 
password-protected file and a hard copy sealed envelope will both be in the PI’s possession and 
will remain unopened unless an emergency unblinding event arises. 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Sample Size and Statistical Analysis 
Sample Size 
The primary endpoint is the ARAT, the MCID for which is 5.7 points. This study is powered for 
the Aim 1 analyses, which will compare [1] patients receiving TR (i.e., combining TR+Sinemet 
with TR+placebo) to [2] patients receiving UC. Based on a randomization distribution of 3:3:2 
(TR+Sinemet, TR+placebo, UC), and using a 2-sided alpha of 0.05, this study will have 80% 
power to detect a mean difference between groups of 5.7 points in the change in ARAT-time, 
assuming a SD of 7.4 points97, 139, with a total of 72 patients: 27 in TR+Sinemet, 27 in 
TR+placebo, and 18 in UC.  
The study is funded to enroll 72 patients. Subject dropout may be as high as 20%, and so when 
possible additional patients may be enrolled. 
Statistical Analysis 
We will present descriptive statistics by group for the important covariates including age, site, 
time from stroke to randomization, MEP status, and hours of outside rehabilitation. We will 
also report compliance, defined as the percentage of the 36 sessions during which patients 
complete more than half (≥36 min) of assigned activities. For all analyses, data not normally 
distributed will be appropriately transformed. 
Primary efficacy analysis will use the Intent-To-Treat population, consisting of all randomized 
subjects and multiple imputation for missing data. Secondary analysis will examine the Per-
Protocol population, defined as all subjects with complete data who complete ≥36 minutes of 
assigned activities on ≥30 of the 36 therapy sessions over no more than 8 weeks. Analyses will 
be performed using SAS and R software. 
Logistic regression will be used to create a propensity score135 for treatment group using age, 
time from stroke to randomization, and total hours of outside rehabilitation therapy from Visit 
1 to Visit 4 (or Visit 3 when change is to visit 3). Inverse weights based on this score will be used 
in secondary analyses to compute adjusted change distributions and corresponding p values.   
The primary analyses will be based on the inverse propensity score weighted (adjusted) change 
from base. The corresponding unadjusted changes will also be reported as a secondary analysis.  
Since this is a randomized trial, we expected the primary propensity adjusted and unadjusted 
results to be similar.  
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Aim 1. TR+UC is superior to UC alone: A 6-week program of TR targeting arm movement added 
to UC will result in better arm function as compared to UC alone. The primary endpoint is the 
change in ARAT score from baseline to 1 month after end of therapy Visit 4). 
The mean differences in ARAT score change from Visit 1 (baseline) to Visit 4 (1 month after end 
of therapy) will be compared on the log scale using an inverse propensity adjusted t test. A 
similar method will be used for the secondary change from Visit 1 to Visit 3 (end of therapy). 
We will first compare the combined TR + UC groups versus the UC group (Aim 1) and then 
compare TR+Sinemet+UC versus TR+placebo+UC under this model. (Aim 2). As a secondary 
analysis, we will report the corresponding unadjusted results. 
The difference in ARAT score change between [1] the combined TR group and [2] the UC group 
will be computed and the distributions compared using ANCOVA, adjusting for Visit 1 ARAT 
score and propensity score. Specifically, this Aim will compare UC vs. the combined two TR 
groups (TR+Sinemet plus TR+placebo). 
Exploratory analyses will examine whether aphasia or neglect affect TR efficacy by determining 
if the extent of aphasia (Visit 1 LAST score) or neglect (Visit 1 SCT score), respectively, is 
correlated with change in ARAT score from Visit 1 to Visit 4. We will use a linear regression 
model with ARAT change as the outcome, and with treatment group, LAST score, and 
propensity score as predictors in order to assess the association. This will be repeated using SCT 
score instead of LAST score. Restricted cubic splines will be used to determine whether the 
relationships of language screening and neglect to ARAT score change are each linear. 
An additional exploratory analysis will examine whether results vary according to the actual TR 
dose (the total number of arm repetitions across the 36 treatment sessions), using similar 
regression methods. Sex will also be explored: while females may have poorer functional 
outcomes after stroke136-138, it is unclear whether the same underlying factors predict that sex 
will also be associated with a poorer response to rehabilitation therapy. 
Analyses will be repeated examining a secondary endpoint, BBT, and then using several tertiary 
endpoints (FMA-UE, CES-D, mRS, NHPT, SIS-ADL, and SIS-hand). The lead secondary endpoint is 
the BBT, and this will be analyzed using alpha=0.05. The tertiary endpoints are considered 
exploratory and will be examined without correction for multiple comparisons. The same 
statistical methods as above will be used except that the dependent measure will be change 
from Visit 1 to Visit 4 in each of the secondary/tertiary endpoints. An additional analysis will 
examine mRS as the dependent variable but instead using a shift analysis (ordinal logistic 
repeated measures regression) of mRS change score from Visit 1 to Visits 3 and 4. 
To aid in the interpretation of the above analyses, additional corollary analyses will repeat 
above but use as the dependent measure change from Visit 1 to Visit 3. This will be done for 
the ARAT as well as for the FMA-UE, BBT, mRS, and SIS-hand subsection. 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
Aim 2. TR+Sinemet is superior to TR+placebo: Among patients randomized to TR, gains in arm 
function will be greater in those who take Sinemet (25/100) prior to daily TR, as compared to 
patients who take placebo prior to TR. 
The above analyses will be repeated but instead comparing patients randomized to 
[1] TR+Sinemet vs. [2] TR+placebo.  
Aim 3. Less CST injury and higher dopamine polygene score predict better recovery of arm 
function: Across all subjects, change in arm function will be highest in those with lower % CST 
injury and in those with higher dopamine polygene scores. These relationships will remain 
significant when examining only patients randomized to TR. The drug X gene score interaction 
term will be significant such that the slope of arm gains in relation to the polygene score will be 
smaller (less steep) in those receiving Sinemet. 
H3A: Using linear regression, we will test whether lower % CST injury predicts higher change in 
ARAT score from Visit 1 to Visit 4, after controlling for baseline ARAT score and clinical 
measures (age, time from stroke to randomization, and total hours of outside rehabilitation 
therapy from Visit 1 to Visit 4). Primary analysis will examine all enrollees. Secondary analysis 
will examine this relationship separately for patients randomized to one of the two TR groups, 
while tertiary analysis will examine this separately across all three treatment groups. 
Restricted cubic splines will be used to determine if the effect of continuous covariates such as 
age are linear. A linear model that includes individual clinical measures will be used rather than 
propensity adjustment so that the effect of % CST injury can be compared to the effects of the 
other covariates. This approach also allows us to test the hypothesis that % CST injury predicts 
ARAT gains beyond what can be learned from clinical variables alone.  
H3B: We will test whether higher dopamine polygene score predicts higher change in ARAT 
score from Visit 1 to Visit 4, after controlling for the same covariates as in H3A. Analyses will 
follow those described in H3A. 
Secondary analysis will repeat H3A and H3B using change in BBT from Visit 1 to Visit 4 as the 
dependent measure. Tertiary analyses will repeat these methods focusing on change in FMA-
UE, CES-D, mRS, NHPT, SIS-ADL, and SIS-hand scores.  
An additional H3B analysis will examine the drug X gene score interaction term in those 
patients randomized to TR (i.e., TR+Sinemet or TR+placebo). Based on our prior findings in 
healthy subjects114, this term is hypothesized to be significant such that the slope of ARAT 
change in relation to the polygene score will be smaller (less steep) in those receiving Sinemet. 
 
 

Dopaminergic enhancement of rehabilitation therapy early after stroke (TR-Dopa) 
Protocol_20230721 
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