Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Robotic Therapy and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Patients With Stroke
Brief Summary: Stroke is the second cause of death worldwide and represented the first cause of death in Brazil between 2006 and 2010. Most patients survive, and there is a need to develop cost-effective rehabilitation strategies to decrease the burden of disability from stroke. This study addresses this important issue, by combining two different interventions in the early phase post-stroke: robotic therapy associated or not with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), as adjuvant interventions to conventional physical therapy, for motor upper limb rehabilitation.


Options:
A: Inclusion criteria:

* 30 individuals with hemiparesis stemming from a stroke;
* Either gender;
* Able to maintain a standing position without an assistance device for at least 60 seconds;
* Signed statement of written consent.

Exclusion criteria:

* Adverse health condition (beyond hemiparesis) that affects balance;
* Use of medication that can affect balance;
* Positive cutoff point for cognitive deficit (Mini Mental State Examination);
* Illiteracy;
* Wernicke's aphasia;
* Reduced ankle mobility due to history of ankle fracture and use of pins in ankle;
* TA muscle strength less than grade 1;
* Contraindication for tDCS (history of recurrent seizures, recurrent epilepsy and brain tumor in stimulation site);
* Skin infection at tDCS and/or FES site;
* Anesthesia or hyperesthesia at FES site.
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke onset 3 - 9 weeks before the recruiting, confirmed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.
* Moderate to severe motor impairment of an upper limb, defined as a score between 7 - 42 on the Upper Limb Subscale of Fugl Meyer Assessment of Sensorimotor Recovery after stroke.
* Ability to provide written informed consent (patient ou legal representative)
* Ability to comply with the schedule of interventions and evaluations in the protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe spasticity at the paretic elbow, wrist or fingers, defined as a score of \> 3 on the Modified Ashworth Spasticity Scale.
* Upper limb plegia
* Uncontrolled medical problems such as end-stage cancer or renal disease
* Pregnancy
* Seizures, except for a single seizure during the first week post stroke
* Pacemakers
* Other neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease
* Psychiatric illness including severe depression
* Aphasia ou severe cognitive deficits that compromise comprehension of the experimental protocol or ability to provide consent.
* Hemineglect
* Drugs that interfere on cortical excitability, except for antidepressants
* Cerebellar lesions
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Haemorrhagic or ischaemic stroke diagnosis has to be confirmed by the consultant appointed at the rehabilitation centre on the basis of CT or MRI imaging
* Patients with a history of first stroke
* Stroke onset within five months
* Patients who are able to sit independently for 30 seconds on a stable surface
* Hospitalized in the rehabilitation hospital RevArte
* Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* A score of 20 or higher on the Trunk Impairment Scale
* A score of 2 or lower on the Functional Ambulation Categories
* Patients suffering from other neurological and orthopaedic disorders that could influence motor performance and balance
* Patients not able to understand instructions
D: The inclusion criteria will be as follows:

1. patients with a first time intracerebral (either cortical or subcortical) hemorrhage with unilateral hemiparesis/ hemiplegia confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography;
2. patients with no contraindications to being mobilized (early intervention) within 24 hours of stroke onset (based on the medical team's clinical judgment: including systolic blood pressure (SBP)\<160mmHg in resting; resting heart rate (HR)\<130 bpm; no hydrocephalus; 80\< mean arterial pressure (MAP)\<110 mmHg before intervention);
3. patients with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at admission ranging from 1 to 20;
4. patients with total activity of living independence pre-stroke; and
5. patients between 20 and 80 years old.

The exclusion criteria will be as follows:

1. patients with mild to moderate deficits as described above (3);
2. patients who are unable to complete the baseline survey because of serious aphasia, language difficulties, or cognitive deficits;
3. patients with other medical conditions, such as severe heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or lower-limb disorders, that prevent early mobilization; and
4. patients who are unable to provide informed consent. In addition, we will exclude those showing rapid early deterioration of symptoms, as well as those with a concurrent diagnosis of rapidly deteriorating disease (e.g., terminal cancer).

Answer: B