Fatigue at Long-Term Follow-Up in Young Adults with Cerebral Infarction

Abstract

Background: To study the impact of fatigue in young ischaemic stroke patients. Methods: The Fatigue Severity Scale score was obtained in 192 patients (mean time 6.0 years after the stroke) and 212 controls. Results: Fatigue was associated with cerebral infarction in a multivariate analysis of patients and controls (p = 0.002). Fatigue was independently associated with unfavourable functional outcome (p = 0.001), depression (p < 0.001), and basilar artery infarction through interaction with the modified Rankin Scale score (p = 0.047) in patients. Conclusion: Fatigue is frequent in young adults with cerebral infarction. Stroke-related factors independently associated with fatigue include functional outcome. Stroke location may influence fatigue.

Inflammation and the Silent Sequelae of Stroke

“…Among patients with mild stroke, fatigue is the most common complaint and is identified as the major issue restricting their life style [7,10]. It is thus not surprising that PSF is more predictive of a lower health-related quality of life after stroke than actual neurological dysfunction [28]. Fatigue also prevents individuals who have experienced otherwise good stroke recovery from returning to work, which means that there are economic, as well as psychological implications to PSF [29,30].…”

Cognitive and Graded Activity Training Can Alleviate Persistent Fatigue After Stroke

“…1,2 Although the definition of poststroke fatigue (PSF) is still subject of debate, 1,2 it is generally agreed that it is "a subjective experience of extreme and persistent tiredness, weakness or exhaustion after stroke, which can present itself mentally, physically or both and is unrelated to previous exertion levels." [1][2][3][4] Prevalence rates are as high as 38 -73% without spontaneous amelioration in the chronic phase. 1 Moreover, research on its natural history shows that PSF often does not diminish even years after stroke.…”

“…On the one hand, direct relationships have been described between the type and extent of the brain lesion, with infratentorial lesions, infarction of the basal ganglia, and recurrent stroke yielding a greater risk of fatigue. 1,4,8,9 On the other hand, depression, anxiety, reduced functional health status, sleep disturbances, pain, and poor physical fitness have all been associated with PSF. 1 Overall, the exact mechanisms of origin and persistence of PSF are still elusive, 1 and no effective pharmacological or nonpharmacological treatment for PSF is yet available.…”

Evaluation of the Mental Fatigue Scale and its relation to Cognitive and Emotional Functioning after Traumatic Brain Injury or Stroke

“…In follow-up studies, the frequency of prolonged fatigue varies between 16 and 73% [6][7][8][9]. Fatigue is also commonly reported after stroke, irrespective of severity [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. However, there is great variation in the level of suffering between individuals.…”