When we grouped patients based on their hand impairment severity (severe hFMA ≥5 or extremely severe hFMA <5), almost all severely motor impaired patients (N = 6) presented higher weights on extensor than on flexor forearm muscles, both on unaffected (83.3%) and affected side (83.3%).
By utilizing a case series of patients covering a broad range of impairment severity and several different types of visual task and stimuli, this study has gone some way to explain the disparity across previous investigations.
To further characterize each patient's language impairment, severity [mild (I), moderate (II) and severe (III)], fluency (fluent versus non-fluent) and type of aphasia (global, Broca, anomic, Wernicke, non-classifiable, residual) as indicated by the Aachen Aphasia Test were evaluated (Fig. 1).
Several studies have confirmed that cognitive impairment severity in patients with bipolar disorder is about 0.5 to 1.5 standard deviations lower than the healthy population [ 42, 43]; consequently as a general criterion the cut off score was established at ≤ -1 standard deviation.
2. Subjects from the Everyday Life and Health survey were clustered into six impairment groups ranging from no impairment (group 1) to severe impairment (group 6), based upon an impairment severity score [ 27].
Impairment severity affected the rate but not the upper limit of motor function.
