Microbiome-Based Interventions: A New Prospect in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract

Post-stroke rehabilitation remains the preferred therapeutic option for stroke survivors due to its unrestrictive therapeutic window of unlimited lifelong applicability. However, post-stroke rehabilitative interventions are still far from ideal and optimal recovery from lost functions after stroke. This heralds the search for strategies to complement rehabilitative interventions. Expanding the armamentarium of the existing post-stroke rehabilitation strategies will go a long way towards the attainment of optimal functions lost due to stroke. One of the promising emerging trends in stroke is cherished within the microbiome present in the gastrointestinal system. There is bidirectional communication between stroke and gut microbiome via gut-brain axis, and plethora of evidence pointed that modulation of this axis impact on stroke outcome, as well as evidence linking gut microbiome in modulation of brain neuroplasticity. Herein, we explored evidence that will support future research and perspectives into the potentiality of microbiome-based interventions as an integral part of post-stroke rehabilitation. Findings support the premise of the function of gut microbiome in brain neuroplasticity, and this could be fundamental towards translating similar phenomenon in human stroke to promote brain neuroplasticity in complement with post-stroke rehabilitation.