Real-time quantitative PCR analysis of human stroke patients recovering from upper extremity hemiparesis

Fasting blood samples were collected from 27 stroke patients in EDTA tubes mean 19 days post-stroke, plasma was extracted and frozen at -80C, then 200uL of plasma sent for qPCR. qPCR microRNA expression profiling. Expression profiles from participants with good arm recovery, as assessed by a change in the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) score >=6 from baseline to 6 mo. post-stroke were compared to those with poor recovery (ΔARAT < 6).