Patients may be able to gain limb movement years after having a stroke, U. S. researchers have said.

Patients can show meaningful gains in limb movement through intensive therapy with specially trained personnel and newly created robotic aids, researchers at Brown University in Providence, R. I., have said.

Published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study suggested rehabilitation therapy, usually given only in the first six months after stroke, could bring improvement 5 years after.

The rehabilitation was high intensity -- 1,024 upper-arm movements done three times a week with the help of a therapists and robots, the researchers said.

Lead author Albert Lo said in a statement, "We've shown that with the right therapy, they can see improvements in movement, everyday function and quality of life."

The three-year U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs randomized control trial at four sites involved 127 veterans -- all of whom suffered a stroke and had moderate to severe impairment of an arm.

It was further said by Lo and colleagues that the results challenge conventional wisdom that stroke victims can't recover physiological function. (With Inputs from Agencies)