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Remotely Supervised Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: An Update on Safety and Tolerability
Published on: October 7, 2017
Transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease
David H Benninger1, Mikhail Lomarev, Grisel Lopez
1Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. benningerd@ninds.nih.gov
Background:
Progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by motor deficits which eventually respond less to dopaminergic therapy and thus pose a therapeutic challenge. Deep brain stimulation has proven efficacy but carries risks and is not possible in all patients. Non-invasive brain stimulation has shown promising results and may provide a therapeutic alternative.
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in the treatment of PD.
Design:
Randomised, double blind, sham controlled study.
Setting:
Research institution.
Methods:
The efficacy of anodal tDCS applied to the motor and prefrontal cortices was investigated in eight sessions over 2.5 weeks. Assessment over a 3 month period included timed tests of gait (primary outcome measure) and bradykinesia in the upper extremities, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Serial Reaction Time Task, Beck Depression Inventory, Health Survey and self-assessment of mobility.
Results:
Twenty-five PD patients were investigated, 13 receiving tDCS and 12 sham stimulation. tDCS improved gait by some measures for a short time and improved bradykinesia in both the on and off states for longer than 3 months. Changes in UPDRS, reaction time, physical and mental well being, and self-assessed mobility did not differ between the tDCS and sham interventions.
Conclusion:
tDCS of the motor and prefrontal cortices may have therapeutic potential in PD but better stimulation parameters need to be established to make the technique clinically viable. This study was publicly registered (clinicaltrials.org: NCT00082342).
