MRI-Based Personalized Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Enhance the Upper Limb Function in Patients with...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique with potential for improving motor recovery after stroke.
• Optimized tDCS protocols are being developed to enhance therapeutic efficacy.
• Individualized approaches considering patient-specific neuroanatomy are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of personalized tDCS, optimized using brain MRI-based electrical field simulation, for enhancing upper limb motor recovery in stroke patients.
• To compare personalized tDCS with conventional tDCS and sham stimulation.

Main Methods:

• A double-blind, randomized controlled trial involving 42 adult stroke patients in the subacute to chronic rehabilitation phase.
• Participants were allocated to three groups: personalized tDCS, conventional tDCS, or sham tDCS.
• All groups received 10 sessions of 2-mA tDCS over two weeks, integrated with upper limb rehabilitation. Primary outcome: Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity score.

Main Results:

• Primary outcome data collection at the end of the intervention period.
• Secondary outcome measures include motor evoked potentials, EEG frequency power and coherence, activities of daily living, and adverse events.
• Follow-up assessment at one month post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• This trial addresses the gap in research on personalized and optimized tDCS for stroke, considering individual brain lesions and electrical field characteristics.
• It investigates the feasibility and effectiveness of lesion-specific tDCS simulation and optimization using brain MRI.
• The study aims to contribute evidence on the effectiveness and safety of personalized tDCS for upper limb motor recovery in stroke patients.