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Updated: May 13, 2026

Simultaneous EEG Monitoring During Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Published on: June 17, 2013
The Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Drug-Resistant Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Omar El-Nakah1, Ann Ali AbdelKader2, Nirmeen A Kishk2
1Medical Physiology Department, Medical Research & Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
Purpose:
Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (c-tDCS), a noninvasive neuromodulation technique, is effective in reducing cortical excitability in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.This study aimed to examine the impact of c-tDCS on seizure frequency, Liverpool Seizure Severity Scale, and electroencephalography in patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy.
Methods:
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 30 patients with temporal lobe drug-resistant epilepsy. The patients were randomized into two groups. Group A received a once-daily split session (20 minutes stimulation-20 minutes break-20 minutes stimulation) on five consecutive days of 1 mA c-tDCS over the side of most frequent interictal epileptiform discharges or the area of suspected ictal onset. Group B underwent the sham sessions.
Results:
A statistically significant reduction in seizure frequency, Liverpool Seizure Severity Scale, and epileptiform discharges on the EEG record was detected in the c-tDCS group after one month of the five daily sessions.
Conclusions:
In patients with temporal lobe drug-resistant epilepsy, c-tDCS improved seizure control by lowering seizure frequency, severity, and epileptiform discharges in the EEG for up to one month after the sessions.
Significance:
This confirmatory study is consistent with several previous studies showing the efficacy of c-tDCS in reducing seizure frequency in patients with temporal lobe drug-resistant epilepsy.
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