A double-blinded randomised controlled trial exploring the effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation and uni-lateral robot therapy for the impaired upper limb in sub-acute and chronic stroke.
BACKGROUND: Neurorehabilitation technologies such as robot therapy (RT) and transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) can promote upper limb (UL) motor recovery after stroke. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of anodal tDCS with uni-lateral and three-dimensional RT for the impaired UL in people...
| Publicado en: | NeuroRehabilitation Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 181 - 192 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
2015
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | BACKGROUND: Neurorehabilitation technologies such as robot therapy (RT) and transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) can promote upper limb (UL) motor recovery after stroke. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of anodal tDCS with uni-lateral and three-dimensional RT for the impaired UL in people with sub-acute and chronic stroke. METHODS: A pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted. Stroke participants had 18 one-hour sessions of RT (Armeo®Spring) over eight weeks during which they received 20 minutes of either real tDCS or sham tDCS during each session. The primary outcome measure was the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) for UL impairments and secondary were: UL function, activities and stroke impact collected at baseline, post-intervention and three-month follow-up. RESULTS: 22 participants (12 sub-acute and 10 chronic) completed the trial. No significant difference was found in FMA between the real and sham tDCS groups at post-intervention and follow-up (p = 0.123). A significant 'time' x 'stage of stroke' was found for FMA (p = 0.016). A higher percentage improvement was noted in UL function, activities and stroke impact in people with sub-acute compared to chronic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Adding tDCS did not result in an additional effect on UL impairment in stroke. RT may be of more benefit in the sub-acute than chronic phase. |
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