tDCS and Upper Extremity Function in Stroke

Riphah International University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Stroke

Treatments: Device: Sham transcranial direct current stimulation; Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06454331

REC01900 Tayyab Awan

Details and patient eligibility

About

Research on the effects of Anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on hand dexterity and quality of life in stroke patients is limited. While the highlighted article focuses on Parkinson's disease, it underscores anodal tDCS potential to modulate brain activity and promote neural plasticity, suggesting potential relevance to stroke rehabilitation

Full description

tDCS seems like a hopeful way to help stroke patients improve their upper limb function, but there are still some problems and questions that need to be answered. Previous studies have investigated the impact of (tDCS) on upper limb recovery among stroke patients. However, evidence is scarce on the effect of tDCS on hand dexterity and quality of life in stroke patients. Furthermore, these studies have not adequately explored how the severity of stroke influences the efficacy of tDCS on upper limb motor recovery. Additionally, there is a lack of research examining the cumulative effects of tDCS on both upper limb motor recovery and hand dexterity, as well as QoL, particularly concerning stroke severity.

Enrollment: 70 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Stroke for more than 6 months.
• Age 40-80 years
• Both gender
• National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) for severity level (Mild (1-4), Moderate (5-15), Moderate to Severe (16-20), Severe (21-42)

Exclusion criteria

• Any patient with Upper limb amputation on the effected side, contracture, burn injury that leads to joint limitation and functional limitation.
• Known cases of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson and any Musculoskeletal disorder and Cardiopulmonary disorder.
• Any patient with Metallic implants
• Individuals with a history of seizures or epilepsy
• Individuals with Skin allergies on the scalp

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

70 participants in 2 patient groups

Active tDCS

Experimental group

Description:

The dosage of anodal tDCS will be 20 minutes with an intensity of 2mA. It's administered before exercise therapy sessions over a period of 8 weeks and 3 times a week

Treatment:

Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation

Sham tDCS Group

Sham Comparator group

Description:

sham tDCS, task-oriented training (i.e. placing cones on another cone, inserting needles into a box

Treatment:

Device: Sham transcranial direct current stimulation