Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation in the initial weeks post-stroke: a pilot randomized study.

Objective: This study aimed at assessing the alterations in upper limb motor impairment and connectivity between motor areas following the post-stroke delivery of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation sessions.

Methods: Modifications in the Fugl-Meyer Assessment scores, connectivity between the primary motor cortex of the unaffected and affected hemispheres, and between the primary motor and premotor cortices of the unaffected hemisphere were compared prior to and following six sessions of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation application in 13 patients (active = 6; sham = 7); this modality targets the primary motor cortex of the unaffected hemisphere early after a stroke.

Results: Clinically relevant distinctions in Fugl-Meyer Assessment scores (≥9 points) were observed more frequently in the Sham Group than in the Active Group.

Contralesional Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Does Not Enhance Upper Limb Function in Subacute Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has the potential to improve upper limb motor outcomes after stroke. According to the assumption of interhemispheric inhibition, excessive inhibition from the motor cortex of the unaffected hemisphere to the motor cortex of the affected hemisphere may worsen upper limb motor recovery after stroke. We evaluated the effects of active cathodal tDCS of the primary motor cortex of the unaffected hemisphere (ctDCSM1) compared to sham, in subjects within 72 hours to 6 weeks post ischemic stroke.