Effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the contralesional motor cortex on motor recovery in severe hemiplegic stroke: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: The contralesional hemisphere compensation may play a critical role in the recovery of stroke when there is extensive damage to one hemisphere. There is little research on the treatment of hemiplegia by high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) delivered to the contralesional cortex.

Objective: We conducted a 2-week randomized, sham-controlled, single-blind trial to determine whether high-frequency rTMS (HF-rTMS) over the contralesional motor cortex can improve motor function in severe stroke patients.

Methods: Forty-five patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory were randomly assigned to treatment with 10 Hz rTMS (HF group), 1 Hz rTMS (LF group) or sham rTMS (sham group) applied over the contralesional motor cortex (M1) before physiotherapy daily for two weeks. The primary outcome was the change in the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA) Scale score from baseline to 2 weeks. The secondary endpoints included root mean square of surface electromyography (RMS-SEMG), Barthel Index (BI), and contralesional hemisphere cortical excitability.

Results: The HF group showed a more significant improvement in FMA score (p < 0.05), BI (p < 0.005), contralesional hemisphere cortical excitability and conductivity (p < 0.05), and RMS-SEMG of the key muscles (p < 0.05) compared with the LF group and sham group. There were no significant differences between the LF group and sham group. There was a positive correlation between cortical conductivity of the uninjured hemisphere and recovery of motor impairment (p = 0.039).

Conclusions: HF-rTMS over the contralesional cortex was superior to low-frequency rTMS and sham stimulation in promoting motor recovery in patients with severe hemiplegic stroke by acting on contralesional cortex plasticity.

Trial Registration: Clinical trial registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry at http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=23264 (ChiCTR-IPR-17013580).