Effects of vestibular rehabilitation combined with transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation in patients with chronic dizziness: An exploratory study

Publication date: May–June 2017
Source:Brain Stimulation, Volume 10, Issue 3
Author(s): Satoko Koganemaru, Fumiyuki Goto, Miki Arai, Keitaro Toshikuni, Makoto Hosoya, Takeshi Wakabayashi, Nobuko Yamamoto, Shujiro Minami, Satoshi Ikeda, Katsunori Ikoma, Tatsuya Mima
BackgroundVestibular rehabilitation is useful to alleviate chronic dizziness in patients with vestibular dysfunction. It aims to induce neuronal plasticity in the central nervous system (especially in the cerebellum) to promote vestibular compensation. Transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation (tcDCS) reportedly enhances cerebellar function.Objective/HypothesisWe investigated whether vestibular rehabilitation partially combined with tcDCS is superior to the use of rehabilitation alone for the alleviation of dizziness.MethodsPatients with chronic dizziness due to vestibular dysfunction received rehabilitation concurrently with either 20-min tcDCS or sham stimulation for 5 days. Pre- and post-intervention (at 1 month) dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scores and psychometric and motor parameters were compared.ResultsSixteen patients completed the study. DHI scores in the tcDCS group showed significant improvement over those in the sham group (Mann–Whitney U test, p = 0.033).ConclusionVestibular rehabilitation partially combined with tcDCS appears to be a promising approach.



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