Randomized controlled trial of home-based 4-week tDCS in chronic minimally conscious state

Publication date: Available online 2 May 2018
Source:Brain Stimulation
Author(s): Géraldine Martens, Nicolas Lejeune, Anthony Terrence O'Brien, Felipe Fregni, Charlotte Martial, Sarah Wannez, Steven Laureys, Aurore Thibaut
BackgroundPatients with chronic disorders of consciousness face a significant lack of treatment options.ObjectiveWe aimed at investigating the feasibility and the behavioral effects of home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), applied by relatives or caregivers, in chronic patients in minimally conscious state (MCS).MethodsEach participant received, in a randomized order, 20 sessions of active and 20 sessions of sham tDCS applied over the prefrontal cortex for 4 weeks; separated by 8 weeks of washout. Level of consciousness was assessed using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised before the first stimulation (baseline), at the end of the 20 tDCS sessions (direct effects) and 8 weeks after the end of each stimulation period (long-term effects). Reported adverse events and data relative to the adherence (i.e., amount of sessions effectively received) were collected as well.ResultsTwenty-seven patients completed the study and 22 patients received at least 80% of the stimulation sessions. All patients tolerated tDCS well, no severe adverse events were noticed after real stimulation and the overall adherence (i.e., total duration of stimulation) was good. A moderate effect size (0.47 and 0.53, for modified intention to treat and per protocol analysis, respectively) was observed at the end of the 4 weeks of tDCS in favor of the active treatment.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that home-based tDCS can be used adequately outside a research facility or hospital by patients' relatives or caregivers. In addition, 4 weeks of tDCS moderately improved the recovery of signs of consciousness in chronic MCS patients.



https://ift.tt/2HmI1xi