Intermittent theta burst stimulation enhances upper limb motor function in patients with chronic stroke: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a form of repetitive transcranial stimulation that has been used to enhance upper limb (UL) motor recovery. However, only limited studies have examined its efficacy in patients with chronic stroke and therefore it remains controversial. METHODS:This was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled patients from a rehabilitation department. Twenty-two patients with first-ever chronic and unilateral cerebral stroke, aged 30-70?years, were randomly assigned to the iTBS or control group. All patients received 1 session per day for 10?days of either iTBS or sham stimulation over the ipsilesional primary motor cortex in addition to conventional neurorehabilitation. Outcome measures were assessed before and immediately after the intervention period: Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Box and Block test (BBT), and Motor Activity Log (MAL). Analysis of covariance was adopted to compare the treatment effects between groups. RESULTS:The iTBS group had greater improvement in the MAS and FMA than the control group (?2?=?0.151-0.233; p?

SUBMITTER: Chen YJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6485156 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature