Efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation in people with multiple sclerosis: a review

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259424
  • Background and purpose Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease causing a wide range of symptoms including motor and cognitive impairment, fatigue and pain. Over the last two decades, non-invasive brain stimulation, especially transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), has increasingly been used to modulate brain function in various physiological and pathological conditions. However, its experimental applications for people with MS were noted only as recently as 2010 and have been growing since then. The efficacy for useBackground and purpose Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease causing a wide range of symptoms including motor and cognitive impairment, fatigue and pain. Over the last two decades, non-invasive brain stimulation, especially transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), has increasingly been used to modulate brain function in various physiological and pathological conditions. However, its experimental applications for people with MS were noted only as recently as 2010 and have been growing since then. The efficacy for use in people with MS remains questionable with the results of existing studies being largely conflicting. Hence, the aim of this review is to paint a picture of the current state of tDCS in MS research grounded on studies applying tDCS that have been done to date. Methods A keyword search was performed to retrieve articles from the earliest article identified until 14 February 2021 using a combination of the groups (1) ‘multiple sclerosis’, ‘MS’ and ‘encephalomyelitis’ and (2) ‘tDCS’ and ‘transcranial direct current stimulation’. Results The analysis of the 30 articles included in this review underlined inconsistent effects of tDCS on the motor symptoms of MS based on small sample sizes. However, tDCS showed promising benefits in ameliorating fatigue, pain and cognitive symptoms. Conclusion Transcranial direct current stimulation is attractive as a non-drug approach in ameliorating MS symptoms, where other treatment options remain limited. The development of protocols tailored to the individual's own neuroanatomy using high definition tDCS and the introduction of network mapping in the experimental designs might help to overcome the variability between studies.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Shawn Hiew, Carine NguemeniORCiD, Daniel Zeller
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259424
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Medizinische Fakultät / Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik
Language:English
Parent Title (English):European Journal of Neurology
Year of Completion:2022
Volume:29
Issue:2
Pagenumber:648–664
Source:European Journal of Neurology 2022, 29(2):648–664. DOI: 10.1111/ene.15163
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.15163
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Tag:cognitive; effects; motor; multiple sclerosis; transcranial direct current stimulation
Release Date:2022/03/28
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY-NC-ND: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung, Nicht kommerziell, Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International