Efficacy of transcranial ultrasound stimulation on motor dysfunction in stroke patients:a Meta-analysis
HAN Rui
LIU Ruikang
XIAO Xiling
YU Chaochao
ZHANG Min
WU Yongchao
ZHOU Yun
Abstract：Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy of transcranial ultrasound stimulation(TUS)on motor dysfunction in stroke patients.Methods Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)concerning TUS for motor dysfunction in stroke patients were searched via computer in databases including PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,CBM,and CNKI,with the search timeframe from database inception to July 1,2025.Two researchers independently screened the literature,extracted the data,and evaluated the quality of the included RCTs.Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software,and publication bias was evaluated using Egger's test in Stata 18.0 software.Results A to-tal of 18 articles were included,involving 1,242 stroke patients.All included RCTs were of high quality.Based on the treatment method,patients were divided into two groups:the control group and the observation group.Meta-analysis re-sults showed that the Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA)scores for the upper limb(MD=5.79,95%CI:4.13 to 7.45,P<0.001),lower limb(MD=4.06,95%CI:2.48 to 5.64,P<0.001),and total FMA scores(MD=10.14,95%CI:7.95 to 12.34,P<0.001)in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group.The Barthel Index(BI)score in the observation group was higher than that in the control group(MD=9.14,95%CI:6.22 to 12.07,P<0.001).Subgroup analysis of BI scores showed high heterogeneity in the total BI score(I²=89%),high heterogeneity in BI scores across different subgroups(I²MBI=88%,I²BI=91%),and no statistically significant difference between subgroups(P=0.60),suggesting that the different versions of the BI assessment tool were not the cause of the high heterogeneity in the results.The proportion of patients rating the clinical efficacy as"satisfactory or fair"was higher in the observation group than in the control group(OR=3.27,95%CI:1.38 to 7.73,P=0.007).Egger's test indicated significant publi-cation bias for the lower limb FMA scores and BI scores(P<0.001).Conclusion The combined application of TUS and conventional rehabilitation can significantly improve motor dysfunction in stroke patients and yields high patient satis-faction.
Keywords：strokemotor dysfunctiontranscranial ultrasound stimulationsystematic reviewMeta-analysis
Publication Date：2025-11-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-09(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 21-25,30 )