Combined neuromodulation techniques for short-term prognosis of movement disorders in Parkinson's disease
CAO Wenhui
SHI Hongyan
MIAO Lyutian
YANG Xiaofan
Abstract：Objective To explore the short-term efficacy of combined application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS)and transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)on motor function and balance function in Parkinson's disease(PD)patients.Methods A prospective study was carried on 146 PD patients co-admitted in Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Neurological of our hospital.The patients were randomly divided into group A(routine rehabilitation training,38 cases),group B(rTMS,35 cases),group C(tDCS,38 cases),and group D(tDCS followed by rTMS,35 cases).Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Ⅲ(UPDRS-Ⅲ)was performed before treatment(T0)and 4 weeks after treatment(T1)to compare the differences in the quantitative assessment of motor dysfunction,gait parameters(gait speed,stride length,cadence frequency),and balance parameters(movement trajectory area,movement trajectory circumference).Results UPDRS-Ⅲ score,motor track area,and motor track circumference were significantly deceased in the T1 period than the T0 period in the four groups(P＜0.01).The cadence frequency in group A was significantly lower at T0 than at T1,and those in groups B,C and D were obviously lower at T1 than at T0,but stride length in the three groups were notably larger at T1 than at T0(P＜0.01).Gait speeds in the four groups were greatly improved at T1 than at T0(P＜0.01).Group D obtained significantly better improvements in UPDRS-Ⅲ score,movement trajectory area,movement trajectory circumference,gait speed,and stride length than the other three groups(P＜0.01).Group B had obviously better improvement of movement trajectory parameters and gait indicators than group C(P＜0.05),but no statistical difference was observed in the improvement of UPDRS-Ⅲ score between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Combined application of rTMS and tDCS synergistically improves motor function and gait and balance in PD patients,with its short-term efficacy superior to that of single neuromodulation therapy(rTMS or tDCS)and conventional therapy,and the effects can last up to 4 weeks after treatment.
Keywords：Parkinson's diseasetranscranial direct current stimulationmovement disorder
Publication Date：2025-12-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-29(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1621-1625 )