Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation of stroke patients on depression and quality of life

Abstract

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to assess the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on depression and quality of life (QOL) in patients with stroke, by conducting conventional occupational therapy with and without tDCS on 20 patients each. [Subjects and Methods] The experimental group (N=20) received both tDCS and conventional occupational therapy, while the control group (N=20) received false tDCS and conventional occupational therapy. The treatment was conducted 20 times over a four-week period; each session was 30 minutes long. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to score the depression levels in patients before and after the intervention, while the stroke-specific quality of life (SS-QOL) was measured to compare the QOL. [Result] Following the intervention, the patients in the experimental group showed a significant decrease in depression and an increase in the QOL. In contrast, the control group showed no significant changes in depression or QOL. Our findings indicate that tDCS decreased depression while increasing QOL in patients with stroke. [Conclusion] In other words, our study confirmed that the application of tDCS during stroke rehabilitation improves the depression symptoms and QOL in patients.

Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation plus tracking training therapy in people with stroke: an open-label feasibility study

“…Moreover, tDCS stimulation task also seems beneficial for other impairments commonly seen in people post-stroke. Stimulation with tDCS applied for 20 sessions of 30 min over a 4-week period has been shown to decrease depression and improve quality of life in people after a stroke [ 17 , 18 ]. Four tDCS sessions for 10 min applied over the primary and sensory cortex in eight patients with sensory impairments more than 10 months post-stroke enhanced tactile discriminative performance [ 19 ].…”

A Novel Combined Treatment for Relapse Prevention of Depression: A Case Report

“…Our findings are consistent with Khayyer et al (31) showed that non-invasive electrical stimulation of the frontal lobe decreased depression scores. This can be explained by the active role of the left frontal area, especially DLPFC, in developing depression (32). Additionally, locations of stimulation were based on the specific and sensitive QEEG measurements used in the present study.…”

Efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation and over-ground walking task on functional mobility and quality of life of stroke survivors

“…Transcranial direct current stimulation has been shown to improve force generation, motor control and joint coordination in lower limb leading to improve functional mobility while OGWT has also been shown to promote functional mobility among stroke survivors [17,18,20,21]. An, et al [7] in a study titled effect of tDCS of stroke patients on depression and quality of life reported improvement in QoL of stroke survivors. Nevertheless there is no published study on effects of tDCS and OGWT on functional mobility and QoL.…”

“…Participants were blinded to the stimulation type they received. due to long-term impairments of motor and psychosocial functions from brain damage [7]. Quality of life is a personal perception of life in the context of culture and value system in which the person live and in relation to goals and expectations which is a complex process of interaction between personal traits, medical outcome, coping behaviour, social support and the quality of received health care [8].…”