Table 2.
Summary of clinical studies on post-stroke patients using tDCS.
| Study | No. | Targeted lesion | Study design | Stimulation | Hemisphere | Location | Schedule | Follow-up | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bae et al, 2014 [121] | 14 (7) | Central post-stroke pain | CT | 2 mA | Affected (anode) | M1 | 20 min, 3 times per week for 3 weeks | N/A | VAS, skin temperature, the quantitative sensory test positive |
| Valiengo et al, 2017 [158] | 48 (24) | Post-stroke depression | RCT | 2 mA | Affected (anode); unaffected (cathode) | DLPFC | 30 min for 10 sessions within 2 weeks | 4 weeks | HDRS-17, MADRS positive |
| Koo et al, 2018 [122] | 24 (12) | Subacute stroke | RCT | 1 mA | Affected (anode) | The primary somatosensory cortex | 20 min for 10 d consecutively | N/A | rNSA, MBI positive |
| Fridriksson et al, 2018 [133] | 74 (34) | Long-term post-stroke aphasia | RCT | 1 mA | Affected (anode); unaffected (cathode) | N/A | 20 min for 15 sessions within 21 d | 6 mo | Naming improvement |
| Suntrup-Krueger et al, 2018 [153] | 60 | Acute dysphagic stroke | RCT | 1 mA | Unaffected | Swallowing motor cortex | 20 min for 4 d | N/A | FEDSS positive |
| Feil et al, 2019 [48] | 12 | Post-acute non-fluent aphasia | RCT | 2 mA | Bi-hemispheric | Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) | 20 min for 10 sessions within 2 weeks | 4 weeks | Picture Naming Task, ANELT, AAT positive |
| Bolognini et al, 2020 [11] | 32 (16) | Acute stroke | RCT | 2 mA | Bi-hemispheric | M1 | 15 min for 10 sessions, 5 d | 6 mo | MI-UL positive |
| Dong et al, 2021 [46] | 60 (30) | Post-stroke fatigue | RCT | 1.5 mA | Affected (anode); unaffected (cathode) | DLPFC | 20 min per session, once a day, and 6 times a week | 8 weeks | FSS, FMA, MBI positive |
| Muffel et al, 2022 [197] | 24 | Chronic hemiparetic stroke | RCT | 1 mA | Bilateral-dual vs unilateral-anodal | M1 hand area | 20 min | N/A | Bi-tDCS have better effects on sensorimotor functions post-stroke |
VAS – Visual analogue scale; HDRS-17 – Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17; MADRS – the Montgomery-Aberg Depression Rating Scale; rNSA – Revised Nottingham sensory assessment; MBI – the modified Barthel index; ANELT – Amsterdam Nijmegen Everyday Language Test; AAT – Aachen Aphasia Test; MI-UL – Motricity Index-upper limb; FSS – the Fatigue Severity Scale; FMA – Fugl-Meyer Assessment; MBI – Modified Barthel Index.