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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior
Volume 16 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1511287
This article is part of the Research Topic Progress in the Assessment and Intervention of Neurocognitive Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases View all 7 articles

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Patients with Walking Difficulties Caused by Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: A Randomized Controlled Study

Provisionally accepted
Qiao qiao Xu Qiao qiao Xu 1,2Wen wen Yin Wen wen Yin 2Shuo Wang Shuo Wang 1Si shi Chen Si shi Chen 1Jia jia Yang Jia jia Yang 2Chunhua xi Chunhua xi 1Zhongwu Sun Zhongwu Sun 2*
  • 1 Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a chronic systemic degenerative disease affecting small blood vessels in the brain, leading to cognitive impairments. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that applies low electrical currents to the scalp, shows promise in treating cognitive and movement disorders. However, further clinical evaluation is required to assess the long-term effects of tDCS on neuroplasticity and gait in patients with CSVD. We investigated the effects of long-term, repeated tDCS on local brain perfusion, network connectivity, cognition, and gait in patients with CSVD and gait disorders (CSVD-GD). Methods: This prospective, single-blind, multicenter, randomized controlled study enrolled 66 patients with CSVD-GD, categorized into the tDCS and Sham groups. Imaging and gait characteristic data were collected over three periods using magnetic resonance imaging and a gait analyzer, along with neuropsychological assessments. Results: Among 156 volunteers with CSVD-GD, 66 participated in this study, with 60 completing the entire process. Compared to the Sham group, the tDCS group exhibited a more pronounced increase in the cerebral blood flow to the dural cerebrospinal fluid ratio in regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex and cingulate gyrus (P < 0.05, FDR corrected), along with significantly greater improvements in gait speed and stride length.Tolerance to tDCS was good, with no difference in adverse reactions between the groups, except for a scalp burning sensation reported during the 1st week (24.24% and 6.06% in the tDCS and Sham groups, respectively; P = 0.003). Discussion: Long-term tDCS is effective and safe for improving neuroplasticity and gait cognition in patients with CSVD.

    Keywords: Cerebral small vessel disease, Gait Disorders, transcranial direct current stimulation, Walking difficulties, cognitive impairment, gait analysis, neurovascular coupling, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Received: 14 Oct 2024; Accepted: 06 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Yin, Wang, Chen, Yang, xi and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhongwu Sun, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China

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