The effects of spaced transcranial Direct Current Stimulation combined with conventional dysphagia therapy in Parkinson’s disease

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Date

2020-06-04

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IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by a set of motor and non-motor symptoms. Impaired swallowing or dysphagia is one relatively common motor symptom in patients with PD. We investigated whether neuroplasticity induction by spaced transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) combined with conventional swallowing therapy leads to long-lasting effects on swallowing ability in patients with PD. We present a case of a 61-year-old male PD patient with dysphagia. Conventional Swallowing Therapy (CDT) combined with tDCS (bilateral anodal, 1 mA, 20 min, 10 online sessions, twice daily with a 20 min interval in between for five days over two weeks) was applied over the pharyngeal motor cortex. Our findings suggest that anodal tDCS combined with CDT is feasible, safe, and well-tolerated, and leads to a clinically relevant improvement of swallowing functions.

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Keywords

Parkinson’s disease, Dysphagia, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Non-invasive brain stimulation, Swallowing rehabilitation

Citation

Dashtelei, A. A., Nitsche, M. A., Bakhtiyari, J., Habibi, S. A., Sepandi, M., & Khatoonabadi, A. R. (2020). The effects of spaced transcranial Direct Current Stimulation combined with conventional dysphagia therapy in Parkinson’s disease: A case report. EXCLI Journal, 19, 745-749. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2020-2434