• Qurat-Ul-AinSchool of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, PR China.National Engineering Research , Zafran Ahmad, Saad Ilyas, Summaiya Ishtiaq, Iqbal Tariq, Nawaz MalikArshadA0000-0002-2661-9499Faculty of Rehabilitation & Allied Health Sciences, Riphah College of Rehabilitation & Allied Health Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan., Tian Liu, and Jue Wang.
• School of Life Science and Technology, The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, PR China.
• Ann. Med. 2023 Jan 1; 55 (2): 22524392252439.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine whether a single session of trans-cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the cerebellum and M1 has any advantages over one another or sham stimulation in terms of balance, gait and lower limb function.MethodsA total of 66 patients who had experienced their first ever stroke were recruited into three groups for this double-blinded, parallel, randomized, sham-controlled trial: cerebellar stimulation group (CbSG), M1 stimulation group (MSG) and sham stimulation group (SSG). A single session of anodal tDCS with an intensity of 2 mA for a duration of 20 min was administered in addition to gait and balance training based on virtual reality using an Xbox 360 with Kinect. Balance, gait, cognition and risk of fall were assessed using outcome measures before intervention (T0), immediately after intervention (T1) and an hour after intervention (T2).ResultsAcross group analysis of all outcome measures showed statistically non-significant results (p > .05) except for Six Minute Walk Test (p value T0 = .003, p value T1 = .025, p value T2 = .016). The training effect difference showed a significant difference in balance, gait and cognition, as well as cerebral and cerebellar stimulation, in comparison to sham stimulation (p < .05). The risk of falls remained unaffected by any stimulation (p > .05).ConclusionsIn addition to Xbox Kinect-based rehabilitation training, a single session of anodal tDCS to the M1 or cerebellum may be beneficial for improving lower limb function, balance and gait performance.

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