Bilateral high- and low-frequency rTMS in acute stroke patients with hemiparesis: a comparative study with unilateral high-frequency rTMS.
BACKGROUND
High- and low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS and LF-rTMS) has been shown to be beneficial for upper limb hemiparesis in patients with acute stroke. However, no study has examined the usefulness of bilateral application of HF- and LF-rTMS (BL-rTMS).


METHODS
Fifty-eight hemiparetic patients with acute stroke were randomly assigned into two groups: HF-rTMS group and BL-rTMS group. All patients were scheduled to receive five sessions of either HF-rTMS over the lesional hemisphere or BL-rTMS over both hemispheres for 5 days. Motor function of the affected upper limb was evaluated using the Brunnstrom Recovery Stage (BRS) for upper-limb and hand-fingers, grip strength and tapping frequency, before the first session and after the last session of rTMS.


RESULTS
Improvement of BRS for the upper limb and hand/finger was significantly greater in the BL-rTMS group than the HF-rTMS group (p < 0.01). Improvement in grip strength and tapping frequency was also greater in the BL-rTMS group, although the differences were not statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
The proposed BL-rTMS is safe and feasible and showed a greater improvement of BRS of the affected upper limb compared to HF-rTMS. This novel rTMS approach may be a useful intervention for hemiparetic patients with acute stroke.
['Sasaki|Nobuyuki|N|', 'Kakuda|Wataru|W|', 'Abo|Masahiro|M|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D005240:Feasibility Studies D005260:Female D018737:Hand Strength D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D010291:Paresis D010865:Pilot Projects D020127:Recovery of Function D020521:Stroke D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation D016896:Treatment Outcome D034941:Upper Extremity
stroke Neurological rehabilitation sub-acute care