Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
tDCS: Promising Remedy for MS Fatigue Reduction
Mult Scler; ePub 2017 Sep 22; Charvet, et al
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising option for fatigue reduction in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to 2 recent studies. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex left anodal tDCS was administered using a remotely supervised (RS)-tDCS protocol, paired with 20 minutes of cognitive training. Study 1 delivered 10 open-label tDCS treatments (1.5 mA; n=15) compared to a cognitive training only condition (n=20). Study 2 was a randomized trial of active (2.0 mA, n=15) or sham (n=12) delivered for 20 sessions. Fatigue was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)—Fatigue Short Form. Researchers found:
- In Study 1, there was modest fatigue reduction in the active group (−2.5 ± 7.4 vs −0.2 ± 5.3).
- However, in Study 2 there was statistically significant reduction for the active group (−5.6 ± 8.9 vs 0.9 ± 1.9).
Charvet LE, Dobbs B, Shaw MT, Bikson M, Datta A, Krupp LB. Remotely supervised transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: Results from a randomized, sham-controlled trial. [Published online ahead of print September 22, 2017]. Mult Scler. doi:10.1177/1352458517732842.