Article

Noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) is being
investigated as a valued intervention to enhance motor performance. OBJECTIVE: To
ascertain the safety and ability of transcranial pulsed current stimulation
(tPCS) to modulate variables of protective stepping and gait of individuals with
Parkinson's disease. METHOD: Ten patients participated in a pilot study. During
the first session, a tPCS delivered current for 20 minutes via a positive
electrode placed over the primary motor area (M1). In week 2, participants walked
for 20 minutes on a treadmill. In week 3, tPCS and treadmill for 20 minutes were
combined. Pre-testing and post-testing of gait and protective stepping were
administered, comparing post-intervention (tPCS alone, treadmill alone, tPCS +
treadmill) with pre-intervention data. The 3 interventions were compared by
calculating the difference between post-intervention and pre-intervention data. A
significance level of P < .05 was adopted. RESULTS: Stride length increased from
102.1 +/- 24.4 to 111.2 +/- 22.1 cm, and gait velocity increased from 0.90 +/-
0.23 to 0.985 +/- 0.19 m/s after tPCS. Treadmill or treadmill + tPCS did not
result in changes in the studied gait parameters. The tPCS session increased gait
velocity and stride length significantly compared with treadmill or tPCS +
treadmill. Overall, the number of steps needed to recover balance decreased after
tPCS and tPCS + treadmill. CONCLUSION: Noninvasive tPCS over the primary motor
cortex had no adverse effects on those with long-standing Parkinson's disease and
may lead to acute improvement of gait and balance recovery.

Langue : ANGLAIS