Fabrizio Pisano, Denise Mellace, Ambra Fugatti, Edoardo Nicolò Aiello, Silvia Diotti, Beatrice Curti, Alessandra Giust, Angelica Marfoli, Cecilia Perin, Angelica De Sandi, Dario Alimonti, Alberto Priori, Roberta Ferrucci
{"title":"Cerebellar tDCS combined with augmented reality treadmill for freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Fabrizio Pisano, Denise Mellace, Ambra Fugatti, Edoardo Nicolò Aiello, Silvia Diotti, Beatrice Curti, Alessandra Giust, Angelica Marfoli, Cecilia Perin, Angelica De Sandi, Dario Alimonti, Alberto Priori, Roberta Ferrucci","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01457-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Parkinson's disease (PD) is often accompanied by gait disorders and freezing of gait (FoG), disabling symptoms that are resistant to conventional dopamine treatments. Given the cerebellum's connectivity with the motor cortex and basal ganglia, and its implication in PD, combining transcranial direct current stimulation targeting the cerebellum (ctDCS) with physical exercise might improve gait and balance.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel rehabilitation approach that combines noninvasive cerebellar stimulation with motor-cognitive training via an augmented reality treadmill (C-Mill VR<sup>+</sup>) in individuals with PD and FoG.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Seventeen individuals with PD exhibiting FoG were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to a group receiving motor-cognitive training on the C-Mill VR<sup>+</sup> with either ctDCS or sham ctDCS. Assessments were conducted pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention (T1) after 10 sessions, and at 4-week follow-up (T2), using various clinical scales. Additionally, C-Mill assessments of postural stability and gait were conducted at T0 and T1.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Although no significant time*group interactions were observed for any of the clinical variables measured, some were found in the C-Mill measures. Specifically, right lower limb sway in static conditions, both with eyes open (OAD) and eyes closed (OCD), significantly improved at T1 in the ctDCS group compared with the sham group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>C-Mill outcomes indicate that the combined treatment may enhance motor control. Participants who received ctDCS along with augmented reality motor-cognitive training showed better postural stability.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11438075/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-024-01457-z","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is often accompanied by gait disorders and freezing of gait (FoG), disabling symptoms that are resistant to conventional dopamine treatments. Given the cerebellum's connectivity with the motor cortex and basal ganglia, and its implication in PD, combining transcranial direct current stimulation targeting the cerebellum (ctDCS) with physical exercise might improve gait and balance.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel rehabilitation approach that combines noninvasive cerebellar stimulation with motor-cognitive training via an augmented reality treadmill (C-Mill VR+) in individuals with PD and FoG.
Methods: Seventeen individuals with PD exhibiting FoG were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to a group receiving motor-cognitive training on the C-Mill VR+ with either ctDCS or sham ctDCS. Assessments were conducted pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention (T1) after 10 sessions, and at 4-week follow-up (T2), using various clinical scales. Additionally, C-Mill assessments of postural stability and gait were conducted at T0 and T1.
Results: Although no significant time*group interactions were observed for any of the clinical variables measured, some were found in the C-Mill measures. Specifically, right lower limb sway in static conditions, both with eyes open (OAD) and eyes closed (OCD), significantly improved at T1 in the ctDCS group compared with the sham group.
Conclusions: C-Mill outcomes indicate that the combined treatment may enhance motor control. Participants who received ctDCS along with augmented reality motor-cognitive training showed better postural stability.
期刊介绍:
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation considers manuscripts on all aspects of research that result from cross-fertilization of the fields of neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and physical medicine & rehabilitation.