Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in the neurorehabilitation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Methods: Thirty-four AD patients were randomly assigned to three groups: anodal, cathodal, and sham tDCS. Stimulation was applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 25 min at 2 mA, daily for 10 days. Each patient was submitted to the following psychometric assessments: mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Wechsler adult intelligence scale-third edition at base line, at the end of the 10th sessions and then at 1 and 2 months after the end of the sessions. Motor cortical excitability and the P300 event-related potential were assessed at baseline and after the last tDCS session.Results: Significant treatment group × time interactions were observed for the MMSE and performance IQ of the WAIS. Post hoc comparisons showed that both anodal and cathodal tDCS (ctDCS) improved MMSE in contrast to sham tDCS. Whereas, this was only true for ctDCS in the performance IQ. Remarkably, tDCS also reduced the P300 latency, but had no effect on motor cortex excitability.Conclusion: Our findings reveal that repeated sessions of tDCS could not only improve cognitive function but also reduce the P300 latency, which is known to be pathologically increased in AD.

rTMS may be a useful adjunct to conventional therapy for dysphagia after stroke.

These findings suggest that rTMS could be a useful adjuvant strategy in neurorehabilitation of dysphagia due to LMI or other brainstem infarction, although further assessment is necessary in multicentre clinical trials.

Objective. To explore the neuropsychological effects and levels of tau protein (TAU), amyloid β 1-42 (Aβ 1-42), and lipid peroxidase after 10 sessions of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease (AD). Patients and methods. A total of 46 consecutive patients with probable AD participated in this study. They were classified randomly into 2 equal groups: active versus sham. Each patient received 10 sessions of anodal tDCS over the left and right temporoparietal region for 20 minutes for each side with the cathode on the left arm. Patients were assessed using the Modified Mini Mental State Examination (MMMSE), clock drawing test, Montreal Cognitive Scale (MoCA), and the Cornell Scale for depression. Serum TAU, Aβ 1-42, and lipid peroxidase were measured before and after the 10th session. Results. There was a significant improvement in the total score of each cognitive rating scale (MMMSE, clock drawing test, and MoCA) in the real group, whereas no such change was observed in the sham group. The Cornell depression score improved significantly in both groups. There was a significant increase in serum Aβ 1-42 (P = .02) in the real but not in the sham group, with a significant Treatment condition × Time interaction (P = .009). There was no significant effect on tau or lipid peroxidase in either group but a significant positive correlation between changes of Aβ1-42 and MMMSE (P = .005) and MoCA (P = .02). Conclusion. The observed cognitive improvements were complemented by parallel changes in serum levels of Aβ 1-42.

Ten daily treatments of 1 and 25 Hz rTMS contralateral to the side of tinnitus have a greater beneficial effect on symptoms than either ipsilateral or left side stimulation.

This is the first clinical study of dual-hemisphere rTMS in poststroke aphasia. Combining dual-hemisphere rTMS with language training might be a feasible treatment for nonfluent aphasia; further multicenter studies are needed to confirm this result.

Background: Because there have been no epidemiological studies of stroke in Egypt, a community-based survey was conducted in the Assiut Governorate to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of stroke in our community. Methods: A three-phase door-to-door study was performed in which 6,498 participants were chosen by random sampling from 7 districts in Assiut (first phase). Out of this sample, 578 dropped out leaving 3,066 males (51.8%) and 2,854 females (48.2%). There were 3,660 (61.8%) urban residents and 2,260 (38.2%) from the rural community. In the second phase participants were screened using the questionnaire for stroke, while the third phase involved medical evaluation of all suspected cases, with diagnosis of stroke confirmed by evaluation of CT scans. The Mini Mental State Examination and Hamilton Depression Scale were evaluated for each patient. Results: 65 participants were identified as positive on the survey questionnaire, but only 57 patients were found to have stroke, giving a crude prevalence rate of 963/100,000 inhabitants with an age-adjusted local prevalence rate of 699.2/100,000 and an age-adjusted prevalence relative to the standard world population of 980.9/100,000. The prevalence among males was higher than females (1174/100,000 vs. 736/100,000) with a ratio 1.7:1. There was a significantly higher prevalence of ischemic (895/100,000) than hemorrhagic (68/100,000) stroke. Stroke prevalence was the same in rural and urban areas and in males and females. There was, however, a significantly higher prevalence in illiterate (2413/100,000) than literate participants (357/100,000). Forty-two patients (73.7%) had one or more risk factors for stroke, hypertension being the commonest (66%) and diabetes mellitus second (38.6%). Nine cases had poststroke dementia (15.8%) and 14 cases (24.6%) had mild depression. Conclusions: The overall prevalence rate of stroke is high, especially in older adults, men and illiterate individuals. A higher prevalence of ischemic than hemorrhagic stroke was recorded, with hypertension and diabetes mellitus being the commonest risk factors in our community.

Background: Existing treatments for adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) have limited proven efficacy. New treatments that have been suggested involve targeted, brain-directed interventions such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We describe findings from seven individuals with treatment-resistant AN who received 10 sessions of anodal tDCS, over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Material and method:In this open-label, single-arm study, seven patients received anodal tDCS (2mA) for 25 minutes over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex daily for ten days. Assessments pre-tDCS, post-tDCS and one month later included the Eating Attitude Test (EAT), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: Three patients improved in all three rating scales immediately after the treatment sessions and one month later. Two patients showed improvement at the end of treatment but returned to the baseline after one month. One subject improved only on the BDI scale but not eating scales. The scores in the three rating scales were unaffected by treatment in the remaining patient. There was a significant effect of time (pre, post and 1 month later) on the three rating scores; BDI (P = 0.016), EDI (P = 0.018) and EAT (P = 0.016) and a significant correlation between the percent improvement of BDI and EAT (p = 0.01), and between BDI and EDI (P = 0.006). Conclusions: These findings suggest that tDCS has potential as an adjuvant treatment for AN and deserves further study.