Functional electrical stimulation improves brain perfusion in cranial trauma patients

Abstract

Objective: Demonstrate brain perfusion changes due to neuronal activation after functional electrical stimulation (FES). Method: It was studied 14 patients with hemiplegia who were submitted to a program with FES during fourteen weeks. Brain perfusion SPECT was performed before and after FES therapy. These patients were further separated into 2 groups according to the hemiplegia cause: cranial trauma and major vascular insults. All SPECT images were analyzed using SPM. Results: There was a significant statistical difference between the two groups related to patient's ages and extent of hypoperfusion in the SPECT. Patients with cranial trauma had a reduction in the hypoperfused area and patients with major vascular insult had an increase in the hypoperfused area after FES therapy. Conclusion: FES therapy can result in brain perfusion improvement in patients with brain lesions due to cranial trauma but probably not in patients with major vascular insults with large infarct area.

Modest Effects of Low-frequency Electrical Stimulation on Patients with Chronic Insomnia in an Open Trial

“…A report described the effect of TENS on the brain, in which electrical low-frequency stimulation of the right hand, induced central neuroplastic changes of pain processing [39]. One study of TENS using single-photon emission computed tomography, reported improved brain perfusion in patients with brain lesions using electrical stimulation at the forearm [40].…”

Cognitive Rehabilitation After Traumatic Brain Injury

“…Repeated transmagnetic stimulation (rTMS), another form of non-invasive neurostimulation using magnetic fields, has been successfully used to improve physiological and behavioral characteristics after TBI (Pachalska, Lukowicz, Kropotov, Herman-Sucharska, & Talar, 2011). Finally, functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been used to effectively improve brain perfusion in individuals with cranial trauma (Amorim et al, 2011). These interventions and the diagnostic possibilities of neuroscience tools illustrate the potential of a symbiotic relationship between research and clinical fields that should be further developed to enhance evidence-based practice and rehabilitation.…”