Transcranial direct current stimulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves dual-task gait performance in patients with Parkinson’s disease: A double blind, sham-controlled study

The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review

“…Thirteen studies had a PEDro score of 9 and 10, representing excellent quality [ 26 , 32 , 38 , 39 , 42 – 49 ], four studies had a score of 8 [ 50 – 53 ], and one study had a score of 7 [ 27 ]. Sixteen studies were designed double-blinded.…”

“…In all studies, the allocation procedure was not described (Table 1 ). Five studies delivered data showing that the participants could not discriminate sham from real tDCS [ 39 , 44 , 48 – 50 ], while the other studies did not monitor discrimination between real and sham stimulation by the participants. Inter-rater agreement with respect to the PEDro scale ratings was calculated using Cohen’s kappa coefficient, and the resulting κ value was 0.82.…”

“…The mean disease duration ranged 4.3–11 years among the studies (Table 2 ). The disease severity was quantified by the Hoehn-Yahr scale in 12 studies [ 27 , 32 , 38 , 39 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 47 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 53 ] and the mean value reported in the studies was between 1.3 and 2.8.…”

“…In eight studies, tDCS was applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to improve gait [ 39 , 42 – 45 , 47 , 51 , 52 ]. In four studies that reported an improvement of gait by the intervention, the anodal electrode was placed over F3 or F4 [ 39 , 43 , 45 , 47 ].…”

“…The PEDro scale includes 11 items that rate the internal and external validity of a study. The first item, which refers to external validity, is not considered as part of the final PEDro score [ 38 , 39 ]. Two researchers (HB and FP) rated the articles independently, and any disagreements were resolved by discussion or, if required, with the consensus of a third reviewer (AS).…”