Deans' stroke musings: A double-blind randomized control trial of transcranial direct current stimulation in post-stroke fatigue

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Monday, May 11, 2026

A double-blind randomized control trial of transcranial direct current stimulation in post-stroke fatigue

So, still a COMPLETE FAILURE on solving post stroke fatigue!

Comeuppance is going to be a real bitch for you when you are the 1 in 4 per WHO that has a stroke!

A double-blind randomized control trial of transcranial direct current stimulation in post-stroke fatigue

1. Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
2. Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Abstract

Rationale:

Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is an issue among stroke survivors that often impedes their rehabilitation progress. Treating PSF is challenging, and pharmacological interventions often prove ineffective.

Aims:

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of tDCS on PSF.

Sample size:

Thirty-four participants aged 30 to 80 with chronic stroke were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups, with 17 participants in each group.

Methods and design:

This study was a double-blind randomized controlled trial. The sham group received sham tDCS, while the treatment group received active tDCS. The active tDCS treatment consisted of applying a constant 2-mA current through a 5 cm × 5 cm anodal electrode placed over the C3 or C4 positions (motor cortex) of the contralateral hemisphere of the scalp, with the cathodal electrode placed on the ipsilateral arm. The participants received two 20-min sessions of this treatment, separated by a 10-min interval, each day for 5 consecutive days. Sham tDCS involved the same setup but with only 30 s of constant current at the beginning and end of each 20-min session. Follow-up assessments were conducted over an 8-week period. The effects of tDCS were calibrated using an analysis of covariance approach, with baseline Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) scores, age, and education as covariates. The inclusion criteria were (1) either sex; (2) age 30–80 years; (3) prior stroke diagnosis verified through brain imaging (computed tomography scan/magnetic resonance imaging); (4) Chinese ethnicity and Cantonese proficiency; (5) willingness and ability to provide informed consent; (6) presence of PSF (Fatigue Severity Scale score ≥ 4.0); and (7) at least 6 months post-stroke.

Study outcome:

The primary outcome was the change in fatigue severity, assessed using the MFIS.

Results:

One participant in the sham group dropped out. After the intervention, no significant changes were observed in MFIS scores at any of the follow-up timepoints (p > 0.05).

Conclusion:

We found no evidence that the use of tDCS improves PSF. Further research is needed to explore the potential of this non-invasive brain stimulation method for the treatment of PSF.

Clinical trial registration:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT04238260; https://www.chictr.org.cn/, identifier ChiCTR2100052515.