Trial reportJournal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)2020
Bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation modulates fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a randomized sham-controlled study.
Trial report in Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Transcranial Electrical Stimulation in Treatment of Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cognition, Mood, Pain, and Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on post-stroke fatigue.Journal of neurology · 2021Trial
- Efficacy of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis (MS)-A Review and Insight into Possible Mechanisms of Action.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- A Review on Motor Imagery with Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: Bridging Motor and Cognitive Welfare for Patient Rehabilitation.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Effects of repetitive twice-weekly transcranial direct current stimulations on fatigue and fatigability in people with multiple sclerosis.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The challenges of post-COVID-19 fatigue research.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Influence of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Exercise on Fatigue and Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis: A Review of the Exploratory and Therapeutic Potential of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Review
- Effects of non-invasive brain stimulation in multiple sclerosis: systematic review and meta-analysis.Therapeutic advances in chronic disease · 2022Article
- The therapeutic potential of non-invasive brain stimulation for the treatment of Long-COVID-related cognitive fatigue.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Frontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as a Potential Treatment of Parkinson's Disease-Related Fatigue.Brain sciences · 2021Review
- Post-COVID-19 Fatigue: Potential Contributing Factors.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- New Strategies for Rehabilitation and Pharmacological Treatment of Fatigue Syndrome in Multiple Sclerosis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Hand Dexterity in Multiple Sclerosis: A Design for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Information Processing Speed, Working Memory, Attention, and Social Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis.Frontiers in neurology · 2020Article
- Effects of Nonconsecutive Sessions of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Stationary Cycling on Walking Capacity in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis.International journal of MS careArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fatigue is a frequent and debilitating symptom in patients with central nervous system diseases. Up to 90% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) suffer from fatigue that drastically affects the quality of life. MS patients also complain of anxiety and depressive symptoms and these three manifestations tend to cluster together in this clinical population. The objective of this work was to assess the effects of transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive brain stimulation technique, on fatigue as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms. Eleven fatigued MS patients randomly received two blocks (active and sham tDCS) of five consecutive daily sessions of bifrontal tDCS (anode/cathode over the left/right prefrontal cortices, respectively) in a crossover manner, separated by a 3-week washout interval. Evaluation took place at day 1, day 5 (right after each block) and 1 week later. Active but not sham tDCS resulted in a significant improvement of fatigue at day 5 (p < 0.05), an effect that seems to last at least 1 week following the stimulation (p = 0.05). Active tDCS also significantly improved anxiety symptoms, but the effect emerged 1 week later (p < 0.05). No significant effects were obtained regarding depression (p > 0.05). Bifrontal tDCS seems to modulate fatigue in PwMS. The observed anxiolytic effects could constitute delayed after effects of tDCS or might be mediated by fatigue improvement. These findings merit to be addressed in large-scale controlled trials.
Indexed as
Identifiers
32161992What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.