ArticleAnnals of rehabilitation medicine2020
Comparison of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Upper Limb Recovery Among Patients With Recent Stroke.
Article in Annals of rehabilitation medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of the efficacy of different protocols of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation on motor function, activities of daily living, and neurological function in patients with early stroke: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Pooled it
- Non-invasive brain stimulation associated mirror therapy for upper-limb rehabilitation after stroke: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Coupled With Visual-Feedback Cycling Exercise Improves Walking Ability and Walking Stability After Stroke: A Randomized Pilot Study.Neural plasticity · 2024Trial
- Effect of Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Lower Limb Subacute Stroke Rehabilitation.Neural plasticity · 2023Trial
- Effects of Combining Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation with Virtual Reality on Upper Limb Function in Patients with Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- A protocol to optimize non-invasive brain stimulation for post-stroke rehabilitation.MethodsX · 2025Article
- Molecular Changes in the Ischemic Brain as Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Targets-TMS and tDCS Mechanisms, Therapeutic Challenges, and Combination Therapies.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Article
- The Application of tDCS to Treat Pain and Psychocognitive Symptoms in Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review.Neural plasticity · 2024Article
- Exploring the Potential of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Relieving Central Post-Stroke Pain: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Investigation of the efficacy of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on upper-limb motor recovery in subacute ischemic stroke without cortical involvement: a protocol paper for a multi-center, double-blind randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- A blended neurostimulation protocol to delineate cortico-muscular and spino-muscular dynamics following neuroplastic adaptation.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Neurostimulations for Upper Extremity Function Recovery after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on upper limb function recovery among patients who recently had stroke.
methodsSubjects with recent stroke (within 1 month) were randomized to rTMS (n=25) and tDCS (n=26) applied over the non-lesioned hemisphere for three sessions per week, followed by tailored upper limb rehabilitation training for a total of 2 weeks. The primary outcomes were changes in the Motor Assessment Scale (MAS), Fugl-Meyer arm score test, Nine-Hole Peg Test (9HPT), hand grip strength, and modified Barthel Index at weeks 2 and 4. Both therapists responsible for training and assessment were blinded to the intervention allocated.
resultsThere was an improvement in all the motor performance scales among both groups (p<0.001). These improvements persisted at discharge. However, there was no significant difference in any of the assessment scales between the two groups. The rTMS group showed a statistically non-significant greater improvement in MAS, 9HPT, and handgrip strength than the tDCS group.
conclusionBoth interventions produce a statistically significant improvement in upper limb function. There was no statistically significant difference between the two intervention methods with respect to motor performance. It is suggested that a larger study may help to clarify the superiority of either methods.
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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.