Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34210347›Full record

Trial reportJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2021

Effectiveness of a combined transcranial direct current stimulation and virtual reality-based intervention on upper limb function in chronic individuals post-stroke with persistent severe hemiparesis: a randomized controlled trial.

Roberto Llorens, María Antonia Fuentes, Adrián Borrego, Jorge Latorre, Mariano Alcañiz, Carolina Colomer, Enrique Noé

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. Effectiveness of kinesiology taping on the functions of upper limbs in patients with stroke: a meta-analysis of randomized trial.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Roberto LlorensNeurorehabilitation and Brain Research Group, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46011, Valencia, Spain. rllorens@i3b.upv.es.ORCID 0000-0002-8677-8707
María Antonia FuentesNEURORHB. Servicio de Neurorrehabilitación de Hospitales Vithas, Fundación Hospitales Vithas, Callosa d'En Sarrià 12, 46007, València, Spain.
Adrián BorregoNeurorehabilitation and Brain Research Group, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46011, Valencia, Spain.
Jorge LatorreNeurorehabilitation and Brain Research Group, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46011, Valencia, Spain.
Mariano AlcañizNeurorehabilitation and Brain Research Group, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46011, Valencia, Spain.
Carolina ColomerNEURORHB. Servicio de Neurorrehabilitación de Hospitales Vithas, Fundación Hospitales Vithas, Callosa d'En Sarrià 12, 46007, València, Spain.
Enrique NoéNEURORHB. Servicio de Neurorrehabilitación de Hospitales Vithas, Fundación Hospitales Vithas, Callosa d'En Sarrià 12, 46007, València, Spain.
Hospitales Nisa · ESUniversitat Politècnica de València · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFunctional impairments derived from the non-use of severely affected upper limb after stroke have been proposed to be mitigated by action observation and imagination-based techniques, whose effectiveness is enhanced when combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Preliminary studies in mildly impaired individuals in the acute phase post-stroke show intensified effects when action is facilitated by tDCS and mediated by virtual reality (VR) but the effectiveness in cases of severe impairment and chronic stroke is unknown. This study investigated the effectiveness of a combined tDCS and VR-based intervention in the sensorimotor function of chronic individuals post-stroke with persistent severe hemiparesis compared to conventional physical therapy.

methodsTwenty-nine participants were randomized into an experimental group, who received 30 minutes of the combined tDCS and VR-based therapy and 30 minutes of conventional physical therapy, or a control group, who exclusively received conventional physical therapy focusing on passive and active assistive range of motion exercises. The sensorimotor function of all participants was assessed before and after 25 one-hour sessions, administered three to five times a week, using the upper extremity subscale of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, the time and ability subscales of the Wolf Motor Function Test, and the Nottingham Sensory Assessment.

resultsA clinically meaningful improvement of the upper limb motor function was consistently revealed in all motor measures after the experimental intervention, but not after conventional physical therapy. Similar limited effects were detected in the sensory function in both groups.

conclusionThe combined tDCS and VR-based paradigm provided not only greater but also clinically meaningful improvement in the motor function (and similar sensory effects) in comparison to conventional physical therapy.

Indexed as

Stroke RehabilitationTranscranial Direct Current StimulationVirtual RealityHumansParesisRecovery of FunctionUpper ExtremityEye-trackingHemiparesisStrokeSurface electromyographyTranscranial direct current stimulationVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID34210347
PMCPMC8252292
OpenAlexW3175959438

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.