Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39915560›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2025

Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation paired with cognitive training to reduce fatigue in multiple sclerosis.

Leigh Charvet, Judith D Goldberg, Xiaochun Li, Pamela Best, Matthew Lustberg, Michael Shaw, Lana Zhovtis, Josef Gutman, Abhishek Datta, Marom Bikson and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
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

12 authors.

Leigh CharvetDepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 222 East 41st St., 10th Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA. Leigh.charvet@nyulangone.org.
Judith D GoldbergDepartment of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Xiaochun LiDepartment of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Pamela BestStony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, NY, USA.
Matthew LustbergDepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 222 East 41st St., 10th Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA.
Michael ShawDepartment of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA.
Lana ZhovtisDepartment of Neurology, Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Nutley, USA.
Josef GutmanDepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 222 East 41st St., 10th Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA.
Abhishek DattaResearch and Development, Soterix Medical Inc, Woodbridge Township, NJ, USA.
Marom BiksonDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York, New York, NY, USA.
Giuseppina PilloniDepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 222 East 41st St., 10th Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA.
Lauren KruppDepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 222 East 41st St., 10th Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA.

Funding

National Multiple Sclerosis Society 1803-30492
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fatigue is a common and often debilitating feature of multiple sclerosis (MS) that lacks reliably effective treatment options for most patients. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a safe and well-tolerated type of noninvasive brain stimulation, is a low-cost and home-based approach with the potential to reduce fatigue in MS. We conducted a double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial to compare active vs. low-dose (sham) tDCS paired with computer-based cognitive training, delivered as a home-based intervention, to reduce MS-related fatigue. Participants with MS-related fatigue, but without depression, were stratified by neurologic disability using the Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and randomized to complete 30 daily sessions over six weeks of either active or sham tDCS paired with online cognitive training (BrainHQ). The primary outcome was the change in PROMIS Fatigue score from baseline to the end of the intervention. A total of 117 participants were randomized, with 92% completing all treatment sessions. Both groups showed significant reductions in fatigue, with no significant difference between them. This suggests that tDCS does not provide any additional benefit over cognitive training alone in reducing fatigue, but confirms the feasibility and tolerance of this home-based intervention.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyFatigueMultiple SclerosisTranscranial Direct Current StimulationAdultCognitionCognitive TrainingDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeBrain stimulationCognitive trainingFatigueMultiple sclerosisNoninvasive brain stimulationTranscranial direct current stimulation

Identifiers

PMID39915560
PMCPMC11802740

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.