SynthesisFrontiers in human neuroscience2025
Effects of four non-invasive stimulations on swallowing function and quality of life of stroke patients-a network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Adjunctive transcranial direct current stimulation for cognitive improvement in schizophrenia: insights from a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and Mechanisms of Combined Central-Peripheral Magnetic Stimulation on Prefrontal-Sensorimotor Cortex Connectivity in Post-Stroke Dysphagia after Supratentorial Stroke: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Parallel-Controlled Trial.Translational stroke research · 2026Trial
- Intensive Rehabilitation With Adjunctive Bilateral Anodal tDCS in Post-Stroke Dysphagia: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.European journal of neurology · 2026Trial
- Optimized transcranial direct current stimulation for post-stroke dysphagia with small electrodes: a double-blind, randomized, feasibility study protocol.Frontiers in neurologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Stroke is a sudden neurological disorder that causes severe neurological damage mainly due to lack of oxygen to brain cells as a result of interruption of blood flow to the brain. Dysphagia is a common problem in stroke patients, interfering with diet and nutrition and possibly leading to complications. About 50-80% of stroke patients experience dysphagia in the acute phase, which may lead to serious consequences such as aspiration and pneumonia. Therefore, improving swallowing function is essential to enhance patients' quality of life (QoL). Traditional rehab methods are limited, but non-invasive stimulation is safer and improves swallowing function through various mechanisms: pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES) boosts cortical excitability and plasticity by stimulating pharyngeal nerves; neuro-muscular electrical stimulation (NmeS) enhances infrahyoid muscle strength and mobility with low-frequency pulses; repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) promotes motor cortex remodeling; transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) increases neural activity in swallowing-related regions. These techniques are safe, easy to use, and show great potential for clinical application, needing further study. Methods: Six databases were systematically searched, and 17 randomized controlled trials with 788 stroke patients were finally included. The outcome indicators were swallowing function and QoL related indicators. Net meta-analysis was performed using Stata 17.0 to assess the relative effectiveness of each combined intervention and to test the consistency of direct and indirect evidence. Results: For swallowing function, rTMS [SMD = 5.10, 95% CI (3.20, 7.01), Conclusion: rTMS can effectively improve the swallowing function of stroke patients, while NmeS has the best effect in improving the QoL. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024603146.
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