Version 1
: Received: 25 July 2024 / Approved: 25 July 2024 / Online: 26 July 2024 (09:15:06 CEST)
How to cite:
Fonte, C.; Varalta, V.; Rotundo, G.; Filosa, A.; Muti, E.; Barletta, C.; Evangelista, E.; Picelli, A.; Smania, N. Combined Effect of tDCS and Motor or Cognitive Activity in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study. Preprints2024, 2024072108. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2108.v1
Fonte, C.; Varalta, V.; Rotundo, G.; Filosa, A.; Muti, E.; Barletta, C.; Evangelista, E.; Picelli, A.; Smania, N. Combined Effect of tDCS and Motor or Cognitive Activity in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study. Preprints 2024, 2024072108. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2108.v1
Fonte, C.; Varalta, V.; Rotundo, G.; Filosa, A.; Muti, E.; Barletta, C.; Evangelista, E.; Picelli, A.; Smania, N. Combined Effect of tDCS and Motor or Cognitive Activity in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study. Preprints2024, 2024072108. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2108.v1
APA Style
Fonte, C., Varalta, V., Rotundo, G., Filosa, A., Muti, E., Barletta, C., Evangelista, E., Picelli, A., & Smania, N. (2024). Combined Effect of tDCS and Motor or Cognitive Activity in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2108.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Fonte, C., Alessandro Picelli and Nicola Smania. 2024 "Combined Effect of tDCS and Motor or Cognitive Activity in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2108.v1
Abstract
(1) Background: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) accounts for 70% of dementia cases and with no effective pharmacological treatments, new rehabilitation methods are needed. Motor activities and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have shown promise in stabilizing and enhancing cognitive functions. Objective: We want to investigate the effects of combined motor or cognitive activity with tDCS on cognitive functions in AD patients. (2) Methods: Patients with mild or moderate AD were randomized into four groups: motor activity or cognitive activity associated with anodic or sham tDCS (MotA, MotS, CogA, CogS). They received two weeks of treatment (45 minutes, 5 days/week), with the first 15 minutes using 2mA tDCS on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Cognitive assessments were conducted pre-treatment (T0), post-treatment (T1), and one week after (T2). (3) Results: Twenty patients were included. Mann-Whitney test showed significant improvements in anodic groups (MotA+CogA) in the global cognitive status (p=.042), in selective attention (p=.012), and sustained attention (p=.012) at T1, but not at T2. In addition, MotA improved in the Picture Recognition Test (p=.027) and in sustained attention (p=.047) at T2. (4) Conclusion: Combined motor or cognitive activity with anodic tDCS could slow cognitive decline in AD patients, with notable improvements in global cognitive state and attention at T1.
Keywords
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Motor Activity; Cognitive Stimulation Alzheimer’s disease
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
