TDCS for parkinson‘s disease disease-related pain: A randomized trial

Yeray González-Zamorano, Francisco José Sánchez-Cuesta, Marcos Moreno-Verdú, Aida Arroyo-Ferrer, Josué Fernández-Carnero*, K. Ray Chaudhuri, Anna Fieldwalker, Juan Pablo Romero

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on Parkinson's disease (PD)-related pain. Methods: This triple-blind randomized controlled trial included twenty-two patients (age range 38–85, 10 male) with PD-related pain. Eleven subjects received ten sessions of 20 minutes tDCS over the primary motor cortex contralateral to pain at 2 mA intensity. Eleven subjects received sham stimulation. Outcome measures included changes in the Kinǵs Parkinsońs Pain Scale (KPPS), Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), widespread mechanical hyperalgesia (WMH), temporal summation of pain (TS), and conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Results: Significant differences were found in KPPS between groups favoring the active-tDCS group compared to the sham-tDCS group at 15-days follow-up (p = 0.014) but not at 2 days post-intervention (p = 0.059). The active-group showed significant improvements over the sham-group after 15 days (p = 0.017). Significant changes were found in CPM between groups in favor of active-tDCS group at 2 days post-intervention (p = 0.002) and at 15 days (p = 0.017). No meaningful differences were observed in BPI or TS. Conclusions: tDCS of the primary motor cortex alleviates perceived PD-related pain, reduces pain sensitization, and enhances descending pain inhibition. Significance: This is the first study to test and demonstrate the use of tDCS for improving PD-related pain.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-146
Number of pages14
JournalClinical Neurophysiology
Volume161
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2024

Keywords

  • Neuromodulation
  • Pain
  • Parkinsońs disease
  • Randomized controlled trial
  • Transcranial direct current stimulation

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