Objective: The present study investigated whether a prolonged session of cerebellar anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could improve symptoms in patients with ataxia at short and long term.

Background: Cerebellar ataxias represent a group of disabling disorders for which we currently lack effective therapies. Cerebellar tDCS is a noninvasive technique, which has been previously demonstrated to be able to modulate cerebellar excitability and improve symptoms in patients with cerebellar ataxias.

Methods: We performed a prolonged double-blind, randomized, sham or real anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (5 days/week for 2 weeks) among patients with ataxia. Each patient underwent a clinical and a neurophysiological evaluation with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) pre- and post- real tDCS or sham stimulation. A follow up clinical and neurophysiological evaluation was performed at 1 and 3 months.

Results: Patients who underwent anodal tDCS showed a significant improvement in all performance scores (Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia, International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, 9-Hole Peg Test, 8-Meter Walking Time) compared to patients who underwent sham stimulation.

Conclusions: A prolonged session of anodal cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation can improve symptoms among patients with ataxia and therefore might represent a promising future therapeutic and rehabilitative approach.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/sustained-effects-of-cerebellar-transcranial-direct-current-stimulation-in-patients-with-ataxia-a-randomized-double-blind-sham-controlled-study/