Verification of application status and methods of transcranial magnetic stimulation in stroke patients hospitalized the convalescent rehabilitation wards

Abstract

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to be beneficial for hemiparesis in patients with acute and chronic stroke. However, few studies have examined the usefulness of apply rTMS of convalescent rehabilitation wards. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application status, outcomes and methods of rTMS for post-stroke upper and lower limb hemiparesis in the convalescent rehabilitation wards. The subjects were post-stroke upper and lower limb hemiparesis admitted to the convalescent rehabilitation wards, who received a combined therapy of rTMS with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Lowfrequency rTMS of 1Hz was applied to the upper limb hemiparesis, and a high-frequency rTMS of 10Hz was applied to the lower limbs, followed by one to one training and self training. Each patient received treatment for 12 days. Functional evaluations were performed before and after the treatment intervention to judge the efficacy. Approximately 30% of the 49 stroke patients who were hospitalized during the study period from April 1 to July 8, 2019 were treated combined therapy with rTMS. It was showed that applying high-frequency rTMS early after admission to the convalescent rehabilitation wards, was effective for lower limb hemiparesis Although positive therapeutic results were obtained by applying low-frequency rTMS to upper limb paralysis, it was suggested that the treatment could be more effective by evaluating cortical activity patterns.