The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on the cognitive ability in patients with mild cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on cognitive ability in patients suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after ischemic stroke.Methods Forty five ischemic stroke survivors with MCI but not meeting the criterion for diagnosis as dementia were recruited, and were randomly assigned into an rTMS group (32 patients) and a control group (30 patients) according to a random number table.Both groups received the routine drug therapy of medicine and cognitive function training, and the rTMS group was additionally given rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at 5 Hz and 80％ motor threshold.The treatments lasted for 4 weeks.The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and auditory event related potential (ERP) were tested for both group before and after the treatment.Results After the treatment, two groups showed significant improvements in the average score of MoCA compared to that before the treatment, and that of the rTMS group was significantly higher than that of the control group.For both groups, the P300 latency shortened and the amplitude increased after the treatment.Moreover, the latency and amplitude of the rTMS group increased to 355.67 ± 16.43 ms and 8.69 ± 1.65 μV, respectively, after the treatment, significantly shortened and lengthened than that of the control group [(372.76 ± 23.35 ms and 7.03 ± 3.04 μV), respectively].Conclusions rTMS can significantly improve the cognitive ability of ischemic stroke survivors in a relatively safe way.