The effects of combining anodal transcranial direct current stimulation with robot-assisted gait training on lower limb motor function and the motor cortex regulation of stroke patients.

Single-centre randomised trial with a small sample size, so the result may not generalise. No sham tDCS control was used, so placebo or expectation effects cannot be ruled out. The supplied text does not report participant or therapist blinding. Both groups received robot-assisted gait training, conventional drug treatment and conventional rehabilitation, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The paper reports only four-week outcomes and no long-term follow-up. The supplied text does not name the primary outcome. Participant counts are inconsistent: 43 were randomised, five were excluded, forty patients are described in the baseline section, two withdrew, and thirty-eight completed. Lesion location was not accounted for in the analysis.

Do not conclude that anodal tDCS alone caused the improvement. Both groups received robot-assisted gait training, conventional drug treatment and conventional rehabilitation, and the experimental group also received anodal tDCS. There was no sham tDCS control, so the contribution of tDCS cannot be separated from placebo or from the other therapies.