Theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation for dysphagia patients during recovery stage of stroke: a randomized controlled trial.
Jiahui Tai, Ruiping Hu, Shunjuan Fan and 3 others
PMID 37737051WHAT IT FOUND
For stroke patients with swallowing difficulties, adding four weeks of intermittent theta-burst stimulation to standard therapy improved swallowing function more than sham stimulation.
This benefit held for both supratentorial and brainstem strokes, while continuous theta-burst stimulation showed inconsistent effects depending on stroke location.
Key findings
01In patients with supratentorial stroke, intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) applied to the affected hemisphere led to significantly greater improvements in swallowing function and oral motor skills compared to sham stimulation.
02In patients with brainstem stroke, both intermittent and continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) resulted in significantly greater percentage improvements in swallowing function compared to sham stimulation.
03Standard swallowing therapy alone produced significant improvements in all groups, but the addition of iTBS provided superior outcomes in key measures for both stroke locations.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size per subgroup was small (15 patients), which may limit the generalizability of the findings. The treatment duration was short (four weeks), and there was no follow-up to assess the long-term maintenance of swallowing improvements. The study did not include neuroelectrophysiological measures to fully explain the mechanisms behind the observed effects. The specific type of stroke (hemorrhage vs. infarction) was not analyzed separately for efficacy, potentially masking differential responses.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Commission of Science and Technology, and the National Key R&D Program of China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) is effective for all stroke patients with dysphagia. The study found that cTBS was not significantly better than sham stimulation for patients with supratentorial strokes, showing benefit only in those with brainstem strokes.