Epub: Tecchio et al. Multiple sclerosis fatigue relief by bilateral somatosensory cortex neuromodulation. J Neurol. 2014 May 23.
Background: MS-related fatigue is highly common and often refractory to medical therapy.
Methods: Ten fatigued MSers received two blocks of 5-day anodal bilateral primary somatosensory areas transcranial direct current stimulation in a randomized, double-blind sham-controlled, cross-over study.
Results: The real neuromodulation by a personalized electrode, shaped on the MR-derived primary somatosensory cortical strip, reduced fatigue in all patients, by 26 % in average (p = 0.002), which did not change after sham (p = 0.901). Anodal tDCS over bilateral somatosensory areas was able to relief fatigue in mildly disabled MSers, when the fatigue-related symptoms severely hamper their quality of life.
Conclusion: These small-scale study results support the concept that interventions modifying the sensorimotor network activity balances could be a suitable non-pharmacological treatment for multiple sclerosis fatigue.