Improvement of P ost S troke D ysphagia by I ntermittent T heta B urst S timulation

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the efficacy ofi ntermittent theta burst stimulation(iTBS) on post stroke dysphagia and its effect on the motor cortical excitability of thesuprahyoid muscle A total of 40 patients with post stroke dysphagia were randomlydivided into the iTBS and the sham stimulation groups, with the conduction of motorcortical iTBS and sham stimulation of the supraglottal muscle on the affected side,respectively . Swallowing function was assessed before (T0), immediately after (T1), andtwo weeks after (T2) cessation of the intervention using the water swallowing test (WST),standard swallowing assessment (SSA), Murray secretion scale (MSS), and PenetrationAspiration Scale ( PAS). The bilateral motor evoked potentials (MEP) of the suprahyoidmuscle were recorded After the intervention, the PAS, WST, SSA, and MSS scores weresignificantly improved in both groups (p < 0.05). The iTBS group showed a greaterchange in the PAS sco re than the sham stimulation group at T1 (p < 0.05) and a greaterchange in the WST and MSS scores at T2 (p < 0.05). The amplitude of the MEP wave ofthe suprahyoid muscle in the affected hemisphere was significantly higher in the iTBSgroup at T1 and in t he healthy hemisphere at T2 (p < 0.05). T he feasibility of applyingiTBS to the affected hemisphere for the treatment of post stroke dysphagia was directlyanalyzed for the first time. ITBS combined with conventional swallowing therapy couldbe adopted as a rehabilitation strategy to improve post stroke dysphagia.