Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined with Donepezil on stroke patients with memory impairment

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) combined with donepezil on stroke patients with memory impairment.

Methods: The subjects of the study were 120 stroke patients with memory impairment admitted to the Rehabilitation Department of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from July 2017 to March 2020. Enrolled patients were divided into Group-A (58 cases) and Group-B (62 cases) according to different treatment intervention methods. Patients in Group-A were treated with TDCS and those in Group-B received donepezil on the basis of TDCS. The changes in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) memory index score, Barthel Index (MBI) score, cognitive function and cognitive potential were observed and compared between the two groups before and after treatment.

Results: The improvement of total MoCA score, a single score of memory, MBI score, cognitive function and P300 potential index in Group-B was significantly better than that in Group-A (p<0.05).

Conclusion: TDCS combined with donepezil can reduce or delay the cognitive impairment of stroke patients, improve their delayed memory ability, increase the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex, and further enhance their neural function. Findings in our study support that the proposed therapeutic method is worthy of clinical application.