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Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive and debilitating neurodegenerative disease. There is growing evidence for non-invasive neuromodulation tools as therapeutic strategies in neurodegenerative diseases. This systematic review aims to investigate the effectiveness of noninvasive neuromodulation in HD-associated motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials, Embase, and PsycINFO from inception to 13 July 2021. Case reports, case series, and clinical trials were included while screening/diagnostic tests involving non-invasive neuromodulation, review papers, experimental studies on animal models, other systematic reviews, and meta-analyses were excluded. We have identified 19 studies in the literature investigating the use of ECT, TMS, and tDCS in the treatment of HD. Quality assessments were performed using Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI's) critical appraisal tools. Eighteen studies showed improvement of HD symptoms, but the results were very heterogeneous considering different intervention techniques and protocols, and domains of symptoms. The most noticeable improvement involved depression and psychosis after ECT protocols. The impact on cognitive and motor symptoms is more controversial. Further investigations are required to determine the therapeutic role of distinct neuromodulation techniques for HD-related symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is emerging as a convenient pain relief modality for several chronic pain conditions, its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy on pain in patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) have not been investigated. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of 5, 20-min home-based tDCS sessions on chronic pain in older adults with ADRD. We randomly assigned 40 participants to active (n = 20) or sham (n = 20) tDCS. Clinical pain intensity was assessed using a numeric rating scale (NRS) with patients and a proxy measure (MOBID-2) with caregivers. We observed significant reductions of pain intensity for patients in the active tDCS group as reflected by both pain measures (NRS: Cohen's d = 0.69, p-value = 0.02); MOBID-2: Cohen's d = 1.12, p-value = 0.001). Moreover, we found home-based tDCS was feasible and acceptable intervention approach for pain in ADRD. These findings suggest the need for large-scale randomized controlled studies with larger samples and extended versions of tDCS to relieve chronic pain on the long-term for individuals with ADRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is encouraging regarding clinical pain intensity for individuals with knee osteoarthritis, very few studies have explored its impact on experimental pain sensitivity, which may hinder our understanding of underlying therapeutic mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of 15 home-based tDCS sessions on experimental pain sensitivity and explore its relationships with clinical pain intensity. We randomly assigned 120 participants to active tDCS (n = 60) and sham tDCS (n = 60). Quantitative sensory testing (QST) was used, including heat pain threshold and tolerance, pressure pain threshold, and conditioned pain modulation. Patients in the active tDCS group exhibited reduced experimental pain sensitivity as reflected by all QST measures at the end of treatment. Furthermore, correlations were observed between changes in clinical pain intensity and experimental pain sensitivity. These findings warrant further studies on tDCS and experimental pain sensitivity in patients with knee osteoarthritis and exploring the magnitude and sustainability of effects on a longer term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]