Clinical Comparison between HD-tDCS and tDCS for Improving Upper Limb Motor Function: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Sham-Controlled Trial

Figure 2

Flow diagram illustrating the study design. No significant differences in sex, age, disease course, stroke hemisphere, stroke type, Brunnstrom stage, and other general data were observed among the three groups (Table 1). The ARAT, UEFM, MAS, and MBI scores of the three groups were determined before and after 4 weeks of stimulation, and the patients’ MBI scores were analyzed after 8 weeks of follow-up. One-way ANOVA or the Kruskal–Wallis test was conducted to analyze the recovery of patients in the three groups during treatment. On intragroup comparison, the scores showed significant differences after 4 weeks of treatment compared with those before treatment (). ARAT, action research arm test; UEFM, Fugl–Meyer score for the upper extremity; MAS, Motor Function Assessment Scale; MBI, modified Barthel index; and ANOVA, analysis of variance.