Transcranial direct current stimulation in Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative pathologies manifested by progressive motor and cognitiveaffective disorders. In the context of global population aging, the prevalence of pathology continues to grow steadily, which creates a significant medical and social burden on health care systems and determines the relevance of the search for new therapeutic approaches. As an additional method of Parkinson’s disease treatment transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used to reduce motor and non-motor manifestations. Randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of tDCS in Parkinson’s disease. Clinical studies demonstrate the significant potential of tDCS for the correction of motor impairments, with a focus on symptoms of hypokinesia, postural instability, gait disturbances, and cognitive impairment, with the most pronounced positive changes in executive function and working memory. Additionally, there is a positive effect on the affective sphere, manifested in a reliable reduction of depressive symptomatology according to standardized assessment scales. In addition, there is strong evidence of a normalizing effect on sleep architecture, including improvements in sleep duration and quality, which is of particular importance in patients with comorbid sleep disorders. Overall, tDCS represents a promising direction in the complex therapy of Parkinson’s disease, demonstrating a good safety profile and a wide range of therapeutic effects. The greatest clinical efficacy is achieved when optimized stimulation protocols are used in combination with other rehabilitation methods. Future research should focus on developing personalized approaches and more thorough investigation of long-term effects.

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