Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of agnosia after stroke

During clinical trials, the scientists noted significant improvements in patients with post-stroke unilateral spatial agnosia who had undergone a two-week course of magnetic brain stimulation.

Unilateral spatial agnosia is one of the possible complications in stroke patients. Agnosia manifests itself as a disorder of various types of perception (visual, auditory) while maintaining sensitivity and consciousness. Such an impairment develops due to the damage to either cortex or the nearest subcortical structures of the brain. Unilateral spatial agnosia develops in case of asymmetric lesion. The damage to the secondary parts of the cerebral cortex, the main function of which is the synthesis and analysis of information, results in a failure in the process of identifying stimuli and recognizing objects. Such patients often stop recognizing objects, things, people or they develop impaired vision, hearing, taste, smell.

When researching the treatment of complications of a stroke, the scientists found out that the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation will help many patients suffering from spatial agnosia to get rid of such a condition. This treatment method allows non-invasive stimulation of the cerebral cortex by means of short magnetic impulses. Magnetic stimulation has a high penetrating power and can even go through bone, cartilage and muscle tissue. In addition, a significant advantage is that the procedure is painless, since an electromagnetic field with a low intensity is not capable of exciting pain receptors. More than 40% of stroke patients develop unilateral spatial agnosia due to the inability of the brain to identify or respond to stimuli arising from its opposite area. The scientists noted the increased excitability of the left hemisphere of the parietal and frontal cortex of the brain in unilateral spatial agnosia, as compared to the results of the study of other stroke patients. There were recorded significant improvements after one session of transcranial magnetic stimulation.

The experiment involved twenty patients with unilateral spatial agnosia and participants of the control group. The course of treatment was 2 weeks, 15 minutes every day, 2 times a day. All changes in the body were assessed with special tests. Two weeks of active stimulation resulted in a significant decrease in excitability in the parietal and frontal part of the left hemisphere. The analysis of the experiment results showed an improvement in the patients' condition by 16% after a two-week course and by 23% after a month of treatment.

Thus, a two-week course of stimulation of the left hemisphere of the cortex of the parietal part of the brain can significantly accelerate the rehabilitation of stroke patients.

Here you can also read other articles on this topic:

• Magnesium for the prevention of stroke
• Gene mutation as a risk factor for stroke
• Usefulness of oranges and grapefruits

To receive professional advice on the treatment of agnosia after a stroke in Germany
Please call us: +49 228 972 723 72
or write an Email here