Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in the Treatment of Subacute Post-Stroke Thalamic Aphasia

Abstract

Background: Although many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in improving speech recovery in post-stroke aphasia, as far as we know patients affected by thalamic aphasia have never been investigated. Patient and method: A 65-year-old man with severe non-fluent aphasia due to a left thalamic haemorrhagic stroke underwent intensive daily speech therapy combined with tDCS. Results: The patient showed progressive improvement with almost complete recovery of his speech disorder, behavioural disinhibition and apathy. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that tDCS with concurrent speech therapy can be useful in patients with subcortical stroke lesions.

Keywords

• transcranial direct current stimulation
• aphasia
• cerebral haemorrhage
• speech therapy
• rehabilitation