{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T02:58:53Z","timestamp":1787972333013,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["NRE"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,14]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation tool for improving language performance in patients with aphasia after stroke. However, it remains unclear whether it has long-term effects. After consulting a large number of relevant studies, it was found that there are no definitive conclusions about the long-term effects of tDCS on post-stroke aphasia patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether tDCS has long-term effects on post-stroke aphasia patients (PAPs) and which type of tDCS has the most beneficial treatment effects on language performance (especially naming ability). METHODS: A network meta-analysis was conducted by searching for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published until April 2023 in the following databases: Web of Science, Embase, Medline (from OVID and PubMed), PsycInfo and PsycARTICLES (from OVID). We only included RCTs published in English. PAPs treated by tDCS combined with speech-language therapy were selected. Sham tDCS was the control group. Naming ability or other language performance must be assessed at follow-up states. Two reviewers independently used checklists to assess the primary outcome (the long-term effects on naming ability) and the secondary outcome (other language performance, such as communication). Cochrane Collaboration guidelines were used to assess the risk of bias. RESULTS: Seven studies with 249 patients were included for data synthesis. For primary outcomes (naming nous), there was no obvious evidence to show a difference between interventions (C-tDCS vs. S-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.06, 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20131.01, 1.12; A-tDCS vs. S-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.00, 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20130.66, 0.65; D-tDCS vs. S-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.77, 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20130.71, 2.24; A-tDCS vs. C-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a\u20130.06, 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20131.31,1.19; D-tDCS vs. C-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.71, 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20131.11,2.53; D-tDCS vs. A-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.77, 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20130.84, 2.39). In addition, no evidence showed differences in communication ability (C-tDCS vs. S-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.08 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20131.77, 1.92; A-tDCS vs. S-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a1.23 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20131.89, 4.34; D-tDCS vs. S-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.70; 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20131.93, 3.34; A-tDCS vs. C-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a1.15 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20132.48, 4.77; D-tDCS vs. C-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a0.62 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20132.59, 3.84; D-tDCS vs. A-tDCS SMD\u200a=\u200a\u20130.52 95% CI\u200a=\u200a\u20134.60, 3.56). CONCLUSION: It seems that tDCS has no long-term effects on post-stroke aphasia patients in naming nouns and communication in terms of the results of our network meta-analysis. However, the results should be interpreted with caution. In the future, more RCTs with long follow-up times should be included in the research to conduct subgroup or meta-regression analyses to obtain a sufficient effect size.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3233\/nre-230099","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,29]],"date-time":"2023-09-29T11:08:38Z","timestamp":1695985718000},"page":"285-296","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Long-term effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with speech language therapy (SLT) on post-stroke aphasia patients: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"53","author":[{"given":"Yue","family":"You","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yue","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huimin","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiang","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ling","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","reference":[{"issue":"5","key":"10.3233\/NRE-230099_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brs.2016.05.004","article-title":"A systematic review on the acceptability and tolerability of transcranial direct current stimulation treatment in neuropsychiatry trials","volume":"9","author":"Apar\u00edcio,","year":"2016","journal-title":"Brain Stimul"},{"issue":"3","key":"10.3233\/NRE-230099_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1080\/096020100389138","article-title":"Cognitive neuropsychological rehabilitation: The emperor\u2019s new clothes","volume":"10","author":"Basso,","year":"2000","journal-title":"Neuropsychological Rehabilitation"},{"issue":"2","key":"10.3233\/NRE-230099_ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1586\/14737175.9.2.175","article-title":"Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics: Recent stroke highlights","volume":"9","author":"Biller,","year":"2009","journal-title":"Expert Rev Neurother"},{"issue":"8","key":"10.3233\/NRE-230099_ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1133","DOI":"10.1017\/s1461145710001690","article-title":"A systematic review on reporting and assessment of adverse effects associated with transcranial direct current stimulation","volume":"14","author":"Brunoni,","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int J Neuropsychopharmacol"},{"key":"10.3233\/NRE-230099_ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"264","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2019.04.019","article-title":"Are transcranial brain stimulation effects long-lasting in post-stroke aphasia? 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