Very early after the onset of the focal perfusion deficit, excitotoxic mechanisms can lethally damage neurons and glia. Excitotoxicity triggers a number of events that can further contribute to tissue death. Such events include peri-infarct depolarizations (PID) and cortical spreading depolarization (CSD) within the peri-infarct zone or ischaemic penumbra. Noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are emerging as promising tools, owing to their effects on modulating cortical activity. Experimental studies have indicated that cathodic polarization of the cortical surface blocks initiation of CSD. Moreover, it has been recently demonstrated in murine stroke models that cathodal tDCS exerts a measurable neuroprotective effect in the acute phase of stroke, decreasing the number of spreading depolarizations and reducing the infarct volume by 20 to 30%. The investigators propose here a pilot study, in acute middle cerebral artery stroke patients, with a double blind randomization: cathodal tDCS versus sham tDCS. The duration of this study will be two years. Fifty acute middle cerebral artery stroke patients will be included. The tDCS will begin within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. The main criteria of evaluation will be the extent of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) infarct volume between imaging on admission and 24 hours later. The investigators propose the hypothesis that in acute stroke patients, cathodal tDCS could be an adjuvant approach to recanalizing therapies.
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Brain MRI diffusion weighted images
Timeframe: Day 1
Martine GAVARET, MD, PhD