| Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of synchronized transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in hyperbaric oxygen chamber on post-stroke fatigue and its impact on serum inflammatory factors. Methods: A total of 90 patients with post-stroke fatigue hospitalized in our hospital from June 2021 to November 2022 were randomly divided into three groups: A, B and C, with 30 patients in each group. Group A was given routine treatment, group B was treated with hyperbaric oxygen combined with synchronized tDCS on the basis of group A, and group C was treated with hyperbaric oxygen combined with Sham synchronized tDCS on the basis of group A. The changes in the scores of fatigue severity scale (FSS) and multidimensional fatigue scale (MFI-20) in three groups before and 4 weeks after treatment were evaluated, and the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected. Results: For comparison before and after treatment in each group, and among groups after treatment, FSS score and MFI-20 score in group A showed a downward trend, but the difference was not statistically significant; The FSS score and MFI-20 score in group B and group C decreased significantly (P<0.05); In three groups, serum levels of CRP, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were all decreased with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the FSS score and MFI-20 score in group B and group C were lower than those in the group A, and those in group B were the lowest (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum CRP concentration among the three groups. IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α concentrations in groups B and C were lower than those in the group A, and those in the group B was the lowest (P<0.05). IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations were positively correlated with FSS score and MFI-20 score in group B at 4th week after treatment. Conclusion: Synchronized tDCS in hyperbaric oxygen chamber can effectively improve the degree of fatigue in patients with post-stroke fatigue, and its mechanism may be related to the reduction of the concentration of serum proinflammatory cytokines. |
