Abstract Details

Title Multi-Session Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Causes Inflammatory and Regenerative Processes in the Rat Brain

Topic Neural Repair/Rehabilitation

Presentation(s) S14 - (-)

Poster/Presentation
Number 005

Objective

Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is increasingly being used in human studies as an adjuvant tool to promote recovery of function after stroke. However, its neurobiological effects are still largely unknown. Electric fields are known to influence the migration of various cell types in vitro, but effects in vivo remain to be shown.

Design/Methods Adult Wistar rats (n = 16) were randomized to either anodal or cathodal stimulation for either 5 or 10 consecutive days (500 [mu]A, 15 min). Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was given systemically to label dividing cells throughout the experiment. Immunohistochemical analyses ex vivo included stainings for activated microglia and endogenous neural stem cells(NSC).

Results Multi-session tDCS with the chosen parameters did not cause a cortical lesion. An innate immune response with early upregulation of Iba1-positive activated microglia occurred after both cathodal and anodal tDCS. The involvement of adaptive immunity as assessed by ICAM1-immunoreactivity was less pronounced. Most interestingly, only cathodal tDCS increased the number of endogenous NSC in the stimulated cortex. After 10 days of cathodal stimulation, proliferating NSC increased by [sim]60%, with a significant effect of both polarity and number of tDCS sessions on the recruitment of NSC.

Conclusions We demonstrate a pro-inflammatory effect of both cathodal and anodal tDCS, and a polarity-specific migratory effect on endogenous NSC in vivo. Our data indicate that the therapeutic effect of tDCS in stroke might at least in part result from NSC activation and the modulation of neuroinflammation.

Authors/Disclosures
Michael Schroeter (Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne) PRESENTER	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
Gereon Fink (Forschungszentrum Julich)	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file

��ɫ��

��ɫ��