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Διακρανιακός μαγνητικός ερεθισμός στην πρόγνωση ασθενών με ΑΕΕ (Master thesis)

Καρατζέτζου, Στέλλα

Introduction: Stroke represents a major cause of functional disability with increasing prevalence. Thus, it is imperative that stroke prognosis be both timely and valid. Up to today, several biomarkers have been investigated in an attempt to forecast stroke patient’s potential for motor recovery, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) being among them. Aim: To explore the value of TMS as a prognostic tool in the early phase post-stroke. Material and methods: A literature research of two databases (MEDLINE and Scopus) was conducted in order to trace all relevant studies published between 1980 and 2021 that focused on the potential utility of TMS implementation on stroke prognosis. Only full-text articles published in English language were included. Results: 110 full-text articles have been traced and are included in this study. Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) recording is indicative of favorable prognosis concerning the motor recovery of upper and lower extremities’ weakness, swallowing and speech difficulties as well as the patient’s general functional outcome. On the contrary, MEP absence is usually associated with poor prognosis. Relative correlations have also been made among other TMS variants (excitation threshold, MEP amplitude, central motor conduction time) and the expected recovery rate. Conclusion: TMS represents a fast, safe and reproducible prognostic post-stroke that could resolve the prognostic uncertainties in many cases of stroke.