title: The Factors Associated with Good Responses to Speech Therapy Combined with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Post-stroke Aphasic Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine factors associated with good responses to speech therapy combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in aphasic patients after stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  The language function was evaluated using Korean version of Western aphasia battery (K-WAB) before and after speech therapy with tDCS in 37 stroke patients. Patients received speech therapy for 30 minutes over 2 to 3 weeks (10 sessions) while the cathodal tDCS was performed to the Brodmann area 45 with 1 mA for 20 minutes. We compared the improvement of aphasia quotient % (AQ%) between two evaluation times according to age, sex, days after onset, stroke type, aphasia type, brain lesion confirmed by magnetic resonance image and initial severity of aphasia. The factors related with good responses were also checked.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AQ% improved from pre- to post-therapy (14.94±6.73%, p<0.001). AQ% improvement was greater in patients with less severe, fluent type of aphasia who received treatment before 30 days since stroke was developed (p<0.05). The adjusted logistic regression model revealed that patients with hemorrhagic stroke were more likely to achieve good responses (odds ratio=4.897, p<0.05) relative to infarction. Initial severity over 10% in AQ% was also found to be significantly associated with good improvement (odds ratio=8.618, p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Speech therapy with tDCS was established as a treatment tool for aphasic patients after stroke. Lower initial severity was associated with good responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam 463-707, Korea.
authors.forename: Il-Young
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Jong Youb
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Eun Kyoung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Hae Min
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Nam-Jong
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Paik