The effects of 1HZ rTMS preconditioned by transcranial direct current stimulation on hypokinetic gait in Parkinson's disease

Background: Hypokinetic gait disorder is a common and very disabling symptom in Parkinsons's disease (PD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to improve hypokinesia in PD. Here we present a pilot study designed to evaluate the effects of low frequency rTMS stimulation over the primary motor cortex (M1) preconditioned by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on hypokinetic gait in PD. Methods: Three-dimensional kinematic gait analysis was performed i) prior to; immediately after ii) and 25 minutes after low frequency rTMS (1Hz, 900 pulses, 15min, 100% of resting motor thre…