ESOC 2021 | NETS trial: implications & next steps

The NETS trial (NCT00909714) was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial testing the safety and efficacy of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to the primary motor cortex of the lesioned hemisphere in the subacute phase after cerebral ischemia. Trial findings reported at the ESOC 2021 virtual meeting showed that tDCS did not enhance upper extremity recovery after stroke, with no relevant differences seen in the change in upper-extremity function scores from baseline to the end of the intervention period, between the active stimulation group and those undergoing a sham procedure. Christian Gerloff, MD, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, talks on the implications of these findings, and why the trial design may have limited the ability to detect a benefit attributable to neurostimulation. This interview took place at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC), 2021.