Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42163316›Full record

Trial reportAdvances in rheumatology (London, England)2026

Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation for persistent pain state in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized trial.

Stephanie Pilotti, Lucas Denardi Dória, Maria Luisa Gasparini, Natália Garcia Dos Santos, Barbara Regina França, André Luiz Silveira Mallmann, André Lucas Ribeiro, Leonardo Peterson Dos Santos, Daniel Nóbrega de Moraes, Rafaela Cavalheiro do Espírito Santo and 4 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Advances in rheumatology (London, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Stephanie PilottiPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. spilotti@hcpa.edu.br.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1474-6220
Lucas Denardi DóriaPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Maria Luisa GaspariniPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Natália Garcia Dos SantosPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Barbara Regina FrançaPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
André Luiz Silveira MallmannPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
André Lucas RibeiroPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Leonardo Peterson Dos SantosPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Daniel Nóbrega de MoraesPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Rafaela Cavalheiro do Espírito SantoLaboratório de Doenças Autoimunes, Serviço de Reumatologia, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Claiton Viegas BrenolPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Iraci L S TorresPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Wolnei CaumoPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Ricardo Machado XavierPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough effectively controlling inflammation, up to 50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience persistent pain, associated with central sensitization and neuroinflammation. Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown efficacy in chronic pain.

objectiveTo investigate whether anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) is more effective than sham stimulation in reducing pain.

methodsRandomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial with 34 women (18-70 years) with RA and VAS > 40 mm. Participants were randomized to receive a-tDCS (n = 17) or sham tDCS (n = 17). Home-based tDCS (2 mA, 20 min/day) or sham (2 mA, 90 s) for four weeks, using anodal-left M1 montage. Primary outcomes was pain (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS), Secondary outcomes included pressure pain threshold (PPT), central sensitization (CSI), physical function (HAQ-DI), fatigue (FACIT-F), CNS biomarkers, adherence, and safety.

resultsMean VAS reduction from baseline was greater in the a-tDCS group (-33.5 mm) versus s-tDCS (-14.1 mm), with a between-group difference of -19.4 mm (95% CI, -29.3 to -9.5; p = 0.003). Linear mixed-effects models showed that a-tDCS reduced VAS pain by 27.7% versus 6.0% with sham, a between-group difference of 21.7% (Cohen's d = 1.15). HAQ-DI improved by 38.0% versus 7.2% (ES = 1.10). a-tDCS reduced analgesic use by 62% (RR = 0.38; 95% CI, 0.18-0.79). Exploratory analyses suggested that neuroplasticity mechanisms might mediate these effects.

conclusionHome-based a-tDCS effectively reduced pain, disability, and analgesic use in RA patients with persistent pain without objective inflammation.

Indexed as

Arthritis, RheumatoidChronic PainPain ManagementTranscranial Direct Current StimulationAdolescentAdultAgedCentral Nervous System SensitizationDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPain MeasurementPain ThresholdTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultCentral sensitizationChronic painRheumatoid arthritisTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Identifiers

PMID42163316
PMCPMC13488835

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.