New Approaches and Neuro-Technology for Treatment, Diagnosis and Symptom Monitoring of Neurological Diseases

A Special Issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059) belonging to the section "Neurobiology and Clinical Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 658

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa di Cura Igea, Milan, Italy
Interests: neuropsychology; cognition; multiple sclerosis; parkinson's disease

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
Interests: multiple sclerosis; demyelinating diseases; neurophysiology; evoked potentials; neuromodulation; non invasive brain stimulation; optical coherence tomography
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neurological diseases of various etiologies like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, stroke, and neuromuscular diseases share fundamental clinical care challenges: the need for earlier diagnosis, more effective and personalized treatments, and reliable long-term monitoring tools.

On the therapeutic side, disease-modifying therapies continue to advance across conditions, and both invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation approaches (e.g., deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic/electrical stimulation) show growing promise both as stand-alone and adjunct interventions. Concurrently, digital technologies, such as wearable sensors, AI-assisted neuroimaging, digital cognitive and motor assessments, and patient-reported outcomes, are transforming how we diagnose and monitor neurological disease, with the potential to replace conventional clinical trial endpoints.

This Special Issue invites submissions on novel treatment strategies, as well as biomarkers and digital tools that advance the diagnosis, monitoring, or clinical trial methodology across the spectrum of neurological diseases. Reviews are accepted, although original research studies are particularly encouraged.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michelangelo Dini
Dr. Letizia Leocani
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • neurological diseases
  • neuroinflammation
  • neurodegeneration
  • stroke
  • treatment
  • neuromodulation
  • digital biomarkers
  • artificial intelligence
  • wearables
  • sensors
  • eHealth
  • telemedicine

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2079 KB  
Article
Evaluating the Effects of Combined Transcutaneous Spinal Direct Current Stimulation and Exercise Therapy on Pain and Psychological Symptoms in Fibromyalgia Patients: A Prospective Randomized Study
by Angelica De Sandi, Daniele Saccenti, Maurizio Vergari, Denise Mellace, Eleonora Zirone, Giada Aglieco, Martina Nigro, Giorgia Boboni, Stefano Zago, Filippo Cogiamanian, Gabriella Pravettoni, Alberto Priori and Roberta Ferrucci
Biomedicines 2026, 14(9), 2007; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines14092007 - 7 Sep 2026
Abstract
Background: Chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia have been associated with worsening health-related quality of life and increased incidence of comorbid psychiatric disorders, underscoring the need for targeted interventions. Transcutaneous spinal direct-current stimulation (tsDCS) and exercise therapy (ET) have been identified as [...] Read more.
Background: Chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia have been associated with worsening health-related quality of life and increased incidence of comorbid psychiatric disorders, underscoring the need for targeted interventions. Transcutaneous spinal direct-current stimulation (tsDCS) and exercise therapy (ET) have been identified as promising non-pharmacological tools due to their capacity to inhibit pain transmission. However, empirical evidence regarding a combined efficacy remains limited. The aim of this work was, therefore, to test the effects of a multimodal treatment protocol on pain and psychological symptoms. Methods: Forty-five patients with fibromyalgia were recruited and randomly assigned to the tsDCS, ET, or combined tsDCS + ET group for a three-week period. Participants were assessed at baseline, one week after the start of treatment, at the end of the treatment (T2), and at 3-month follow-up (T3) using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Analysis of variance applied to linear mixed-effect models showed significant group-by-time interaction effects on both HADS domains (anxiety: p = 0.004; depression: p = 0.028). Post hoc pairwise comparisons highlighted that tsDCS + ET decreased subjects’ anxiety at both T2 (p = 0.002) and T3 (p < 0.001) compared to baseline. Yet, significant comparisons were not found for depression. No significant interactions were detected on VAS, BPI, and SF-12 scores. Conclusions: Although between-group differences were not observed, the integration of neuromodulation with physical activity resulted in a significant improvement in patients’ anxiety-related symptoms severity, suggesting a potential added benefit. Full article
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