title: Treatment of spasticity with repetitive magnetic stimulation; a double-blind placebo-controlled study.
abstract: The effect of repetitive magnetic stimulation on spasticity was evaluated in 38 patients with multiple sclerosis in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. One group was treated with repetitive magnetic stimulation (n = 21) and the other group with sham stimulation (n = 17). Both groups were treated twice daily for 7 consecutive days. Primary end-points of the study were changes in the patients self-score, in clinical spasticity score, and in the stretch reflex threshold. The self-score of ease of daily day activities improved by 22% (P = 0.007) after treatment and by 29% (P = 0.004) after sham stimulation. The clinical spasticity score improved -3.3 +/- 4.7 arbitrary unit (AU) in treated patients and 0.7 +/- 2.5 AU in sham stimulation (P = 0.003). The stretch reflex threshold increased 4.3 +/- 7.5 deg/s in treated patients and -3.8 +/- 9.7 deg/s in sham stimulation (P = 0.001). The data presented in this study supports the idea that repetitive magnetic stimulation has an antispastic effect in multiple sclerosis. Future studies should clarify the optimal treatment regimen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sinkjaer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004056:Differential Threshold; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D005260:Female; D006181:H-Reflex; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009132:Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D012026:Reflex, Stretch; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014836:Volition