Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has a beneficial effect on bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease.
The effect of focal 5 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the motor hand area (M1) on bradykinesia was studied in 12 unmedicated patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). On 2 separate days, a real-rTMS was applied to M1 contralaterally to the more severely affected limb or a frontal sham-rTMS was applied 3 cm anteriorly to Fz in a random order. Stimulus intensity was 10% below resting motor threshold. Before and 20 min after rTMS, patients performed 15 consecutive pointing movements with the index finger contralaterally to the stimulated M1. Compared with sham-rTMS, real-rTMS over the contralateral M1 caused a significant decrease in total movement time without affecting end-point accuracy. Our data provide evidence that 5 Hz rTMS over M1 can improve bradykinesia in PD patients beyond the time of magnetic stimulation.
Siebner
H R
HR
Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Mentschel
C
C
Auer
C
C
Conrad
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation