TENS for the treatment of writer's cramp dystonia: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Manipulation of afferent inputs may temporarily modulate dystonic spasms. Ten patients with writer's cramp were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study in which the effects of transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) and placebo treatment were compared. Patients were evaluated using four measures of dystonic impairment. The TENS group showed a significant improvement that persisted for 3 weeks in three of the four measures.
Tinazzi
M
M
Unità Operativa di Neurologia, Azienda Ospedaliera di Verona, Verona, Italy. micheletinazzi@libero.it
Farina
S
S
Bhatia
K
K
Fiaschi
A
A
Moretto
G
G
Bertolasi
L
L
Zarattini
S
S
Smania
N
N
D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D020821:Dystonic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D015990:Placebo Effect; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome