Improvement of hand dexterity following motor cortex rTMS in multiple sclerosis patients with cerebellar impairment.
We tested the effects of 5-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the motor cortex in multiple sclerosis (MS) subjects with cerebellar symptoms. rTMS improved hand dexterity in cerebellar patients (n=8) but not in healthy subjects (n=7), as detected by a significant transient reduction of the time required to complete the nine-hole pegboard task. rTMS of the motor cortex may be a useful approach to treat cerebellar impairment in MS patients.
Koch
G
G
Clinica Neurologica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. giakoch@libero.it
Rossi
S
S
Prosperetti
C
C
Codecà
C
C
Monteleone
F
F
Petrosini
L
L
Bernardi
G
G
Centonze
D
D
D000328:Adult; D002524:Cerebellar Ataxia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation