title: Daily left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for medication-resistant burning mouth syndrome.
abstract: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a persistent and chronic burning sensation in the mouth in the absence of any abnormal organic findings. The pathophysiology of BMS is unclear and its treatment is not fully established. Although antidepressant medication is commonly used for treatment, there are some medication-resistant patients, and a new treatment for medication-resistant BMS is needed. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technology approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of depression. Recent studies have found beneficial effects of TMS for the treatment of pain. A case of BMS treated successfully with daily left prefrontal rTMS over a 2-week period is reported here. Based on this patient's clinical course and a recent pain study, the mechanism by which TMS may act to decrease the burning pain is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Brain Stimulation Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. Electronic address: umezaki@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Umezaki
authors.affiliation: Brain Stimulation Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Badran
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral Pathology, College of Dental Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.affiliation: Brain Stimulation Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA; Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D002054:Burning Mouth Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: burning mouth syndrome; chronic pain; left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; transcranial magnetic stimulation