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Randomized Sham Controlled Double-blind Trial of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Adults With Severe Tourette Syndrome.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Landeros-Weisenberger, A; Mantovani, A; Motlagh, MG; de Alvarenga, PG; Katsovich, L; Leckman, JF; Lisanby, SH
Published in: Brain Stimul
2015

BACKGROUND: A small proportion of individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) have a lifelong course of illness that fails to respond to conventional treatments. Open label studies have suggested that low frequency (1-Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the supplementary motor area (SMA) may be effective in reducing tic severity. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: To examine the efficacy of rTMS over the SMA for TS in a randomized double-blind sham-controlled trial (RCT). METHODS: We conducted a two-site RCT-rTMS with 20 adults with severe TS for 3 weeks. Treatment consisted of 15 sessions (1-Hz; 30 min; 1800 pulses per day) of active or sham rTMS at 110% of the motor threshold over the SMA. A subsequent 3 week course of active rTMS treatment was offered. RESULTS: Of the 20 patients (16 males; mean age of 33.7 ± 12.2 years), 9 received active and 11 received sham rTMS. After 3 weeks, patients receiving active rTMS showed on average a 17.3% reduction in the YGTSS total tic score compared to a 13.2% reduction in those receiving sham rTMS, resulting in no statistically significant reduction in tic severity (P = 0.27). An additional 3 week open label active treatment for those patients (n = 7) initially randomized to active rTMS resulted in a significant overall 29.7% reduction in tic severity compared to baseline (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: This RCT did not demonstrate efficacy of 3-week SMA-targeted low frequency rTMS in the treatment of severe adult TS. Further studies using longer or alternative stimulation protocols are warranted.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Brain Stimul

DOI

EISSN

1876-4754

Publication Date

2015

Volume

8

Issue

3

Start / End Page

574 / 581

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Tourette Syndrome
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Motor Cortex
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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Landeros-Weisenberger, A., Mantovani, A., Motlagh, M. G., de Alvarenga, P. G., Katsovich, L., Leckman, J. F., & Lisanby, S. H. (2015). Randomized Sham Controlled Double-blind Trial of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Adults With Severe Tourette Syndrome. Brain Stimul, 8(3), 574–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2014.11.015
Journal cover image

Published In

Brain Stimul

DOI

EISSN

1876-4754

Publication Date

2015

Volume

8

Issue

3

Start / End Page

574 / 581

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Tourette Syndrome
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Motor Cortex
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female