Effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with Parkinson disease

Abstract

Objective The aim was to study the possible effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment option in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) whose conditions become complicated owing to either progression of the disease or adverse effects of the drugs. Background PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Drug-related motor complications, for example, dyskinesias, or nonmotor complications, for example, depression, happen in the later stages of the disease, even among those on levodopa therapy. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used in a wide range of diseases associated with motor dysfunction. rTMS has shown good improvement of clinical condition among patients with PD. Patients and methods The study is a prospective case–controlled clinical trial. A total of 40 patients with PD were included in the study and divided into two groups: group I underwent active rTMS (20 patients) and group II underwent sham stimulation (20 patients). Results Overall, 40 patients with complicated PD completed the study (group I included 20 patients and group II also had 20 patients). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding age, sex, duration of illness, or stage of the disease (P > 0.05). After rTMS application, group I showed significant results regarding the stage of the disease (P 0.05). Conclusion rTMS maybe a good addition to the management of motor symptoms and complications in complicated PD.