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Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of seizures: a controlled study
W H Theodore1, K Hunter, R Chen
1Clinical Epilepsy, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. theodorw@ninds.nih.gov
Objective:
To perform a controlled trial of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Methods:
Twenty-four patients with localization-related epilepsy were randomized to blinded active or placebo stimulation. Weekly seizure frequency was compared for 8 weeks before and after 1 week of 1-Hz TMS for 15 minutes twice daily.
Results:
When the 8-week baseline and post-stimulation periods were compared, active patients had a mean seizure frequency reduction of 0.045 +/- 0.13 and sham-stimulated control subjects -0.004 +/- 0.20. Over 2 weeks, actively treated patients had a mean reduction in weekly seizure frequency of 0.16 +/- 0.18 and sham-stimulated control subjects 0.01 +/- 0.24. Neither difference was significant.
Conclusion:
The effect of TMS on seizure frequency was mild and short lived.