Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2025
Author Spotlight: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Movement Observation in Cerebral Palsy
Published on: August 9, 2024
Efficacy of cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3: a randomized,
Yuting Shi1,2,3, Guangdong Zou1, Zhao Chen1,2,4,3
1Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, China.
Background:
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is the most common subtype of SCA without effective treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) in a larger cohort of SCA3 patients.
Methods:
One hundred and twenty patients with SCA3 were randomly assigned to the 3 groups: 40 patients in the 1 Hz rTMS, 40 in the iTBS and 40 in the sham group. Patients underwent 10 sessions of rTMS targeting the cerebellum delivering for 5 consecutive days per week for 2 weeks (a total of 1200 pulses per session). Primary outcomes included the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS). Secondary outcomes included 10-m walking test (10MWT), nine-hole peg test (9-HPT), and PATA Rate Test (PRT). Outcome assessments were performed at baseline and on the last day of rTMS intervention.
Results:
This study revealed that active rTMS outperformed sham in reducing the SARA and ICARS scores in SCA3 patients, but with no difference between the 1 Hz rTMS and iTBS protocol. Moreover, no significant differences were observed in SARA and ICARS scores between the mild and moderate to severe groups after the 1 Hz rTMS/iTBS therapy. Additionally, no severe adverse events were recorded in this study.
Conclusions:
The study concluded that both 1 Hz rTMS and iTBS interventions targeting the cerebellum are effective to improve the symptoms of ataxia in patients with SCA3.
