Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2026
Repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Action Observation Training in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy
Published on: August 9, 2024
Cervical Dystonia Treatment with Injections Supplemented by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: The D-TWIST Pilot
Jessica Frey1, Aparna Wagle Shukla2, Janine Lobo Lopes3
1Department of Neurology, West Virginia University, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Background:
For some patients with cervical dystonia (CD), botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections last less than 12 weeks.
Objectives:
To determine if a novel, accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol is a safe and feasible adjunctive treatment with BoNT for CD.
Methods:
Patients with CD reporting BoNT benefit lasting ≤9 weeks were enrolled in a randomized double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover study. The Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS), mood, cognitive, and gait measures were collected before, after, and 2-weeks following rTMS/SHAM.
Results:
In a homogenous subset of patients (N = 4/5), TWSTRS scores were lower 2-weeks following rTMS, but evidence of an effect was potentially limited by sample size. There was little evidence of rTMS effects on mood, cognition, or gait.
Conclusions:
Accelerated rTMS for CD was safe, feasible, and well-tolerated; larger randomized studies are needed to determine whether accelerated rTMS may be an effective treatment bridge for dystonia symptoms.
