Efficacy of Repetitive Trans-spinal Magnetic Stimulation for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Abstract

We evaluated the effect of repetitive trans-spinal magnetic stimulation (rTSMS) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in a randomised, single-blind study. Participants were hospitalised and administered a single trial of rTSMS or sham treatment 2 days a week for 4 weeks. In addition, all participants underwent rehabilitation 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the difference between the two groups in the mean change from baseline to post-training in the total score on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Secondary endpoints included the differences between the two groups in the mean change on the UPDRS part III (motor) score and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) score. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to either the rTSMS group (n = 50) or sham group (n = 50). The between-group difference in mean change in the total UPDRS score was 10.28 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.42 to 16.13; P = 0.014) immediately after intervention from baseline, 5.04 (95% CI, − 5.41 to 15.50; P = 0.024) 3 months after intervention from baseline and 2.38 (95% CI, 7.18 to 11.85; P = 0.045) 6 months after intervention from baseline. Significant differences between groups in UPDRS part III and TUG scores were maintained more strictly than those in the UPDRS total score. These results strongly indicate that rTSMS promotes the effect of rehabilitation on motor function in patients with PD.