Abstract
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS)of the primary motor cortex has been reported to be effective for the treatment of various types of neuropathic pain. However, the clinical effects of rTMS for the treatment of post-stroke pain are unclear. The present study investigated rTMS-induced analgesia in patients with post-stroke pain, and the clinical use of rTMS in the treatment of post-stroke pain is discussed. Changes in a visual analog scale(VAS)measuring pain following rTMS(sham and real)of the primary motor cortex(frequency 5Hz, at 100% resting motor threshold, 500 pulses per session)were examined in 20 post-stroke pain patients. No side effects related to rTMS were observed. The real rTMS significantly reduced the patientsʼ VAS scores immediately after rTMS, and the score reduction persisted for 300 min after rTMS(p<0.05, ANOVA).These results indicate the usefulness of rTMS for the treatment of post-stroke pain with a high amount of safety.
