Safety and Tolerability of Weak Transcranial Stimulation with Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields in Neuropathic Pain Patients.

Kleijer, H. (Hidde) (2013) Safety and Tolerability of Weak Transcranial Stimulation with Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields in Neuropathic Pain Patients. thesis, Medicine.

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Abstract

Neuropathic pain is notoriously hard to combat, leaving its sufferers often in daily pain. Weak Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) with Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMF) could be a practical and effective new way to relieve neuropathic pain. Previous research has shown analgesic effects of TMS in healthy volunteers and fibromyalgia patients. This study aimed to investigate whether the TMS device developed within our research group can be safely and tolerably applied in a neuropathic pain patient population, in order to know if we could safely proceed with testing for an analgesic effect in this population with a longer stimulation period. In addition, we aimed to investigate whether participants could discriminate between active and sham stimulation and to check for preliminary analgesic effects. To these ends cognitive function, motor function, and emotional state were tested during TMS. Analgesic effects were preliminary investigated on a Verbal Analog Scale (VAS), participants were asked repeatedly whether they thought stimulation was on or off, and were debriefed after stimulation. Results showed an effect on cognitive function: scores on the Digit-to-Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) seemed to gradually increase during the TMS period regardless of sham or active stimulation. Other results showed a possible decrease on the tension and anxiety subscale of the Profile of Moods Scale (POMS) and a possible downward trend of negative affect measured on the Positive and Negative Affect scale (PANAS). However, none of these findings on emotional state survived correction for multiple comparisons. Results did not show any decrease in neuropathic pain scores and participants could not discriminate between active and sham stimulation. Considering all results, we conclude there is no evidence of adverse effects of our TMS device using PEMF in a neuropathic pain patient population and that it is suitable for sham-controlled studies. To obtain an analgesic effect, stimulation may have to be applied longer; a follow-up study has been started.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Kortekaas, Dr. R. and Ćurčić-Blake, Dr. B.
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 10:44
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 10:45
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/604

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