http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/24831/
Researchers on the University
of Cincinnati medical campus are testing the possible benefits of brain
stimulation on hand and arm function for stroke recovery patients.
The
clinical trial, known as NICHE (for Navigated Inhibitory rTMS to
Contralesional Hemisphere), is recruiting participants who have had a
stroke in the past year. It involves a combination of occupational
therapy and a method of non-invasive brain stimulation called
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). (rTMS is repetitive
transcranial magnetic stimulation.)
UC
is one of 12 sites for the study, all in the United States. Principal
investigators for the UC site are Kari Dunning, PT, PhD, an associate
professor and epidemiologist in the College of Allied Health’s
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and director of the Neural
Excitability, Therapeutics and Recovery (NET Recovery) lab, and Brett
Kissela, MD, MS, Albert Barnes Voorheis Professor and Chair of Neurology
and Rehabilitation Medicine in the College of Medicine and a member of
the UC Neuroscience Institute.
"There
is evidence that people who have sustained a stroke can improve arm
movement following stimulation to the brain using TMS,” says Dunning.
"Our aim is to test this approach and quantify the results.”
Dunning
explains that TMS can reduce or increase brain activity. By using it to
reduce brain activity on the uninjured side of the brain, she says, the
injured side is forced to work harder and might have a better chance of
recovering.
The
study will use a navigated brain stimulation device manufactured by
Nexstim Ltd., which is funding the trial. Dunning and Kissela report no
conflicts.
Participants
will be divided into two groups, one of which will receive rTMS
treatment and the other receiving sham (placebo) rTMS. Both groups will
receive task-oriented rehabilitation from a licensed therapist. It is a
randomized, controlled, double-blinded study, which means that neither
participants nor investigators know which treatment is being used.
The therapy will be provided for six weeks, and primary outcomes assessed six months later.
To
qualify, participants must be 18 or older, have had their stroke three
to 12 months prior to enrollment in the study and have hand and arm
weakness on one side of their body. Exclusion criteria include implanted
devices such as pacemakers or defibrillators, pregnancy, depression and
active alcohol abuse.
The therapy and treatments are free of charge. Participants will be compensated over the follow-up period.
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