Abstract
Objective. Evidence suggests that fibromyalgia (FM) is a centrally mediated pain disorder. Antidepressants, including electroconvulsive therapy, provide some symptomatic relief in FM and other pain disorders. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a new antidepressant treatment, which may also be useful in treating chronic pain. Design. As part of a larger study, four women with depression, FM, and borderline personality disorder received 1-Hz rTMS applied to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Subjects rated pain using an 11-point Likert scale. Results. Pretreatment pain averaged 8.2 (7-9.5) and reduced to 1.5 (0-3.5) after treatment (P < 0.009). All had improvement in pain, and two had complete resolution of pain. Only one of the four subjects had an antidepressant response. Conclusions. These preliminary findings suggest a possible role for rTMS in treating FM.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 115-118 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Pain Medicine |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2006 |
Keywords
- Borderline personality disorder
- Chronic Pain
- Depression
- Fibromyalgia
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine