Experimental therapy of epilepsy with transcranial magnetic stimulation: lack of additional benefit with prolonged treatment.

Objective: To investigate the effect of three months of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment in intractable epilepsy.

Methods: Five patients (four males, one female; ages 6 to 50 years), were enrolled in the study; their epilepsy could not be controlled by medical treatment and surgery was not indicated. rTMS was performed twice a week for three months; patients kept records of seizure frequency for an equal period of time before, during, and after rTMS sessions.