AI Article Synopsis
- This study explored how repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) affects the quality of life (QoL) in fibromyalgia patients, using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design with 38 participants.
- Results showed that those receiving active rTMS had significant improvements in quality of life (assessed via the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) compared to the sham group, particularly in mental health aspects.
- The findings suggest that the QoL improvements relate to increased brain metabolism in the right medial temporal area, supporting the idea that rTMS positively influences emotional and social well-being in fibromyalgia patients.
Article Abstract
Objective: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study investigated the impact of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on quality of life (QoL) of patients with fibromyalgia, and its possible brain metabolic substrate.
Methods: Thirty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive high-frequency rTMS (n = 19) or sham stimulation (n = 19), applied to left primary motor cortex in 14 sessions over 10 weeks. Primary clinical outcomes were QoL changes at the end of week 11, measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Secondary clinical outcomes were mental and physical QoL component measured using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), but also pain, mood, and anxiety. Resting-state [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET metabolism was assessed at baseline, week 2, and week 11. Whole-brain voxel-based analysis was performed to study between-group metabolic changes over time.
Results: At week 11, patients of the active rTMS group had greater QoL improvement in the FIQ (p = 0.032) and in the mental component of the SF-36 (p = 0.019) than the sham stimulation group. No significant impact was found for other clinical outcomes. Compared with the sham stimulation group, patients of the active rTMS group presented an increase in right medial temporal metabolism between baseline and week 11 (p < 0.001), which was correlated with FIQ and mental component SF-36 concomitant changes (r = -0.38, p = 0.043; r = 0.51, p = 0.009, respectively). QoL improvement involved mainly affective, emotional, and social dimensions.
Conclusion: Our study shows that rTMS improves QoL of patients with fibromyalgia. This improvement is associated with a concomitant increase in right limbic metabolism, arguing for a neural substrate to the impact of rTMS on emotional dimensions involved in QoL.
Classification Of Evidence: This study provides Class II evidence that rTMS compared with sham rTMS improves QoL in patients with fibromyalgia.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000000280 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!