Magnetic stimulation could aid stroke recovery

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new therapy that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the brain can improve recovery after a stroke.
There has been interest in using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to help patients with depression and Parkinson's disease. Now a team at Harvard Medical School reveals that TMS is useful in helping recovery from stroke.

TMS involves placing an insulated wire coil on the scalp, passing through a small electric current, and allowing the resulting magnetic pulses to stimulate the brain. In this study, eight patients were subject to tests before and after having three sessions of stimulation. The tests involved motor function in the hand that had been affected by stroke.

Compared to controls, receiving 'sham' TMS, and healthy controls, those getting the treatment did better by up to 50 per cent in the functioning tests. Given that TMS is non-invasive and painless, this approach looks very promising for stroke patients. It now needs to be tested on a larger group.

Source
Neurology 24th May 2005

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