Trials / Completed
CompletedNCT00001666
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Treatment of Poorly Controlled Partial Epilepsy
Drug Refractory Partial Epilepsy, A Therapeutic Trial With Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Status
- Completed
- Phase
- —
- Study type
- Observational
- Enrollment
- 32 (planned)
- Sponsor
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) · NIH
- Sex
- All
- Age
- —
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
Summary
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that can be used to stimulate brain activity and gather information about brain function. It is very useful when studying the areas of the brain related to motor activity (motor cortex, corticospinal tract, and corpus callosum). Epilepsy is a condition associated with seizures as a result of an over excitable cerebral cortex. Despite the introduction of several new antiepileptic medications, less than half of the patients diagnosed with partial epilepsy are well controlled. However, studies have shown that non-invasive stimulation of the brain can decrease the excitability of the cerebral cortex. Researchers are interested in the potential therapeutic effects of TMS on patients with epilepsy that have responded poorly to standard medication. This study will use TMS to decrease the excitability of the areas of the brain responsible for seizures.
Detailed description
The purpose of this protocol is to study the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at 1 Hz on the excitability of the seizure focus in patients with poorly controlled epilepsy refractory to pharmacological treatments. 1 Hz TMS is a rate proven to induce long term depression in animal models and reported to decrease the excitability of both human and animal cerebral cortex.
Conditions
Interventions
| Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| DEVICE | Cadwell High-Speed Magnetoelectric Stimulator | |
| DEVICE | Magpro High-Speed Magnetoelectric Stimulator |
Timeline
- Start date
- 1997-03-01
- Completion
- 2002-06-01
- First posted
- 1999-11-04
- Last updated
- 2008-03-04
Locations
1 site across 1 country: United States
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00001666. Inclusion in this directory is not an endorsement.