|
Ed. Note: The following is a press release issued by the Imperial
College of Science, Technology, and Medicine in the UK.
10-May-2004
A preliminary study has shown for the first time that it
may be possible to help people who have suffered partial damage to their spinal
cord by applying a magnetic therapy to their brain.
Writing in this month's Spinal Cord, a team of UK doctors describe how
patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries received repetitive transcranial
magnetic stimulation (rTMS), leading to improvements in their ability to move
muscles and limbs, and ability to feel sensations.
rTMS uses an electromagnet placed on the scalp to generate brief magnetic
pulses, about the strength of an MRI scan, which stimulate the part of the brain
called the cerebral cortex. Incomplete spinal cord injuries are a type of spinal
injury where the spinal cord has not been entirely severed, but the patient has
still lost the ability to move or feel properly below the injury point.
Dr Nick Davey from Imperial College London and Charing Cross Hospital, and
one of the study's authors, says: "Through rTMS we may be able to help people
who have suffered partial injuries to the spinal cord recover some of their
movement and feeling. We think it works by strengthening the information leaving
the brain through the undamaged neurons in the spinal cord. It may work like
physiotherapy but instead of repeating a physical task, the machine activates
the surviving nerves to strengthen their connections."
The researchers from Imperial College London, the National Spinal Injuries
Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, UK, and Charing Cross Hospital, UK, tested
rTMS on four patients with incomplete spinal injuries. The patients had all
sustained their injuries at least 18 months previously and had already received
conventional rehabilitation including physiotherapy. They were all considered
stable in that they were no longer undergoing natural improvement. The patients
received both real and sham rTMS treatment over a three-week period. The rTMS
treatment involved five consecutive days of magnetic stimulation for one hour
per day.
They noticed no difference between the baseline and the sham treatment, but
found that the rTMS treatment resulted in a 37.5 (+/– 8) percent drop in
intracortical inhibition, compared with normal physiotherapy. Weaker
intracortical inhibition makes it easier for messages from the brain to pass
down the spinal cord to the rest of the body. This reduction in intracortical
inhibition was accompanied by improvement in both motor and sensory function,
which lasted for at least three weeks after the treatment. Reduced intracortical
inhibition also occurs naturally and can facilitate functional recovery, and
this is reflected in improvements to the patients' ability to move and feel.
rTMS was a treatment designed to treat psychiatric disorders, and has been
used in treating some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Dr Davey adds: "Despite this, we still need to be extremely careful in
interpreting these results as we only sampled a small number of patients.
Further studies on larger groups of patients will need to be carried out before
we will know if this treatment is fully effective. Similarly we have no idea how
long the treatment benefits will last over a longer period."
This work was supported by the International Spinal Research Trust, and Dr
Davey and his team have recently received a further grant, again from the
International Spinal Research Trust, to carry out further, larger trials.
###
Notes:
1. Magnetic brain stimulation can improve clinical
outcome in incomplete spinal cord injured patients. Spinal Cord, May 2004. 2.
Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College
London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for
excellence in teaching and research attracts students (10,000) and staff (5,000)
of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College
explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and
delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the
environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture. Website: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/.
Contact: Tony Stephenson
at.stephenson@imperial.ac.uk
44-207-594-6712
Imperial College of Science,
Technology and Medicine
Return To Table Of
Contents |