Treatment of spasticity with repetitive magnetic stimulation; a double-blind placebo-controlled study

Abstract

The effect of repetitive magnetic stimulation on spasticity was evaluated in 38 patients with multiple sclerosis in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. One group was treated with repetitive magnetic stimulation (n = 21) and the other group with sham stimulation (n = 17). Both groups were treated twice daily for 7 consecutive days. Primary end-points of the study were changes in the patients self-score, in clinical spasticity score, and in the stretch reflex threshold. The self-score of ease of daily day activities improved by 22% (P = 0.007) after treatment and by 29% (P = 0.004) after sham stimulation. The clinical spasticity score improved -3.3 +/- 4.7 arbitrary unit (AU) in treated patients and 0.7 +/- 2.5 AU in sham stimulation (P = 0.003). The stretch reflex threshold increased 4.3 +/- 7.5 deg/s in treated patients and -3.8 +/- 9.7 deg/s in sham stimulation (P = 0.001). The data presented in this study supports the idea that repetitive magnetic stimulation has an antispastic effect in multiple sclerosis. Future studies should clarify the optimal treatment regimen.