Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treating Women With Chronic Widespread Pain

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in the Treatment of Chronic Widespread Pain (CWP)

While acute pain after surgery or trauma comes on suddenly and lasts for a limited amount of time, chronic pain persists and can continue for months and even years. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) uses a magnetic field to deliver a current to the brain and can affect brain activity. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of rTMS treatment in reducing chronic widespread pain in women.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression; Chronic Pain; Fibromyalgia
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: rTMS; Device: Sham rTMS

Detailed Description

Chronic widespread pain is characterized by musculoskeletal pain that lasts for at least 3 months, pain above and below the waist, pain on both the right and left sides, and pain in the head, neck, spine, or back. In addition to fatigue, chronic widespread pain is a hallmark feature of fibromyalgia. Significant physical and emotional effects usually accompany chronic widespread pain and fibromyalgia, making the development of effective treatments a priority. rTMS involves a neurophysiologic technique that directs a current into the brain by using a magnetic field to pass the scalp and skull safely and painlessly. Stimuli are applied to the same brain area several times per second during several consecutive seconds. rTMS has been found to be effective for treating certain types of chronic pain. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of rTMS treatment in reducing bodily pain associated with chronic widespread pain and/or fibromyalgia in women.

Participants in this study will undergo a diagnostic interview, physical and neurological exam, electrocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, and blood and urine collection for screening purposes. Eligible participants will then be randomly assigned to receive either rTMS treatment or sham rTMS treatment. One-hour daily treatment sessions will occur over 15 days. After every five treatment sessions, participants will be interviewed about their pain and depression symptoms, and they will fill out questionnaires about pain, depression, fatigue, sleep, and exercise. Participants will also undergo pain threshold and tolerance testing of their right thumb. On a daily basis, participants will rate their level of pain using a 0 to 20 scale. Follow-up evaluations will occur 1, 4, and 12 weeks after treatment and will include a repeat interview and testing. After the follow-up evaluations, any participants who did not respond to the sham treatment will be offered a series of 15 real rTMS treatment sessions.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 19
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98104
      • Harborview Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of chronic widespread pain as defined by the 1990 American College of Rheumatology guidelines: chronic musculoskeletal pain for at least 3 months; pain above and below the waist; pain on both right and left sides; pain at one axial site (e.g., head, neck, spine, or back)
• Willing to remain on a stable medical regimen during the entire 6-week course of Phase 1 treatment and 8 weeks prior to rTMS treatment
• Willing to undergo random assignment and able to attend treatment sessions
• Willing to remain on a stable psychotherapy regimen if currently receiving psychotherapy that has been ongoing for at least 3 months prior to study entry

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to maintain treatment as usual at stable doses for any medical or psychiatric conditions for 8 weeks prior to and during the study
• Another medical condition associated with significant pain (e.g., diabetic neuropathy, systemic lupus erythematosus, Rheumatoid arthritis, severe degenerative joint disease)
• Any condition that might increase the risk of seizures from TMS
• History of a seizure disorder or family history of a seizure disorder
• Previous use of TMS
• Involvement in litigation or disability that is related to fibromyalgia, chronic widespread pain, or depression
• Current use of proconvulsant medications (e.g., bupropion)
• Metal in the body that would prevent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or TMS (e.g., aneurysm clips, pacemakers, neurostimulators)
• History of head injury associated with loss of consciousness for more than 15 minutes, brain surgery, or lithium toxicity
• History of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder
• Current substance abuse or dependence
• Active suicidal intent or plan
• Severe claustrophobia that would prevent MRI
• Major depression with psychotic features or a current major depressive episode lasting longer than 5 years
• Pregnant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active rTMS; Active rTMS involves administration of real rTMS to the patient.	Device: rTMS; 10 Hz, 4-second trains, 26-second intertrain interval, 75 trains/session, 15 sessions at 120% motor threshold rTMS to left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Other Names: Neuronetics 2100 CRS rTMS System
Sham Comparator: Sham rTMS; Sham rTMS is a placebo or inactive form of rTMS for study control and comparison purposes.	Device: Sham rTMS; 10 Hz, 4-second trains, 26-second intertrain interval, 75 trains/session, 15 sessions of sham rTMS; Other Names: Neuronetics 2100 rTMS and James Long Integrated Sham System

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Gracely Box Intensity Rating Scale	The BIRS is reliable, valid, and sensitive measure that has been used in a number of studies of analgesics and studies of changes of pain intensity over time and was selected as the primary outcome variable. Each scale is a 20 point scale that has clear anchor points. Patients will be classified as responders if they have a 4 point drop or more on the BIRS. In order to be randomized, subjects were to have had a BIRS score of at least 8. Lower scores indicate less pain and higher scores indicate more pain. This measure was administered once a week at Baseline, at the end of weeks 1, 2, and 3 of TMS treatment, and 1 week post-TMS treatment.	Measured weekly

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Gracely Box Unpleasantness Scale	The BURS is reliable, valid, and sensitive measure that has been used in a number of studies of analgesics and studies of changes of pain unpleasantness over time. Each scale is a 20 point scale that has clear anchor points. Pain unpleasantness is different from pain intensity in that it assesses the affective and not the somatic aspect of the pain. Lower scores indicate less unpleasantness of pain and higher scores indicate more unpleasantness of pain. This measure was administered at Baseline, after weeks 1, 2, and 3 of TMS treatment, and 1 week post-TMS.	Measured weekly
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale	The research coordinator administered the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 item to assess the level of depression on a weekly basis at baseline, weeks 1, 2, 3 of TMS treatment and 1 week post-TMS treatment. Higher scores indicate a higher level of depression. Scores range from 0-50 and scores greater than 20 generally indicate moderate depression. Scores between 0-7 are considered normal.	Measured weekly
Adverse Events	Adverse events (AEs) were collected by open report of emergent symptoms or illness during the study. This form is filled out during baseline, daily before each TMS session by the trained physician administering the TMS, and at each follow-up visit.	Measured daily

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Washington
• Collaborators: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: David H. Avery, MD, University of Washington

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Avery DH, Holtzheimer PE 3rd, Fawaz W, Russo J, Neumaier J, Dunner DL, Haynor DR, Claypoole KH, Wajdik C, Roy-Byrne P. Transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces pain in patients with major depression: a sham-controlled study. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2007 May;195(5):378-81. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31802f58d1.

Helpful Links

• Click here for the Neuronetics, Inc. Homepage

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 30, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 30, 2007
• First Posted (Estimate): September 3, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 23, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2013
• Last Verified: April 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Pain; Fatigue; Major Depressive Disorder; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia Syndrome
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Nervous System Diseases; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Depression; Chronic Pain; Fibromyalgia; Myofascial Pain Syndromes
• Other Study ID Numbers: 32656-D; R21AR053963 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); 1R21AR053963-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); 06-2407-D 01 (Other Identifier: UW Human Subjects Division ID)