Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Musculoskeletal Pain in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Musculoskeletal Pain in Patients With Parkinson's Disease：Efficacy and Safety, Electrophysiological Mechanisms and Influence on Motor and Other Non-motor Symptoms

Pain is an increasingly recognized non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), with significant prevalence and negative impact on the quality of life of patients.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the primary motor cortex（M1）has been proposed to provide definite analgesic effect for pain syndromes. However, very few placebo-controlled studies have been performed specifically to relieve pain in PD. What's more, based on behavioral measures alone, it is impossible to reveal the full network dynamics reflecting the impact of TMS.

Electroencephalography (EEG), with high temporal resolution, records signal that its origin in electrical neural activity, which makes it suitable for measuring TMS-evoked activation. By recording the TMS induced neuronal activation directly from the cortex, TMS-EEG provides information on the excitability, effective connectivity of cortical area, thus exploring cortical network properties in different functional brain states. In addition, the use of EEG offers great prospects as a tool to select the right patients in order to achieve adequate, long-term pain relief.

Besides assessing the efficacy and safety of high-frequency neuronavigated M1-rTMS in PD patients with musculoskeletal pain, the objective of this study additionally aimed to characterize cortical activation behind pain relief. Influence on motor and other non-motor symptoms after rTMS were also investigated.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Musculoskeletal Pain; Parkinson's Disease; Electroencephalography; Neuromodulation; Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Primary Motor Cortex
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: active M1-rTMS; Procedure: sham rTMS

Detailed Description

Pain can appear as a pre-motor symptom, and its intensity could be severe enough to be the dominant non-motor symptom in the course of PD patients.

It estimated the prevalence of painful phenomena in PD to be 30 to 85% (mean 66%), which is significantly greater than the age-matched general population. Painful experiences in PD are highly heterogeneous and complex, which is difficult to describe for patients but also diagnose for neurologists. In addition, this common and disabling symptom receives inadequate analgesic treatment.

The distinction between these pain subtypes is required so that different therapeutic strategies can be established for each type of pain. The King's Parkinson's Pain scale (KPPS) was validated to identify and rate the various types of pain in PD. Fourteen items cover seven main domains, including musculoskeletal pain, chronic body pain (central or visceral), fluctuation-related pain, dyskinetic-dystonic pain, nocturnal pain, oro-facial pain, discolouration/oedema/swelling, and radicular pain. Of these subtypes, musculoskeletal pain is common.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that may be useful for the treatment of various psychiatric and neurological disorders. The mechanisms underlying rTMS effects remain to be elucidated.

rTMS is postulated to induce neuronal excitability changes in a set of cortical and subcortical areas involved in pain processing and modulation. Interestingly, M1 stimulation had a positive effect on brain structures that are related to the affective-emotional components of pain, such as the insular cortex and cingulate cortex.

The best efficacy for chronic pain has been achieved when primary motor cortex (M1) is stimulated at high frequency (5 to 20 Hz, 80% of the resting motor threshold (RMT)), as in previous rTMS studies in analgesia.

In TMS, time-varying magnetic fields generates electrical currents in the cortex. TMS pulses can either directly or trans-synaptically depolarize neurons, and these neural activities can be recorded through the skull by EEG electrodes placed on the scalp. The combination of TMS with simultaneous EEG can be used to assess excitability, inhibition, plasticity and connectivity across almost all areas of the cortical mantle.

The characterization of potential TMS-EEG predictors and markers could be the theoretical basis for verifying the response to neuromodulation protocols.

In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the efficacy and safety of 7 sessions of 20 Hz-rTMS delivered to M1 will be assessed in PD patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

A single-pulse TMS-EEG and resting-state EEG directly provide information on the cortical mechanisms before and after rTMS of M1.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 62
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Jiangsu
    • Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, 215004
      • Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Idiopathic PD was diagnosed according to the 2015 Movement Disorder Society (MDS) clinical diagnostic criteria
2. Hoehn and Yahr stages of I to III
3. musculoskeletal pain was detected based on the Ford classification system for pain in PD. Pain duration of at least 3 months, with continuous moderate intensity pain (≥ 3/10 on a 0-10 numerical rating scale) occurring at least three days per week.
4. stable antiparkinsonian therapy for ≥4 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Contraindications to rTMS
2. unstable ongoing psychiatric disorder, history of substance abuse (alcohol, drugs)
3. histories of deep brain stimulation surgery
4. Mini-mental State Examination scores ≤24
5. Other pain conditions, such as apparent osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis depended on laboratory or imaging findings

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: M1-rTMS group; active M1-rTMS	Procedure: active M1-rTMS; Magnetic stimulation will be carried out using a MagPro X100 machine with a MCF-B70 figure-of-eight coil (Magventure, Farum). All rTMS sessions will be assisted by a neuronavigation system (TMS Navigator，Localite GmbH), maintaining the M1 target and the orientation of coil stable during stimulation sessions. The M1 target was defined as the "hand knob" region, which corresponds to the motor cortical representation of the hand, regardless of the location of pain. Stimulation paradigm consists of 20 trains of pulses with an intra-train frequency of 20 Hz, resulting in 2000 pulses for a total duration of 20 minutes. The stimulation intensity will be 80% of RMT, defined as the lowest stimulation intensity necessary to induce a visible muscle twitch of the hand contralateral to the stimulated hemisphere. Participants will receive 7 sessions of treatment once a day in the same time continuously for 7 days, and keep antiparkinsonism drugs unchanged throughout the whole study.
Sham Comparator: sham-rTMS group; sham rTMS	Procedure: sham rTMS; The sham protocol was similar to the rTMS protocol. Sham stimulations will be performed with a MCF-P-B65 figure-of-eight coil (Magventure) to M1, assisted by a neuronavigation system. The following stimulation parameters will be used: stimulus frequency 20 Hz; stimulus intensity 80 % of RMT; total stimulation pulses 2,000; total stimulation time 20 min. Participants will receive 7 sessions of treatment once a day in the same time continuously for 7 days, and keep antiparkinsonism drugs unchanged throughout the whole study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline Over 2 Months (Group by Time Interaction) in Modified KING'S PD Pain Scale Domain 1	Modified King's PD Pain Scale (MKPPS)，the modified version which is more suitable for Chinese people, combined with Ford's pain subtypes basing on the original. It covers five main domains, including 16 items, each item scored by severity (0-3) multiplied by frequency (0-4), resulting in a total possible score range from 0 to 192. Higher scores indicate greater symptom severities and more serious influence.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Change From Baseline Over 2 Months (Group by Time Interaction) in KING'S PD Pain Scale Domain 1	KING'S PD Pain Scale (KPPS) Domain 1 focused on musculoskeletal pain, covering one item, which was scored by multiplying severity (from 0 [no pain] to 3 [very severe pain]) by frequency (from 0 [never] to 4 [all the time]), yielding sub-scores between 0 and 12. Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity.	before the first rTMS session (day 1), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Change in 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale	Pain intensity was assessed over the past 24 hours using a 0-10 number, where 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating maximal pain.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Resting-state EEG Oscillations	For each EEG epoch, we computed the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm to convert to frequency domain. The power values in following five frequency bands were obtained: delta (1-4Hz), theta (4-8Hz), alpha(8-13Hz), beta(13-30Hz), gamma(30-80Hz).	before the first rTMS session (day 1), after rTMS therapy (day8)
Changes in Movement Disorder Society-Unified PD Rating Scale Part I	The participants will be evaluated in their "ON" medication states. The scale was used to assess the impact of non-motor symptoms on daily life, ranging from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Change in Movement Disorder Society-Unified PD Rating Scale Part II	The participants will be evaluated in their "ON" medication states. The scale was used to evaluate the patient's perspective on how motor symptoms impact their ability to perform daily activities, ranging from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Change in Movement Disorder Society-Unified PD Rating Scale Part III	The participants will be evaluated in their "ON" medication states. The scale was used to provide a quantitative, objective measure of motor signs, ranging from 0 to 132, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Change in Movement Disorder Society-Unified PD Rating Scale Part IV	The participants will be evaluated in their "ON" medication states. The scale was used to document the presence and impact of motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, ranging from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Changes in Hamilton Depression Scale	The depression score (ranging from 0 to 76 with higher scores indicating more severe depression) from the 24 items Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD).	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Changes in Hamilton Anxiety Scale	The anxiety score (ranging from 0 to 60 with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety) from the 14 items Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA).	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Changes in PD Sleep Scale-2	The sleep problem index (from 0 to 68 with higher scores indicating more severe sleep problem) from the PD Sleep Scale-2 (PDSS-2).	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Changes in Epworth Sleeping Scale	The daytime sleepiness was assessed by the Epworth Sleeping Scale, which has a score range of 0-24, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.	before the first rTMS session (day 1), after rTMS therapy at day8、1month、2months
Changes in PD for Autonomic Symptoms	The Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease for Autonomic Symptoms (SCOUP-AUT), which has a score range of 0-67, with higher scores indicating higher autonomic nervous system dysfunction.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)
Changes in PD Questionnaire-39	We will also assess change in quality of life from the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), ranging from 0 to 156 with higher scores indicating more serious influence.	before the first rTMS session (baseline), after rTMS therapy (day8、1month、2months)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Valkovic P, Minar M, Singliarova H, Harsany J, Hanakova M, Martinkova J, Benetin J. Pain in Parkinson's Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study of Its Prevalence, Types, and Relationship to Depression and Quality of Life. PLoS One. 2015 Aug 26;10(8):e0136541. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136541. eCollection 2015.
• Silverdale MA, Kobylecki C, Kass-Iliyya L, Martinez-Martin P, Lawton M, Cotterill S, Chaudhuri KR, Morris H, Baig F, Williams N, Hubbard L, Hu MT, Grosset DG; UK Parkinson's Pain Study Collaboration. A detailed clinical study of pain in 1957 participants with early/moderate Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2018 Nov;56:27-32. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2018.06.001. Epub 2018 Jun 6.
• Chaudhuri KR, Rizos A, Trenkwalder C, Rascol O, Pal S, Martino D, Carroll C, Paviour D, Falup-Pecurariu C, Kessel B, Silverdale M, Todorova A, Sauerbier A, Odin P, Antonini A, Martinez-Martin P; EUROPAR and the IPMDS Non Motor PD Study Group. King's Parkinson's disease pain scale, the first scale for pain in PD: An international validation. Mov Disord. 2015 Oct;30(12):1623-31. doi: 10.1002/mds.26270. Epub 2015 Jun 11.
• Picarelli H, Teixeira MJ, de Andrade DC, Myczkowski ML, Luvisotto TB, Yeng LT, Fonoff ET, Pridmore S, Marcolin MA. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is efficacious as an add-on to pharmacological therapy in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I. J Pain. 2010 Nov;11(11):1203-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2010.02.006. Epub 2010 Apr 28.
• O'Connell NE, Marston L, Spencer S, DeSouza LH, Wand BM. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Apr 13;4(4):CD008208. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008208.pub5.
• Lefaucheur JP, Aleman A, Baeken C, Benninger DH, Brunelin J, Di Lazzaro V, Filipovic SR, Grefkes C, Hasan A, Hummel FC, Jaaskelainen SK, Langguth B, Leocani L, Londero A, Nardone R, Nguyen JP, Nyffeler T, Oliveira-Maia AJ, Oliviero A, Padberg F, Palm U, Paulus W, Poulet E, Quartarone A, Rachid F, Rektorova I, Rossi S, Sahlsten H, Schecklmann M, Szekely D, Ziemann U. Evidence-based guidelines on the therapeutic use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS): An update (2014-2018). Clin Neurophysiol. 2020 Feb;131(2):474-528. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2019.11.002. Epub 2020 Jan 1.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 2, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 12, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): September 13, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 28, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Synucleinopathies; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Movement Disorders; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Musculoskeletal Pain; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: JD-LK-2021-132-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No