Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31619978›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in human neuroscience2019

Lasting Effects of Low-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Writer's Cramp: A Case Report.

Antonino Naro, Luana Billeri, Simona Portaro, Placido Bramanti, Rocco Salvatore Calabrò

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Antonino NaroBehavioral and Robotic Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Messina, Italy.
Luana BilleriBehavioral and Robotic Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Messina, Italy.
Simona PortaroBehavioral and Robotic Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Messina, Italy.
Placido BramantiBehavioral and Robotic Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Messina, Italy.
Rocco Salvatore CalabròBehavioral and Robotic Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Messina, Italy.
Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The treatment of writer's cramp (W'sC) is essentially based on the use of botulinum toxin. However, additional treatments are sometime required to prolong the effects of the toxin, compensate for its progressive loss of efficacy in some subjects, and re-educate handwriting (e.g., rehabilitation strategies). Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been employed to improve W'sC, but with short-lasting and controversial outcomes. We report on the effects of a long-lasting low-frequency rTMS paradigm on W'sC symptoms. A 25-year-old male with a diagnosis of simple W'sC was enrolled in the study. He underwent an objective assessment using the Writer's Cramp Rating Scale (WCRS) and the 1-min writing test. Further, we recorded muscle activation of the upper limb during handwriting using an EMG wireless system. The patient was provided with 1,200 biphasic magnetic pulses delivered at 1 Hz over the left premotor cortex (PMC), 15 times scheduled every 2 days, thus covering a period of 5 weeks, followed by 10 days of rest. This block of stimulations was practiced other four times, for a period of 6 months. The patient showed a gradual clinical improvement with the progression of the treatments. W'sC symptoms totally disappeared and all the clinical scores showed a significant improvement after rTMS completion. Such improvement lasted up to 1 year after the end of the treatment. Moreover, we detected a long-lasting improvement in sensorimotor plasticity as measured by a paired associative stimulation protocol. Our case suggests that the long-lasting application of 1 Hz rTMS to PMC is a safe and potentially valuable tool to improve W'sC symptoms enduringly, probably by reverting maladaptive plasticity mechanisms within the sensory-motor areas of the hemisphere contralateral to the dystonic hand.

Indexed as

handwritingleft premotor cortexnon-invasive neuromodulationrepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulationsensorimotor plasticitywriter’s cramp

Identifiers

PMID31619978
PMCPMC6759570
OpenAlexW2969725061

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.