Trans-spinal Magnetic Stimulation (TsMS) in Parkinson's Disease- Related Musculoskeletal Pain

Overview

Parkinson disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Pain is the frequent non-motor symptom that significantly compromises the quality of life, affecting 80% of patients during the course of the disease. There is currently no evidence-based treatment for PD-related pain in general. Nociceptive pain is the most frequent pain in PD an is frequently musculoskeletal in nature. Epidural spinal cord stimulation is known to provide analgesic effects in several types of pain syndromes. Here we test analgesic effects of a non-invasive trans-spinal magnetic stimulation as an add-on treatment for nociceptive (musculoskeletal) pain directly related to Parkinson disease.

Background: pain is frequent non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) that significantly compromises the quality of life, affecting 80% of patients during the course of the disease. Nociceptive pain is the most frequent subtype, mainly musculoskeletal in nature. There is currently no evidence-based treatment for PD-related pain in general. The present study tests the effectiveness and safety of non-invasive trans-spinal magnetic stimulation (TsMS) to treat musculoskeletal pain directly related to PD in a sham-controlled randomized approach. Patients and Methods: this is a randomized, sham-controlled trial including 40 subjects, aged between 18 and 85 years, with musculoskeletal pain directly related to PD, that will be randomized to receive TsMS active or TsMS sham in a 1:1 ratio. Enrollment will take place at the Pain Center of the University of São Paulo and Movement Disorders Center of the University of São Paulo. We have decided to perform an interim analysis when 24 patients will be included in the trial in order to assess safety and calculate effect size of the active intervention, after meeting with the research and statistical board. A decision will thereafter be made to, either: 1: halt the study due to futility, 2: continue the study with a new target sample size based on the calculations made with the effect from the n= 24 sample. Expected results: the study hypothesis is that non-invasive trans-spinal magnetic stimulation is superior to sham and it is safe to use that device in patients with nociceptive (musculoskeletal) pain in PD.