| HNO. 2005 Sep 17; [Epub ahead of print] |
Treatment of chronic tinnitus with neuronavigated repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS).
[Article in German]
Kleinjung T, Steffens T, Langguth B, Eichhammer P, Marienhagen J, Hajak G, Strutz J.
Klinik fur HNO-Heilkunde der Universitat Regensburg, .
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Idiopathic tinnitus is a frequent and debilitating disorder of largely unknown pathophysiology. Focal brain activation in the auditory cortex has recently been demonstrated in chronic tinnitus. Low-frequency rTMS can reduce cortical hyperexcitability.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 12 patients with chronic tinnitus, fusion of [(18)F]deoxyglucose-PET and structural MRI (T1, MPRAGE) scans allowed the area of increased metabolic activity in the auditory cortex to be exactly identified; this area was selected as the target for rTMS. A neuronavigational system adapted for TMS positioning enabled the relative positions of the figure-8 coil and the target area to be monitored. Repetitive TMS (110% motor threshold; 1 Hz; 2000 stimuli per day over 5 days) was performed using a placebo-controlled crossover design. A sham coil system was used for the placebo stimulation. Treatment outcome was assessed with a specific tinnitus questionnaire (Goebel and Hiller).
RESULTS: In all 12 patients an asymmetrically increased metabolic activation of the gyrus of Heschl was detected. The tinnitus score was significantly improved after 5 days of active rTMS, an effect not seen after placebo stimulation.
CONCLUSION: These preliminary results show that neuronavigated rTMS may improve our understanding and treatment of chronic tinnitus.
| Otol Neurotol. 2005 Jul;26(4):616-9. |
Transcranial magnetic stimulation for tinnitus: influence of tinnitus duration on stimulation parameter choice and maximal tinnitus suppression.
De Ridder D, Verstraeten E, Van der Kelen K, De Mulder G, Sunaert S, Verlooy J, Van de Heyning P, Moller A.
Department of Neurosurgery and Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium. dirk.de.ridder@uza.be
OBJECTIVE: Tinnitus is a distressing symptom for which few treatments exist. It leads to an important decrease in quality of life in 2 to 3% of the population. Tinnitus is considered a phantom sound, the result of cortical reorganization. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive method to modulate cortical reorganization and has been shown to be able to influence tinnitus perception.
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Tertiary referral center.
PATIENTS: The effect of TMS of the contralateral auditory cortex in 114 patients with unilateral tinnitus is investigated as one of the selection criteria used for surgical implantation of electrodes on the auditory cortex.
INTERVENTION: TMS is performed at 90% of motor threshold at 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 Hz, with each stimulation session consisting of 200 pulses. Results were classified as no effect (0-19% improvement), partial effect (20-79% improvement), and good effect (80-100 suppression).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: TMS had a good effect in 25% of the patients studied, partial effect in 28% patients, and no effect in 47%.
RESULTS: TMS at 200 pulses is capable of tinnitus suppression for seconds only. The results were influenced by tinnitus duration: the longer the tinnitus exists, the lower the stimulation frequency that yields maximal tinnitus suppression (p < 0.001). The maximal amount of tinnitus suppression decreases in time (p < 0.01), resulting in a 2% decrease of potential tinnitus suppression per year.
CONCLUSION: TMS of the auditory cortex is capable of modifying tinnitus perception for a very short time. The maximal amount of suppression and best stimulation frequency depends on the tinnitus duration.
| Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. 1993 Aug;18(4):278-81. |
Electromagnetic stimulation as a treatment of tinnitus: a pilot study.
Roland NJ, Hughes JB, Daley MB, Cook JA, Jones AS, McCormick MS.
Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK.
This paper reports the results of a study to determine whether pulsed electromagnetic stimulation, applied over the mastoid bone, caused an improvement in the level of tinnitus in long-standing tinnitus sufferers. Fifty-eight patients from the Liverpool Tinnitus Association volunteered to take part in a double-blind placebo controlled trial. Active and placebo devices were randomly allocated to these patients on their first visit. At the end of one week of treatment, each patient noted whether their tinnitus had completely disappeared, was improved, unchanged or made worse by the treatment Forty-five per cent of the patients who completed the trial were improved by the active device, but only 9% by placebo (P = 0.0013, Mann-Whitney test). We suggest that electromagnetic stimulation may be an effective treatment in some tinnitus sufferers.