Treating Non-epileptic Seizures Using Magnetic Brain Stimulation

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) - a form of non-invasive brain stimulation - to decrease the frequency of psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) episodes in patients with PNES.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Nonepileptic Seizures Nervous System Diseases Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures Seizures Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

About this study

This study is an open label pilot study that aims to recruit 15 individuals with diagnosed PNES to investigate the feasibility of using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to decreasing the frequency of psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) episodes. rTMS is a non-invasive method of brain stimulation that uses rapid magnetic pulses applied over the scalp to active neurons in a specified target location of the brain.

Electronic as well as paper-and-pencil questionnaires will be used to asses patient's psychiatric symptoms and functional impairment both before and after treatment to monitor symptom-changes.Treatment will consist of daily sessions of high frequency (20 Hz) rTMS applied over the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) of the cerebral cortex. Patients will receive two sessions per day for 15 consecutive weekdays. Each session will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Results of the questionnaires will be analyzed to determine the effect of the treatment on PNES episodes and functional impairment. As a pilot study, this research will be used to evaluate the effect size and the feasibility of a more definitive project in the future. Both patient response and tolerability to rTMS will be analyzed.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Confirmed Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures

Exclusion criteria

Evidence of previous or comorbid epileptic seizures
Major comorbid neurological diseases
Currently taking medications that are known to reduce seizure-threshold
Currently pregnant

Treatment and study plan

MagStim Rapid2 Transcranial Magnetic Simulation

Device

A non-invasive method of brain stimulation

Primary outcomes

Number of Weekly Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure-events

Time frame: One week and three months post-rTMS treatment

Number of weekly seizure-events recorded using seizure logs.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Manitoba

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Non-epileptic Seizures

Important dates

Study start: 2016
Primary completion: 2019
Study completion: 2019
First posted: Jun 13, 2016
Registry last updated: Sep 30, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed