Treatment for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

Brief Summary

Painful diabetic neuropathy (pDN) occurs in a subset of diabetic patients, and is characterize by burning, shooting, and electric shock-like pain in the arms and legs. This represents a major health crisis, given the increasing prevalence of pDN and the significant impact it has on quality of life. However, there is limited evidence of effective therapies for pDN pain relief. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation that may be a promising therapy for pDN. Previous research has shown that rTMS reduces neuropathic pain in pDN (1, 2, 3). While this is promising, it is important to note that rTMS is effective for \~50% of patients with neuropathic pain. (4, 5). Recent advancements in rTMS technology have created the opportunity for remarkable strides in the effectiveness of this potential therapy. This new development called controlled pulse parameter TMS (cTMS) increases the magnitude and longevity of TMS-induced effects. Although not tested in chronic pain, cTMS possess the power to make transformative changes in pDN, potentially yielding greater and widespread improvements in pain. The overarching goal of the proposed research is to assess the effects of a 5-day cTMS stimulation protocol on measures of pain and neurological function in individuals with pDN. 1. Kwak S, Choi SG, Chang GS, \& Yang MC (2022). Short-term Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain. Pain Physician, 25(2), E203-E209. 2. Abdelkader AA, Gohary AME, Mourad HS, \& Salmawy DAE (2019). Repetitive tms in treatment of resistant diabetic neuropathic pain. Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery, 55(1). 3. Onesti E et al. (2013). H-coil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for pain relief in patients with diabetic neuropathy. European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom), 17(9). 4. Attal N et al. (2021). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for neuropathic pain: a randomized multicentre sham-controlled trial. Brain, 144(11). 65\. Dongyang L et al. (2021). Posterior-superior insular deep transcranial magnetic stimulation alleviates peripheral neuropathic pain - A pilot double-blind, randomized cross-over study. Neurophysiologie Clinique, 51(4).

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