Category: Huntington's Disease
Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary clinical effects of a single session of cerebellar cTBS in patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) with mild-moderate motor symptoms.
Background: Recent studies emphasize the role that the cerebellum may play in the development of certain motor and nonmotor symptoms in HD. Temporary suppression of cerebellar activity is possible by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. This technique could serve to elucidate the role of the cerebellum in HD.
Method: Twelve HD patients with mild-moderate-moderate motor symptoms were randomly assigned to real or sham cerebellar stimulation. The patients were blinded to these conditions. Changes in items associated with cerebellar signs were assessed in the UHDRS immediately after and at 20 and 40 minutes after cTBS administration. Clinical scores were performed by an HD expert blinded to the objectives and conditions of the study. Linear mixed-effects models were estimated for each item of interest, a composite cerebellum index, and the total UHDRS score.
Results: All participants tolerated the protocol well and no adverse reactions related to either condition were reported. cTBS had severity-reducing effects on cerebellar symptoms, measured by the composite index (p = 0.03; R2 = 0.17). This index was reduced on average by 1 point in the three post-cTBS measures, while no change was observed in the total score. The item analysis showed that there were significant improvements in saccade initiation (p = 0.02) and gait (p = 0.04). These changes were not dependent on global motor severity, which was assessed by introducing the total motor score as a covariate in the models.
Conclusion: The effects of a single session of cerebellar cTBS could be of interest for the design of randomized clinical trials focused on the treatment of cerebellar symptoms in HD.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
JF. Martin Rodriguez, M. Gomez Crespo, FJ. Gómez Campos, AM. Castellano-Gerrero, V. Villarreal, FJ. Palomar Simón, P. Porcacchia, F. Carrillo, S. Jesús, P. Mir. Effects of cerebellar cTBS on motor symptoms in Huntington’s disease: a feasibility and pilot study [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effects-of-cerebellar-ctbs-on-motor-symptoms-in-huntingtons-disease-a-feasibility-and-pilot-study/. Accessed May 16, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effects-of-cerebellar-ctbs-on-motor-symptoms-in-huntingtons-disease-a-feasibility-and-pilot-study/