Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of four sessions of 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered in one day (rTMS) to patients with focal hand dystonia (FHD).

Background: FHD is a neurological disorder with involuntary postures and pain, and limited benefit from current therapies. We previously showed that a single session of 10 Hz rTMS over the primary somatosensory cortex (PSC) improves motor behavior in FHD.

Method: Nineteen FHD participants enrolled in the clinical trial. The study was a double-blind, crossover design. TMS was targeted to PSC using fMRI and electric field modeling. Each participant received a single day of four sessions of active 10 Hz rTMS (16,000 pulses at 90% resting motor threshold) and a separate day of four sessions of sham-TMS. The two study arms were delivered in randomized order with a 20-week washout. TMS effect was evaluated using behavioral assays for hand movement, and an assay for hand sensation called somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT). Data was statistically analyzed using mixed-effects model for repeated measures.

Results: Preliminary findings indicate that one-day accelerated 10 Hz rTMS significantly improves hand movement (composite kinematic writing measure -1.55 a.u. p=0.0004, t-test) and hand sensation (STDT: 160 sec; p = 0.008, t-test) compared to sham rTMS up to 12 weeks after the intervention.

Conclusion: Our preliminary findings suggest that a single day of accelerated 10 Hz rTMS to PSC may provide clinically meaningful benefit lasting up to 12 weeks, supporting its promise as a viable therapeutic option for FHD.

« Back to 2026 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/one-day-accelerated-10-hz-rtms-for-focal-hand-dystonia-a-phase-ii-clinical-trial/