The Efficacy and Mechanism of SMA+M1 Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Freezing of Gait in PD

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Parkinson Disease
• Interventions: Device: Sham Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Device: M1 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Device: SMA+M1 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

• Registration Number: NCT06415682
• Lead Sponsor: The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University

Brief Summary

This study is a double-blinded randomized study examining the efficacy of the double-site (M1+SMA) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on Freezing of Gait (FOG) in patients with Parkinson's disease. The investigators hypothesize that treatment using magnetic stimulation on double site (including M1-LL and SMA) will improve FOG and gait symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Detailed Description

Patients in the double-site group underwent ten sessions of double-site high frequency rTMS over the bilateral primary motor cortex of the lower leg and supplementary motor area, whereas patients in the single-site group underwent ten sessions of single-site active magnetic stimulation with high frequency rTMS over the bilateral primary motor cortex of the lower leg. In addition, patients in the sham group underwent 10 sessions of sham rTMS on bilateral primary motor cortex of the lower leg. Assessments of FOG severity, gait, motor symptoms, excitability of cortex motor (using transcranial magnetic stimulation), plasma indicators and multimodal magnetic resonance were performed three times: at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2024-05-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-05-10
• Study First Posted: 2024-05-16
• Study Start: 2024-10-08
• Primary Completion: 2025-03-21
• Study Completion: 2025-03-31
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-29
• Last Update Posted: 2025-05-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 64

Inclusion Criteria

1. aged between 40-80 years;
2. diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) according to the Movement Disorder Society clinical diagnostic criteria;
3. patients were stable on dopaminergic treatment for at least 3 months;
4. Item 3 of the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire(FOG-Q) scored ≥1;
5. Patients experienced FOG during an interview.

Exclusion Criteria

1. comorbidities of major neurologic diseases other than PD;
2. suffer from musculoskeletal disorders that could have interfered with their ability to walk;
3. presence of contraindications for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
4. marked tremor interfered with TMS detection;
5. previously receiving any kinds of TMS interventions;
6. severe cognitive impairment making cooperation impossible [Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) < 24];
7. were unable to walk independently during the OFF state.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
sham magnetic stimulation on the bilateral M1 of the lower leg	Sham Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation	Patients in the Sham Comparator group underwent ten sessions of double sham rTMS on the bilateral M1 of the lower leg.
single-site high frequency rTMS over the bilateral M1 of the lower leg	M1 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation	Patients in the Active Comparator group underwent ten sessions of single-site active magnetic stimulation with high frequency rTMS over the bilateral M1 of the lower leg.
double-site high frequency rTMS over the bilateral M1 of the lower leg and SMA	SMA+M1 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation	Patients in the Experimental group underwent ten sessions of double-site high frequency rTMS over the bilateral M1 of the lower leg and SMA.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes of Freezing of Gait severity	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention	The Freezing of Gait questionnaire will be used to quantify the frequency and severity of FOG. The score will be compared to the baseline. The minimum and maximum values of the FOGQ are 0 and 24. A higher score means a worse outcome. The differences in FOGQ scores before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes of Gait speed	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention	Gait speed (m/s) was evaluated at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention using a portable Inertial Measurement Unit system during a 5-m timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test. The differences in gait speed before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.
Freezing of Gait severity assessment	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention	The New Freezing of Gait questionnaire will be used to quantify the frequency and severity of FOG. The score will be compared to the baseline. The minimum and maximum values of the NFOGQ are 0 and 28. A higher score means a worse outcome. The differences in NFOGQ scores before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.
Changes of Stride length	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention	Stride length (cm) was evaluated at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention using a portable Inertial Measurement Unit system during a 5-m timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test. The differences in stride length before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.
Changes of Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale part III (MDS-UPDRS-III)	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention, one month post intervention	The measure mainly reflects the overall severity of Parkinson's disease motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. The minimum value is 0 and the maximum value is 132. A higher score means a worse outcome. The score will be compared to the baseline. The differences in MDS-UPDRS III part scores before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.
Changes in brain structure	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention	Studying the brain structure among groups. The differences in brain microstructure before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.
Changes in functional connectivity in the brain cortex	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention	The functional connectivity in the brain cortex will be recorded by functional MRI. The differences in brain regions' functional connectivity before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.
Changes in Short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF) and short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF)	Assessed at baseline, one day post intervention	Short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF) and short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF) are conducted by TMS devices to assess the cortical excitation and inhibition. SICI was assessed with a subthreshold conditioning stimulus (80% RMT) and a supra-threshold test stimulus (1 mV MEP) with 2ms, 3ms, 4ms interstimulus interval between conditioning and test stimuli. ICF was assessed with a subthreshold conditioning stimulus (80% RMT) and a supra-threshold test stimulus (1 mV MEP) with 10, 12, 15 ms interstimulus interval between conditioning and test stimuli. For SICF, a subthreshold first stimulus (S1) intensity was set at 1 mV and a subsequent suprathreshold second stimulus (S2) intensity was set at RMT. Interstimulus intervals were 1.0 to 5.0 milliseconds with increments of 0.5 millisecond.The differences in SICI, ICF and SICF before and after treatment can be used to evaluate the effect of TMS treatment.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University; 🇨🇳 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China