rTMS in alleviating Pain and Co-morbid symptoms in GWVI

NIH RePORTER · VA · I01 · · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Abstract Headaches (HA), muscle and joint pain and depression are some of the most common debilitating symptoms in military personnel served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War (GW1). Migraine like HA and diffuse body pain were detected in 64% of Gulf War Veteran (GWV) diagnosed with Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (GWVI). Likewise, depression carries a very high co- morbid prevalence (50%) in patients with chronic pain, and in GWV with GWVI related chronic HA, and body muscle and joint pain conditions (GWVI-HAP). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers an effective non-invasive treatment option for GWVI-HAP. Our preliminary study funded by the DOD Innovation Treatment Evaluation Award for GWVI demonstrated that a short course (4 sessions) of rTMS at the motor cortex could significantly reduce GWI-HAP symptoms up to two months. This multi-center clinical trial study aims to further: 1) valid the long-term efficacy of the treatment for GWI-HAP and depression; and 2) assess site specificity of the treatment for both pain and depression. !

Key facts

NIH application ID
9783436
Project number
1I01CX001986-01
Recipient
VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Principal Investigator
DAVID J. CLARK
Activity code
I01
Funding institute
VA
Fiscal year
2020
Award amount
Award type
1
Project period
2019-10-01 → 2024-09-30