There is hope on the horizon for a new treatment that may alleviate some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In PD, pharmacologic treatments such as levodopa and dopamine agonists are highly effective for many of the symptoms of PD. However, medications have their limitations, as well as side effects. Further, some PD symptoms (such as freezing of gait) tend to be treatment resistant.
Research increasingly shows that a new treatment, transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive method of stimulation of the brain, has the potential to help control motor symptoms of PD non-invasively.
(NeuroStar TMS and Brainsway Deep TMS therapies) have been cleared by the FDA for treatment of patients with depression who have not benefitted from antidepressant medications or cannot tolerate antidepressant medications due to side-effects.
Clinical Trials
Our TMS laboratory at NYU Langone Medical Center currently conducts three clinical trials/research studies of rTMS in PD. All studies are open to new patients. Our Lab is equipped with three TMS machines: two Magstim devices and one NeuroStar machine. We are also equipped with state of the art system of neuronavigation, which allows precise stimulation of MRI-defined brain regions with a superb accuracy of a few millimeters. For more information, please visit our webpage.
Pilot study
http://parkinson.med.nyu.edu/researc...ts-pilot-study
http://parkinson.med.nyu.edu/promise...-new-treatment
Some doctors are using NeuroStar “off-label” to treat other diseases that involve the brain’s neurotransmitters, like fibromyalgia, tinnitus, Parkinson’s disease and the intractable auditory hallucinations that are part of schizophrenia. NeuroStar is not yet approved for use on patients with any of those illnesses, but one expert explains why it might be effective.
“Parkinson’s is a disease of specific neurotransmitters that affect the release of dopamine, which controls movement,” says Neuronetics’ Demitrack. “If TMS can control the release of dopamine, it might help patients control their movements and alleviate shaking and tremors.”
Research into those areas is being conducted by NeuroStar, medical centers and universities, along with the federal government. Should NeuroStar receive FDA approval for treatment of other diseases, it’s poised to expand. Shook says the company has already raised $128 million from private sources and venture-capital firms.
http://www.mainlinetoday.com/core/pa...nt/&mode=print
Brainsway Deep TMS therapy is approved by the CE and by ANIVISA for treating Parkinson's Disease.
http://www.brainsway.com/parkinson%E2%80%99s-disease