Timing TMS With Brain Activity May Help Epilepsy Treatment

Source: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Summary

Researchers studied the timing of a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in two children with a specific type of epilepsy known as self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. This type of epilepsy is common in kids and involves bursts of abnormal brain activity called interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) that happen between seizures. The goal was to see if TMS could be effectively delivered right when these IEDs occur, using advanced technology to identify these bursts in real time.

The study found that TMS could be successfully timed to coincide with IEDs in these children. When TMS was applied during IEDs, the brain's response showed a stronger reaction compared to when TMS was given at other times. Specifically, the researchers were able to deliver TMS during IEDs about 39% of the time for one child and 19% for the other. This indicates that it is possible to target brain stimulation based on the brain's activity patterns.

This research is important because it opens up new possibilities for understanding and treating epilepsy by using brain stimulation in a more precise way. However, the study involved only two children, so more research is needed to confirm these findings and explore how this approach could be used more broadly. Additionally, there are challenges in consistently timing the stimulation with IEDs that future studies will need to address.

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