Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the correction of consequences of minor traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Purpose. To evaluate therapeutic options of rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the treatment of consequences of minor traumatic brain injury.Materials and methods. A neuropsychological examination using standard scales for assessing cognitive functions, as well as the Beck depression inventory, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the MFI-20 multidimensional fatigue inventory was performed on patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and complaints of decreased memory, attention, general weakness and fatigue. Patients were split into two groups. Active group (24 patients) received rhythmic TMS besides standard treatment (neurometabolic, nootropic) while control group (23 patients) received only standard therapy. After the treatment course, the reassessment of neuropsychological examination with the following statistic processing was performed.Study results. Comparison of treatment results in the active and control groups showed the highest efficacy of rTMS in the treatment of depression (p=0,016), anxiety (p=0,001) and in fatigue lowering (p=0,017) in patients with consequences of minor TBI.Conclusion. The data obtained from the study point the high efficacy of treatment of consequences of minor TBI by means of rTMS that displays in lowering of fatigue, anxiety, and depression severity when using.