It is no secret that one of the dangers of transcranial magnetic stimulation is the possibility of inducing a seizure in subjects. This often causes people to regard TMS in a negative light, as the current statistics available that describe the likelihood that TMS will cause a seizure are shoddy at best. Dr. Harris referenced one group of TMS researchers that claimed that the stimulation only induces a seizure in about 4% of subjects. Apart from this, there seems to be relatively little information regarding the potential dangers of seizures that TMS carries along with it. Subjects with history of epilepsy in their families are cautioned from participating in TMS trials, however.
What then, would you say if I claimed that TMS could be used as a treatment for epileptic patients? One study, published in "Epilepsy Current," written by William H. Theodore argues for this capability of TMS. Results from TMS performed on epileptic subjects shows that people prone to seizures suffer from increased cortical excitability, as well as a reduced motor threshold. This means that the neurons in their brain require less of a stimulation to induce electric changes in them.
Theodore claims that the risk of seizures in patients with epilepsy during TMS is low. I think that their is some inherent useful components of TMS that can be helpful to epileptic subjects, but am still a little wary about this sort of use. I would like to see some more statistics on the chance of inducing a harmful seizure.
I really liked this post because it showed some statistics about the risks of this technology. We hear about some of the risks in class, but I have never seen an actual number. If this 4% is true, then there is a misconception on the dangers of TMS in the community, because that's a low number, and this article gives a possible explanation for the patients who had seizures. However, it is good that the safety of the patients is always being taken into consideration.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that TMS is not a risk-free procedure by any means, I support the use of it in treating epileptic patients. Furthermore, it has proved to be an effective treatment for seizures in epileptics that cannot be treated with pharmacological drugs. I believe patients seeking treatment should be made aware of the risks and decide for themselves if TMS is an appropriate treatment.
ReplyDelete