Treatment of Post-concussion Syndrome With TMS: Using FNIRS as a Biomarker of Response
Every year, approximately 2 million people in the United States and 280,000 in Canada experience a mild traumatic brain injury/concussion. In patients with concussion, symptoms experienced following injury usually get better within 3 months. However, approximately 5-25% of people will experience symptoms beyond the 3 month period, characterized by persistent headaches, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and thinking or concentration problems, which contribute to significant functional impairment. Chronic headache is the most common symptom following concussions. They can last beyond 5 years following injury, significantly impacting daily activities. To date, post-concussion symptoms have no known "cure". One potential approach to treating post-concussion symptoms may involve using drug-free interventions, such as neuromodulation therapy. This has the goal of restoring normal brain activity. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is one method currently being explored as a treatment option. TMS is a procedure where brain electrical activity is influenced by a magnetic field. Numerous studies using rTMS to treat other disorders, such as dementia, stroke, cerebral palsy, addictions, depression and anxiety, have shown much promise. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether rTMS treatment can significantly improve persistent post-concussion symptoms. Secondary objective is to explore the relationship between potential changes in brain function and clinical markers associated with rTMS treatment and how functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a neuroimaging technology, may be used to assess rTMS-treatment response.
Start: October 2020