Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society
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Clinical Trial
Peripheral nerve field stimulation for chronic headache: 60 cases and long-term follow-up.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of peripheral nerve field stimulation (PNFS) for the treatment of chronic headache conditions. ⋯ PNFS for chronic headache is an evolving therapy. This study demonstrates that this reversible and effective treatment can be a promising pain relief strategy for this often intractable condition.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Neuromodulation of emotion using functional electrical stimulation applied to facial muscles.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common condition for which available pharmaceutical treatments are not always effective and can have side-effects. Therefore, alternative and/or complementary MDD treatments are needed. Research on facial expressions has shown that facial movements can induce the corresponding emotions, particularly when specific attention is paid to voluntarily activating muscles that are typically only activated involuntarily while expressing emotions. We hypothesized that functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied to facial muscles may enhance this effect due to its ability to modulate central nervous system plasticity. Thus, applying FES to the facial muscles associated with smiling (including the "Duchenne marker") may increase the activity of subcortical nuclei related to positive emotions and counteract symptoms of depression. ⋯ These results suggest that modulating emotion using FES may be possible, but is difficult to target accurately. Further work is warranted to explore FES applications to MDD.
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Sacral neuromodulation is Food and Drug Administration approved for many types of voiding dysfunction. Goals of treatment often include cessation of anticholinergic therapy. With the goal of understanding the impact of sacral neuromodulation on anticholinergic use, we analyzed patterns of care using a national claims-based dataset. ⋯ Sacral neuromodulation was associated with a significant decrease in the use of anticholinergic medication. Cost-effectiveness analyses that take into account patient quality-adjusted life years are needed to determine the true cost-benefit ratio of sacral neuromodulation.