Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society
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Case Reports
Cervical and High-Thoracic Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation in Chronic Neuropathic Pain.
Dorsal root ganglion stimulation is a meanwhile established but rather new technique of neuromodulation to treat chronic pain states of different origin. While being primarily used in the lumbar region, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation also can be used in the upper thoracic and cervical region with slight alterations of the surgical approach. This offers new therapeutic options especially in the treatment of neuropathic pain states of the upper extremities. Data on surgical technique, outcome and complications rates of DRG in this region are limited. ⋯ Cervical and upper thoracic DRG stimulation resulted in good overall response rates to trialing and similar pain relief when compared to DRG stimulation for groin and lower limb pain. A modified surgical approach has to be used when compared with lumbar DRG electrode placement. Surgery itself in this region is more complication prone and challenging.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Feasibility of Computerized Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Combined With Bifrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Treatment of Major Depression.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has demonstrated preliminary antidepressant effects and beneficial effects on cognitive function. ⋯ Combining tDCS with computer-based CBT is feasible for MDD. Further work is needed to evaluate potential synergistic effects of combined tDCS and CBT.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Brain Activity and Clinical Outcomes in Adults With Depression Treated With Synchronized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An Exploratory Study.
Synchronized transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) imparts low-amplitude magnetic stimulation matched to each patient's individual alpha frequency. It may act through entrainment of brain oscillations. ⋯ Neurophysiologic measures suggest that active but not sham sTMS engages brain targets, and that target engagement is related to treatment outcome.
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Chronic pain (CP) affects a significant number of patients following hernia repair, ranging from 11 to 54% in the literature. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, overall costs, and health care utilization associated with CP after hernia repair. ⋯ Our study demonstrates the prevalence of CP after hernia surgery to be nearly 20%, with significantly increased costs and healthcare resource utilization. While current treatment paradigms are effective for many, there remains a large number of patients that could benefit from an overall approach that includes nonopioid treatments, such as potentially incorporating neurostimulation, for CP that presents posthernia repair.
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Comparative Study
Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation Is Paresthesia-Independent: A Retrospective Study.
Neuromodulation is an important tool for achieving pain relief in otherwise-intractable neuropathic pain conditions. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, in which primary sensory neurons are stimulated prior to their entry into the spinal canal, provides treatment with high levels of dermatomal specificity and can provide advantages compared to conventional spinal cord stimulation. Although DRG stimulation can produce perceptible paresthesias, many patients operate their systems at subthreshold amplitudes that do not elicit this sensation. Pain relief both with and without paresthesia was investigated in this retrospective analysis. ⋯ Clinically significant and sustained pain relief over more than a period of 12 months was achieved with DRG stimulation programmed at amplitudes below the perceptual level. Thus, the reported analgesia was paresthesia-independent. That good clinical outcomes were observed independent of the generation of paresthesia in DRG stimulation suggests several mechanisms of action, including the inhibition of supraspinal regions involved in somatic paresthesia sensation. The retrospective results presented here posit that future prospective study of DRG stimulation delivered at below the threshold of perceptible paresthesias is warranted.