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Cerebellar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Cerebellar Ataxias

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Trials for Cerebellar Ataxias

Part of the book series: Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience ((CCNE))

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Abstract

Treatment options for autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias are still scarce. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a neuromodulation technique currently used for the treatment of depression, pain, vascular motor deficit, and posttraumatic stress disorder, can be a symptomatic treatment for ataxic patients. In this chapter, we reviewed current medical literature for the use of cerebellar TMS in spinocerebellar ataxias. Ten articles, including 170 ataxic patients, reported ataxia improvement after cerebellar TMS, with variable, but overall small effect sizes. This procedure appears to be safe since no severe side effect was reported. Additionally, cerebellar TMS can increase cerebellar blood flow, decrease oxidative stress, and decrease inhibition of the cerebellum over the contralateral motor cortex. However optimistic, these results still need to be better investigated in larger, longer, and more homogeneous trials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Carina França & Rubens Gisbert Cury

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  1. Carina França
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  2. Rubens Gisbert Cury
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Correspondence to Rubens Gisbert Cury .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Neurology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, (Republic of China), Taiwan

    Bing-wen Soong

  2. Professor of Neuroanatomy, University of Mons and CHU-Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium

    Mario Manto

  3. Paris Brain Institute, (Institut du Cerveau – ICM), CNRS INSERM, Sorbonne Université, APHP, Paris, France

    Alexis Brice

  4. Department of Neurology, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Stefan M. Pulst

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França, C., Cury, R.G. (2023). Cerebellar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Cerebellar Ataxias. In: Soong, Bw., Manto, M., Brice, A., Pulst, S.M. (eds) Trials for Cerebellar Ataxias. Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24345-5_21

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