Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for Noninvasive Study of Pain Circuits in Patients With Chronic Pain
Pulkit Grover
Summary
The goal of this interventional study is to learn whether noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) will have an effect on pain perception in people with fibromyalgia. The main questions it aims to answer are: Do repeated sessions of NIBS lead to a reduction in perceived pain? Do repeated sessions of NIBS lead to an improvement in quality of life? Researchers will compare different brain targets to see if effects are different between them. Participants will receive repeated daily sessions of NIBS over 4 weeks with application of pressure pain algometry, and complete various questionnaires.
Description
Participants will randomly receive primary motor cortex (M1) or occipital lobe NIBS over 2 weeks, and after a wash-out period will receive NIBS of the other target over 2 weeks. Each session will also evaluate pressure pain algometry, various questionnaires to assess changes in fibromyalgia symptoms and quality of life (up to 5 hours per session) NIBS administration will consist of 1000 electrical pulses of \<1 ms duration each.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Formal diagnosis of fibromyalgia made by a practicing physician * Pain resistant to common analgesics and medications for chronic pain * Existing pain for more than 3 months with an average of at least 4 on a 0 to 10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) * Females of child bearing potential must be at least one of the following totally abstinent from heterosexual intercourse since the last menses before start of study, or agree to concurrent use of at least two methods of birth control throughout study participation. Exclusion Criteria: * If the subject is non-ambulatory. * If…
Interventions
- DevicePrimary Motor Cortex Stimulation
Short (\<1 ms), high amplitude (\>10 mA) noninvasive electrical pulses delivered at 1 Hz on the scalp surface. This intervention will target the primary motor cortex (M1).
- DeviceOccipital Lobe Stimulation
Short (\<1 ms), high amplitude (\>10 mA) noninvasive electrical pulses delivered at 1 Hz on the scalp surface. This intervention will target the occipital lobe.
Locations (2)
- UPMC Pain ManagementPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania