Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology (Jan 2023)

High-frequency repetitive magnetic stimulation at the sacrum alleviates chronic constipation in Parkinson's patients

  • Mei Huang,
  • Bofang Zheng,
  • Wanfei Zhou,
  • Huaili Fu,
  • Xinrun Chen,
  • Heyong Wu,
  • Jianguo Zhang,
  • Xianju Zhou

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/aian.aian_1001_22
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 3
pp. 235 – 240

Abstract

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Objective: This study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of high-frequency repetitive magnetic stimulation (HF-rMS) at the sacrum for chronic constipation in Parkinson's patients (PD). Materials and Methods: Eventually 48 PD patients were enrolled from July 2019 to October 2020, and randomly divided into the HF-rMS group (the intervention group, n = 24) and the sham HF-rMS group (the control group, n = 24). The intervention group received HF-rMS at the sacrum, whereas the control group received ineffective magnetic stimulation. We performed clinical evaluation before and after HF-rMS treatment, including constipation score scale (KESS questionnaire), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III exercise examination), Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) stage of motor function; simple mental status scale (MMSE), anxiety/depression table (HAD-A/HAD-D), the activity of daily living (ADL), and quality of life scale for patients with constipation (PAC-QOL) to evaluate symptoms and satisfaction of PD patients with chronic constipation. Results: There was no significant difference in the clinical characteristics between the two groups. As compared to the control group, the HF-rMS group displayed a larger change (pre and posttreatment) in the KESS scores of PD patients with chronic constipation, suggesting a significant improvement. Moreover, HF-rMS significantly promoted the mood, activity of daily living, and quality of life of PD patients when comparing the alteration of HAD-A/HAD-D scores, ADL scores, and PAC-QOL scores between the two groups. Finally, there was no significant difference in the change of the UPDRS III score and the MMSE score between the two groups. Conclusion: HF-rMS at the sacrum can improve chronic constipation in PD patients.

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