St. Paul, Minn. – A new therapy that uses magnetic pulses to
stimulate the brain may improve recovery after a stroke,
according to a study published in the May 24 issue of Neurology,
the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The
treatment, called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation,
improved motor function in a small group of people. For the
stimulation, an insulated wire coil is placed on the scalp, and
a brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating
a magnetic pulse that stimulates the outer part of the brain,
called the cortex. The study involved eight people, ages 35 to
63, who had a stroke within the last year and were relearning to
use their affected hands. They were compared to six people who
had never had a stroke. The stroke patients received three
sessions of magnetic stimulation to the side of the brain that
had not been affected by the stroke using different parameters,
including sham (mock) stimulation. A sham is the application of
the procedure excludi