Trial results for a study investigating Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for musculoskeletal pain in Parkinson's Disease were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2026-02-17, with 62 participants enrolled.
Background
Musculoskeletal pain is a frequently reported non-motor symptom in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD), significantly affecting their quality of life. While repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) has been suggested as a potential analgesic treatment for various pain syndromes, its specific efficacy for pain relief in PD has not been extensively studied in placebo-controlled trials.
Trial design
This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 62 participants to investigate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for musculoskeletal pain in patients with Parkinson's Disease. The conditions studied included Parkinson's Disease, Musculoskeletal Pain, Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Primary Motor Cortex, and Electroencephalography. The trial compared an active M1-rTMS group against a sham-rTMS group.
Key results
The trial reported changes from baseline over two months in pain scores for both the M1-rTMS and sham-rTMS groups:
- For "Change From Baseline Over 2 Months (Group by Time Interaction) in Modified KING'S PD Pain Scale Domain 1" (units on a scale):
- M1-rTMS Group: Mean 12.41 (95% Confidence Interval 0.52)
- Sham-rTMS Group: Mean 13.64 (95% Confidence Interval 0.40)
- M1-rTMS Group: Mean 9.96 (95% Confidence Interval 0.72)
- Sham-rTMS Group: Mean 14.71 (95% Confidence Interval 0.97)
- M1-rTMS Group: Mean 10.61 (95% Confidence Interval 0.85)
- Sham-rTMS Group: Mean 15.84 (95% Confidence Interval 1.14)
- For "Change From Baseline Over 2 Months (Group by Time Interaction) in KING'S PD Pain Scale Domain 1" (score on a scale):
- M1-rTMS Group: Mean 6.55 (95% Confidence Interval 0.43)
- Sham-rTMS Group: Mean 6.95 (95% Confidence Interval 0.30)
- M1-rTMS Group: Mean 5.78 (95% Confidence Interval 0.50)
- Sham-rTMS Group: Mean 7.49 (95% Confidence Interval 0.12)
- M1-rTMS Group: Mean 5.63 (95% Confidence Interval 0.54)
- Sham-rTMS Group: Mean 7.79 (95% Confidence Interval 0.32)
What this means
The results indicate that participants in the M1-rTMS group generally experienced a greater reduction in pain scores compared to those in the sham-rTMS group over two months. Across multiple measurements on both the Modified KING'S PD Pain Scale Domain 1 and the KING'S PD Pain Scale Domain 1, the mean change from baseline was consistently lower in the active treatment group. This suggests that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the primary motor cortex may offer a beneficial effect in alleviating musculoskeletal pain for individuals with Parkinson's Disease.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT05537597, titled "Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Musculoskeletal Pain in Patients With Parkinson's Disease", were posted on 2026-02-17 on clinicaltrials.gov.