Mechanistic Study of Personalized rTMS in Chronic Pain
Previous research has demonstrated that repetitive magnetic brain stimulation can be an effective adjunctive treatment for several conditions, including chronic pain. However, current stimulation protocols are typically standardized and do not account for individual variability in brain function. This uniform, one-size
| Condition(s) | Chronic Pain |
|---|---|
| Status | Recruiting |
| Phase | NA |
| Study type | Interventional |
| Summary | Previous research has demonstrated that repetitive magnetic brain stimulation can be an effective adjunctive treatment for several conditions, including chronic pain. However, current stimulation protocols are typically standardized and do not account for individual variability in brain function. This uniform, one-size-fits-all approach results in only about 40% of patients experiencing meaningful clinical benefit, while the remainder show little to no improvement. To address this limitation, the present study will investigate how magnetic stimulation can be tailored to individuals with chronic pain. By analyzing each participant's brain signals prior to treatment, we aim to personalize stimulation parameters to better match individual neural characteristics and potentially enhance therape |
| Who can participate | Inclusion Criteria: * Presence of chronic pain (present most of the days for more than 3 months). * Pain with a mean pain intensity between 3-9 on a 0-10 pain scale (where 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain imaginable). * Speak and understand English or Danish Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant or breastfeeding * Current uncontrolled major depression as the main diagnosis * Current history of substance abuse * Lack of ability to cooperate, to fully understand the protocol or any difficulty in filling out questionnaires (e.g., due to language or cognitive problems) * Formal contraindications to TMS application (presence of epilepsy, cranial implanted ferromagnetic devices, e.g., intracranial neurostimulator or cochlear implants, tattoos with metal ink on the face or permanent make up w |
| Ages | 18 Years to 80 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Lead sponsor | Aalborg University |
| Locations | Gistrup, Denmark |
| Start date | 2026-03-01 |
| NCT ID | NCT07266103 |
| Official listing | https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07266103 |