Effects of Combining Music Therapy, Light Therapy, and Chromotherapy in the Treatment of Chronic Pain Patients: A Pilot Study.

Background: It is currently considered that around 30% of chronic pain patients are totally refractory to medical treatment. Among patients who remain responsive to medical treatment, it is estimated that between 20% and 50% are likely to discontinue treatment due to severe side effects. Given these therapeutic difficulties, a significant number of patients turn to complementary therapies. Objective: The LineQuartz® is a medical device that combines 3 complementary therapies, namely, music therapy, light therapy, and chromotherapy. We propose to evaluate its effectiveness in chronic pain patients. Methods: Between October 2021 and October 2022, 44 patients aged between 23 and 85 years (mean: 55.4 years) were included in a prospective study. All patients had background pain intensity greater than 4/10 on the Numerical Pain Scale (NS). Treatment consisted of 4 half-hour sessions, divided into one session per week for 3 weeks (21 days). Patients were assessed by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD) the day before starting treatment (Day 0) and the day after the end of treatment (Day 22). Results: Apart from the BPI item, "relationship with others," all items improved significantly (p < 0.050). Background pain intensity (NS) and frequency of painful attacks improved very significantly (p < 0.001). The HAD anxiety subscore was also significantly improved (p < 0.001). Discussion. This open pilot study supports the idea that LineQuartz® has a place among complementary therapies dedicated to the treatment of chronic pain. However, these results need to be confirmed by a controlled study.

Additional Benefit of Intraoperative Electroacupuncture in Improving Tolerance of Deep Brain Stimulation Surgical Procedure in Parkinsonian Patients.

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective technique to treat patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. The surgical procedure of DBS implantation is generally performed under local anesthesia due to the need for intraoperative clinical testing. However, this procedure is long (5-7 h on average) and, therefore, the objective that the patient remains co-operative and tolerates the intervention well is a real challenge. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the additional benefit of electroacupuncture (EA) performed intraoperatively to improve the comfort of parkinsonian patients during surgical DBS implantation. METHODS: This single-center randomized study compared two groups of patients. In the first group, DBS implantation was performed under local anesthesia alone, while the second group received EA in addition. The patients were evaluated preoperatively, during the different stages of the surgery, and 2 days after surgery, using the 9-item Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS), including a total sum score and physical and emotional subscores. RESULTS: The data of nine patients were analyzed in each group. Although pain and tiredness increased in both groups after placement of the stereotactic frame, the ESAS item "lack of appetite", as well as the ESAS total score and physical subscore increased after completion of the first burr hole until the end of the surgical procedure in the control group only. ESAS total score and physical subscore were significantly higher at the end of the intervention in the control group compared to the EA group. After the surgical intervention (D2), anxiety and ESAS emotional subscore were improved in both groups, but the feeling of wellbeing improved in the EA group only. Finally, one patient developed delirium during the intervention and none in the EA group. DISCUSSION: This study shows that intraoperative electroacupuncture significantly improves the tolerance of DBS surgery in parkinsonian patients. This easy-to-perform procedure could be fruitfully added in clinical practice.

Efficacy of Occipital Nerve Stimulation to Treat Refractory Occipital Headaches: A Single-Institution Study of 60 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) is shown to be effective in treating various forms of headache. Most studies describe the treatment of occipital neuralgia (ON), but in many patients, the clinical description could also correspond to cervicogenic headache (CGH) or occipital migraine (OM). These different entities (ON, CGH, and OM) may be grouped together under the term occipital headaches. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of ONS to treat occipital headaches in a large series of patients with a long-term follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of data on 60 patients with intractable occipital headaches treated with occipital nerve stimulation (ONS), who were referred to our center between October 2008 and October 2014. Details of pain evaluation, location, duration, cause and previous treatment were analyzed. Evaluations included the visual analog scale (VAS), the number of headache days per month (NHD), and the Medication Quantification Scale (MQS). Trials with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS-ONS) were performed and served as a guide for surgery indication (see Patients and Method section). RESULTS: After one year of ONS, mean VAS had decreased from 8.4/10 to 2.8/10 (72.2% reduction [p < 0.001]), and 76% of patients had at least a 50% decrease in mean VAS score. The mean MQS score decreased from 18 to 8.8, corresponding to a reduction of pain medication by an average of 50%. Adverse events concerned 12 patients (20%). Six patients presented with electrode displacement or fracture (10%) and six patients presented with cases of infection (10%) associated with the pulse generator. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this large series confirm that ONS is an effective treatment option for patients with intractable occipital headaches, but the frequency of complications remains quite high and must be taken into account in the surgical decision.

Treatment of refractory headache secondary to intracranial endovascular procedure by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of the occipital nerve.

This pilot study aimed at assessing the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of the occipital nerve (ON) to treat chronic refractory headache secondary to intracranial endovascular procedures (iEVP) in 4 patients. The duration of ON-TENS therapy was only 1 month (n=2) or longer than 4 months (n=2). Overall, pain intensity decreased from 7.8 (on a 0-10 scale) at baseline to 0.8 at 6 months after ON-TENS therapy initiation (-90%), while drug treatment was reduced from 34.3 to 0.8 (-98%) on the medication quantification scale. ON-TENS is a simple technique that may benefit patients with post-iEVP refractory headache.

A good preoperative response to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation predicts a better therapeutic effect of implanted occipital nerve stimulation in pharmacologically intractable headaches.

Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) is a surgical approach to treat patients with medically intractable chronic headache disorders. However, no preoperative test has been yet validated to allow candidates to be selected for implantation. In this study, the analgesic efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) was tested for 1 to 3 months in 41 patients with pharmacologically intractable headache disorders of various origins, using a new technique of electrode placement over the occipital nerve. ONS electrodes were subsequently implanted in 33 patients (occipital neuralgia [n=15], cervicogenic headache [n=7], cluster headache [n=6], chronic migraine [n=5]) who had responded at least moderately to TENS. Assessment was performed up to five years after implantation (three years on average), based on the mean and maximum daily pain intensity scored on a 0-10 visual analogue scale and the number of headache days per month. Both TENS and chronic ONS therapy were found to be efficacious (57-76% improvement compared to baseline on the various clinical variables). The efficacy of ONS was better in cases of good or very good preoperative response to TENS than in cases of moderate response to TENS. Implanted ONS may be a valuable therapeutic option in the long term for patients with pharmacologically intractable chronic headache. Although we cannot conclude in patients with poor or no response to TENS, a good or very good response to TENS can support the indication of ONS therapy. This preoperative test could particularly be useful in patients with chronic migraine, in whom it may be difficult to indicate an invasive technique of cranial neurostimulation.

Non-invasive stimulation therapies for the treatment of refractory pain.

Drug-refractory pain is an indication for neurostimulation therapy, which can be either non-invasive [mainly transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)] or invasive which requires the intervention of a surgeon to implant electrodes and a pulse generator [peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), nerve root stimulation (NRS), spinal cord stimulation (SCS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and motor cortex stimulation (MCS)]. In this review, the respective mechanisms of action and efficacy of TENS, rTMS, and tDCS are discussed. The advantages of TENS include non-invasiveness and ease to use, so that the technique can be operated by the patient. TENS can be indicated as a first-line treatment in patients suffering from peripheral neuropathic pain if the painful area is limited and the sensory deficit moderate. The current best indications are chronic radiculopathies, mononeuropathies, and postherpetic pain. Test sessions allow to select suitable patients and to determine the site, frequency, and optimal intensity of stimulation. Three to four 30- to 60-minute sessions per day are usually recommended. With regard to rTMS, published randomized controlled studies in chronic neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain (fibromyalgia) reached a sufficient level of evidence to recommend this technique for the indication of implanted motor cortex stimulation for the treatment of refractory neuropathic pain or as a long-term treatment for pain syndromes, in which surgery is not indicated, such as fibromyalgia. Other indications, concerning either chronic or acute pain syndromes, such as postoperative pain, should be developed in parallel with the optimization of stimulation parameters. This also includes the availability of new coils and magnetic field waveforms and progress in neuronavigation techniques, especially by the integration of functional imaging and high-resolution EEG data.

Unilateral thalamic deep brain stimulation for disabling kinetic tremor in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Surgical options of multiple sclerosis (MS) tremor treatment are limited and narrowed to thalamotomy or deep brain stimulation of the thalamic nucleus ventralis intermedius. Lack of qualification protocol frequently results in poor outcome. OBJECTIVE: To determine prospectively the efficacy and safety of unilateral ventralis intermedius deep brain stimulation as a tool to control disabling kinetic arm tremor related to MS. METHODS: Neurological and neuropsychological evaluations were performed 1 month and 1 day before surgery and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. The evaluation included measurement of tremor and dexterity, Extended Disability Status Scale, Mini Mental State Examination, and quality-of-life assessment. Nine consecutive patients were enrolled in the group. Mean age at the time of surgery was 38.9 ± 9 years; median Extended Disability Status Scale at baseline was 7.1. Mean MS duration was 11.7 years, and mean tremor duration was 6.11 years. Mean postural and kinetic scores and hand capacity were measured. RESULTS: One month after surgery, median scores off and on stimulation were 12 and 6 for postural tremor, 12 and 10.5 for kinetic tremor score, 12 and 7.5 for manual capacity, and 22 and 20 for functional handicap, respectively. Similar results were 10 and 4, respectively, at the 3-month follow-up. Six months after surgery, median scores off and on stimulation were 10.4 and 4 for postural tremor and 12 and 7.8 for kinetic tremor, respectively. CONCLUSION: This prospective study confirms the value and safety of ventralis intermedius deep brain stimulation for treatment of kinetic tremor related to MS. Accurate and precise presurgical qualification plays a key role in successful treatment.

Predictive value of rTMS in the identification of responders to epidural motor cortex stimulation therapy for pain.

UNLABELLED: This study was designed to assess the value of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to predict the efficacy of epidural motor cortex stimulation (EMCS) to treat neuropathic pain. We have included 59 patients treated by EMCS for more than 1 year and in whom active and sham 10Hz-rTMS sessions were performed as preoperative tests, targeted over the cortical representation of the painful area. Analgesic effects were rated on a visual analogue scale. The real rTMS efficacy was determined by subtracting the effect of the sham stimulation on pain scores from that of the active stimulation (active-sham calculation). Pain scores were significantly reduced by active rTMS and EMCS, but not by sham rTMS. Twenty-six of the 33 patients (79%) who responded to active rTMS and all the 21 patients (100%) who responded for active-sham calculation also responded to EMCS. The response observed in active-sham calculation had a positive predictive value of 1.0, but a negative predictive value of .6 regarding EMCS outcome. The analgesic effect of rTMS or EMCS was not influenced by the side, origin, or duration of pain or by the presence of motor or sensory deficit in the painful area. Poorer results were observed in case of lower limb pain for rTMS and in older patients for EMCS. This study confirms that neuropathic pain can be significantly relieved by motor cortex rTMS or EMCS. A positive outcome of EMCS can be predicted by a real response to rTMS, but not on clinical grounds. PERSPECTIVE: Single sessions of sham-controlled preoperative rTMS tests can be used to confirm the indication of EMCS therapy but have no value to exclude patients from this therapy. New rTMS protocols remain to be assessed to improve the usefulness of preoperative rTMS in EMCS practice.

Outcome of bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: correlation with intra-operative multi-unit recordings but not with the type of anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) gained general acceptance in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical outcome and the predicting factors of efficacy of chronic STN stimulation, while DBS electrodes were implanted under local or general anaesthesia with intra-operative electrophysiological guidance based on multi-unit recordings. METHODS: We included a large single-centre cohort of 54 patients with advanced PD (mean age: 59 years; disease duration: 14 years). Clinical evaluation was performed by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) before and 1 year after surgical placement of DBS electrodes. RESULTS: In the on-stimulation and off-medication condition, the UPDRS part III score was reduced by 56% compared to the off-stimulation condition or pre-operative off-drug score. In the on-stimulation and on-medication condition, this score was reduced by 73%. The severity of motor fluctuations and dyskinesia (UPDRS part IV) and the activities of daily living (UPDRS part II) were reduced by 65 and 80%, respectively, in the on-stimulation/on-medication condition compared to the pre-operative baseline. The daily dose of antiparkinsonian treatment was diminished by 72%. Among the various pre- and intra-operative data, the most important predictive factor for clinical efficacy of STN stimulation was the length of hyperactivity along the best track observed in intra-operative multi-unit recordings. Other predictive factors included age, disease duration and pre-operative levodopa responsiveness or baseline off-drug values of the Hoehn and Yahr and UPDRS part III scores. In contrast, the type of anaesthesia (local vs. general) did not significantly influence the clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: The present results are in the average of previously published results, but they have been obtained from a large single-centre cohort of patients with important reductions in the daily dose of antiparkinsonian drugs. This study confirmed the efficacy of the STN-DBS technique and emphasized the value of an original intra-operative electrophysiological approach based on multi-unit and not single-unit quantified recordings. This method allows DBS electrode implantation to be safely performed under general anaesthesia without lessening the rate of efficacy of the procedure.

[Neurostimulatory treatment of neuropathic pain]. / Traitement par neurostimulation des douleurs neuropathiques.

Neurostimulation of neuropathic pain is based on surgical implantation of devices for several types of neuromodulatory treatment (stimulation of the spinal cord, cortex, deep brain or thalamus, or occiput). Spinal cord stimulation is a recognized treatment, with a high level of proof. It is effective in 70 or 80% of appropriately selected cases. Cortical stimulation is effective in 50 to 70% of cases but should be performed only in several specialized centers. Thalamic stimulation, with its efficacy rate of only 30 to 50%, should be reserved for patients for whom the preceding techniques have failed.

The role of intra-operative motor evoked potentials in the optimization of chronic cortical stimulation for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the significance of intra-operative motor evoked potentials (MEPs) obtained by monopolar and bipolar stimulation in determining the location of the electrode(s) giving most pain relief in chronic motor cortex stimulation (MCS). METHODS: Eight patients with chronic refractory neuropathic pain were implanted epidurally with two parallel leads of four electrodes each and placed normal to the central sulcus (CS). We measured the peak-peak amplitude (V(p-p)) of the MEPs recorded intra-operatively at the contralateral hand with the same stimulus delivered by each single electrode used as an anode or a cathode. Those electrodes giving the largest MEPs in monopolar stimulation were also tested in bipolar stimulation with an adjacent electrode located on the same or the other lead. It was analyzed whether a relation was present between the electrode providing the largest V(p-p) in the monopolar condition and the bipolar combination selected for chronic stimulation. RESULTS: In monopolar stimulation the median amplitude of MEPs evoked with an anode was 59% larger than with a cathode. The mean amplitude of the bipolarly evoked MEPs was only 21% and 37%, respectively, of the corresponding monopoles when the anode and cathode were separated by 6mm and by more than 8mm. A significant pain relief was obtained in 5 out of 8 patients post-operatively. In all these patients, one of the cathodes used in chronic stimulation was one of the anodes producing the largest MEP intra-operatively. Conversely, in the 3 patients who did not benefit from MCS, one of the cathodes used in chronic stimulation was one of the cathodes producing the largest MEPs intra-operatively. CONCLUSIONS: Monopolar stimulation should be applied in intra-operative neurophysiological testing because, contrary to bipolar stimulation, the corresponding MEPs are unambiguously related to a single stimulating electrode and their amplitude is not affected by the anode-cathode distance. The anode providing the largest MEPs intra-operatively should be selected as the cathode in chronic stimulation. However, implantable pulse generators allowing monopolar (cathodal and anodal) stimulation for MCS should become available to compare the respective analgesic efficacy of monopolar and bipolar chronic cortical stimulation. SIGNIFICANCE: Intra-operative MEP recordings can predict which electrode should be used as the cathode to obtain the best analgesic effect with chronic MCS.

[Motor cortex stimulation in the central pain syndrome]. / Stymulacja kory ruchowej w zespole bólu osrodkowego.

We present a case of a 45-year-old male, treated with motor cortex stimulation (MCS). The procedure was performed in order to decrease symptoms of the central pain syndrome (CPS), which developed seven years earlier, after a left-side, cerebellum and brainstem ischemic stroke. The syndrome is defined as pain due to primary damage or dysfunction of the central nervous system. The pain was not sensitive to pharmacological and previous surgical interventions. During four months of follow-up after surgery with the use of MCS, 20% reduction of pain (Visual Analog Scale), withdrawal of narcotic and decrease of non-narcotic medications, ability to introduce rehabilitation and improvement of sleep were observed. No side effects were noticed. The procedure of electrode implantation to motor cortex is a relatively new treatment option in refractory central and neuropathic pain syndromes. The number of described procedures does not exceed 500 worldwide. The presented case is to our knowledge the first procedure of its type in Poland, giving hope to CPS patients, whose symptoms are otherwise difficult to treat.

The antalgic efficacy of chronic motor cortex stimulation is related to sensory changes in the painful zone.

Epidural motor cortex stimulation (MCS) could achieve good pain control in patients with drug-resistant chronic neurogenic pain. In the search for parameters associated with the favourable outcome of this surgical procedure, quantitative sensory testing was performed in a series of 31 patients treated by MCS for chronic pain. Non-nociceptive and nociceptive sensory thresholds were measured in the painful area and its contralateral homologous zone with the stimulator in 'off' and in 'on' position. All 13 patients who exhibited normal or quite normal non-nociceptive thermal thresholds within the painful area benefited from MCS. Of the remaining 18 patients with altered thermal sensory thresholds, eight patients nevertheless experienced good pain control by MCS. In these eight 'good responders', sensory thresholds were improved by switching 'on' MCS. In contrast, the last 10 patients showed abnormal thermal thresholds that were not modified by switching 'on' MCS, and did not respond clinically to MCS. Therefore, 'good responders' to MCS could be identified by the absence of alteration of non-nociceptive sensory modalities within the painful area, or by abnormal sensory thresholds that could be improved by MCS. These results additionally suggest that MCS acts on neural pathways involved in sensory discrimination that, in turn, are able to modulate the transmission of pain signals.

Motor cortex stimulation in the treatment of deafferentation pain. I. Localization of the motor cortex.

MRI and electrophysiological techniques to localize the primary motor cortex (MC) were performed on patients considered for MC stimulation for the treatment of deafferentation pain. The representation and trajectory of the rolandic fissure (RF) were accurately localized by external cranial landmarks and radiopaque fiducials superimposed on oblique MRI sections. In addition, the scalp distribution of the corticocortical responses elicited by acute epidural stimulation [motor cortex (MC) in frontal and sensory cortex (SC) in parietal scalp regions], and analgesic responses at the topographical representation of the painful periphery elicited by subacute epidural stimulation were found to be simple and reliable procedures to localize MC, SC and RF.

Chronic motor cortex stimulation in the treatment of central and neuropathic pain. Correlations between clinical, electrophysiological and anatomical data.

Thirty-two patients with refractory central and neuropathic pain of peripheral origin were treated by chronic stimulation of the motor cortex between May 1993 and January 1997. The mean follow-up was 27.3 months. The first 24 patients were operated according to the technique described by Tsubokawa. The last 13 cases (eight new patients and five reinterventions) were operated by a technique including localisation by superficial CT reconstruction of the central region and neuronavigator guidance. The position of the central sulcus was confirmed by the use of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials. The somatotopic organisation of the motor cortex was established peroperatively by studying the motor responses at stimulation of the motor cortex through the dura. Ten of the 13 patients with central pain (77%) and ten of the 12 patients with neuropathic facial pain had experienced substantial pain relief (75%). One of the three patients with post-paraplegia pain was clearly improved. A satisfactory result was obtained in one patient with pain related to plexus avulsion and in one patient with pain related to intercostal herpes zooster. None of the patients developed epileptic seizures. The position of the stimulating poles effective on pain corresponded to the somatotopic representation of the motor cortex. The neuronavigator localisation and guidance technique proved to be most useful identifying the appropriate portion of the motor gyrus. It also allowed the establishment of reliable correlations between electrophysiological-clinical and anatomical data which may be used to improve the clinical results and possibly to extend the indications of this technique.

Central pain and thalamic hyperactivity: a single photon emission computerized tomographic study.

Five patients with central post-stroke pain (CPSP) accepted to be studied according to the following paradigm: a single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) using [123I]N-isopropyl-iodoamphetamine (IMP) was made in each patient 20 min following i.v. injection of IMP; during this time, the patients were stimulated in order to reproduce their spontaneous pain. Of the five patients, two had CPSP with hyperpathia following a stroke (with a lesion on CT scan involving the thalamo-cortical pathway in one and involving the thalamus in the other); two had CPSP following a stroke in the middle cerebral artery area, without hyperpathia; and the last patient suffered pain from algodystrophia following a fracture of the wrist. In the two cases with hyperpathia, SPECT demonstrated a contralateral relative hyperactivity in a central region corresponding to the thalamic area. This was not observed in the three other patients. In the two patients with hyperpathia, a second SPECT scan with stimulation of the contralateral pain-free arm did not demonstrate any hyperactivity in the thalamic area. These results suggest that a thalamic neuronal hyperactivity may characterize some hyperpathic syndromes and, in accordance with our previous results obtained in the rat, that the loss of inhibition on medial thalamic neurons may be a main feature of hyperpathia following certain cerebral stroke syndromes.