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Comparison of two protocols of transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of chronic tinnitus: a randomized controlled clinical trial of burst repetitive versus high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of two techniques of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to treat chronic tinnitus; continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) and high-frequency rTMS. In a controlled randomized clinical trial, 55 patients with chronic tinnitus were randomly divided in two groups. They received four sessions of treatment. cTBS was tested on one group and high-frequency rTMS (10 Hz) was tested on the other. Severity of the tinnitus was assessed before treatment, after the last treatment session and then 1-month later. Both the treatments of high-frequency and cTBS had a suppressive effect on tinnitus. However, cTBS was more effective than high-frequency rTMS (P = 0.001). This study suggests that rTMS even in four sessions is effective in reducing tinnitus severity; moreover, compared to high-frequency TMS better results can be achieved with cTBS.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge staff and members of the Firoozgar Clinical Research Development Center (FCRDC) for their helps and efforts in statistical analysis and data interpretation of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Bijan Forogh, Seyedeh-Maryam Yazdi-Bahri, Tannaz Ahadi & Gholam Reza Raissi

  2. Brain and Spine Repair Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Bijan Forogh, Seyedeh-Maryam Yazdi-Bahri, Tannaz Ahadi & Gholam Reza Raissi

  3. Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society (NVS), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad

  4. Firoozgar Clinical Research Development Center (FCRDC), Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad

Authors
  1. Bijan Forogh
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  2. Seyedeh-Maryam Yazdi-Bahri
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  3. Tannaz Ahadi
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  4. Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad
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  5. Gholam Reza Raissi
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Correspondence to Tannaz Ahadi.

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Forogh, B., Yazdi-Bahri, SM., Ahadi, T. et al. Comparison of two protocols of transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of chronic tinnitus: a randomized controlled clinical trial of burst repetitive versus high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neurol Sci 35, 227–232 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-013-1487-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-013-1487-5

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