Repetitive brain stimulation in clinical trials may boost stroke recovery

January 12, 2021

Ottawa’s Dr. Jodi Edwards and a team of Canadian experts have produced the first set of recommendations on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as an adjunct treatment to standard rehabilitation in clinical trials to help restore hand and arm use after stroke. The recommendations are in the latest issue of the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.

The Canadian Platform for Trials in Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (CanStim) is co-led by Dr. Edwards, director of the Brain and Heart Nexus Research Program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute; Dr. Alexander Thiel, a stroke neurologist at McGill University; and Dr. Numa Dancause of the Université de Montréal. The group involves top stroke recovery researchers from across the country.

CanStim’s recommendations identify patients who would most benefit from rTMS based on a range of factors, including location, severity, timing, and several others.

Read the full release as posted on the website of the Heart and Stroke Foundation Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery.