Study of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Treat Chronic Headaches After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Improve Recovery

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the long-term effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation rTMS, a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, on chronic headaches following mild traumatic brain injury mTBI. This study aims to better identify biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis while improving post-concussion symptoms and reducing the economic burden caused by delayed recovery. rTMS has been shown to reduce chronic headaches without the side effects commonly seen with medications. Participants will be assigned randomly to one of several groups receiving different doses of rTMS or a sham treatment that mimics the procedure without affecting brain function. The treatment schedules include 12 sessions over 4 weeks, 24 sessions over 2 weeks, or 6 sessions over 2 weeks, with sessions administered multiple times per week. After completing the study, participants initially in the sham group may have the opportunity to receive active rTMS. During the study, participants will keep a daily headache diary throughout the 4-week treatment and complete various assessments at baseline, immediately after treatment, and at 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. These assessments include patient-reported outcomes, protein and gene expression tests, neurophysiological measures, headache impact tests, concussion symptom scales, and physical activity and sleep quality monitoring using wrist actigraphy. The total involvement spans several months to monitor treatment effects and safety.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Post-concussion Headaches