Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces pain intensity: Study

At week 8, the main result was a pain reduction of at least 50% when compared to the baseline. Pain interference, mood, overall perception of change, and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) ratings at weeks 8 and 16 were secondary objectives. 

A total of 101 women (mean age 48 [range 25-83] years) were randomly assigned to either the active (n = 52) or sham (n = 49) arms. When comparing the active group to the sham, Bayesian analysis showed a 99.4% chance of ≥50% pain reduction at week 8, with a number required to treat of 4.54.

The active group saw a greater relative decrease in pain than the sham group, according to frequentist analysis. By week 16, the chance of a decrease in FIQ score was 79.1%, but this probability had dropped to 34.2%. The intervention seems to be safe.

Overall, this is the first multicenter trial to demonstrate that M1-rTMS has a reasonably large effect size and an apparent favorable safety profile and that treatment increases the likelihood of significant pain reduction in women with fibromyalgia for up to 8 weeks.

Source:

Silva, V. A., Baptista, A. F., Fonseca, A. S., Carneiro, A. M., Brunoni, A. R., Carrilho, P. E. M., Lins, C. C., Kubota, G. T., Fernandes, A. M. B. L., Lapa, J. D. S., Dos Santos, L. M., Sasso, I., Monte-Silva, K., Poindessous-Jazat, F., Mori, N., Miki, K., Baltar, A., Tanaka, C., Teixeira, M. J., … Ciampi de Andrade, D. (2025). Motor cortex repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in fibromyalgia: a multicentre randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Anaesthesia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2024.12.045