A pilot trial examining the merits of combining amantadine and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as an intervention for persons with disordered consciousness after TBI
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
11-1-2020
Journal
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation
Volume
35
Issue
6
DOI
10.1097/HTR.0000000000000634
Keywords
Amantadine; Clinical trial; Default mode network; Disorders of consciousness; Functional MRI; Intervention; Neurobehavioral; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Traumatic brain injury; Vegetative state
Abstract
Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Objective: Report pilot findings of neurobehavioral gains and network changes observed in persons with disordered consciousness (DoC) who received repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or amantadine (AMA), and then rTMS+AMA. Participants: Four persons with DoC 1 to 15 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Alternate treatment-order, within-subject, baseline-controlled trial. Main Measures: For group and individual neurobehavioral analyses, predetermined thresholds, based on mixed linear-effects models and conditional minimally detectable change, were used to define meaningful neurobehavioral change for the Disorders of Consciousness Scale-25 (DOCS) total and Auditory-Language measures. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the default mode and 6 other networks was examined. Results: Meaningful gains in DOCS total measures were observed for 75% of treatment segments and auditory-language gains were observed after rTMS, which doubled when rTMS preceded rTMS+AMA. Neurobehavioral changes were reflected in rsFC for language, salience, and sensorimotor networks. Between networks interactions were modulated, globally, after all treatments. Conclusions: For persons with DoC 1 to 15 years after TBI, meaningful neurobehavioral gains were observed after provision of rTMS, AMA, and rTMS+AMA. Sequencing and combining of treatments to modulate broad-scale neural activity, via differing mechanisms, merits investigation in a future study powered to determine efficacy of this approach to enabling neurobehavioral recovery.
APA Citation
Bender Pape, T., Herrold, A., Livengood, S., Guernon, A., Weaver, J. A., Higgins, J., Rosenow, J., Walsh, E., Bhaumik, R., Pacheco, M., Patil, V., Kletzel, S., & Conneely, M. (2020). A pilot trial examining the merits of combining amantadine and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as an intervention for persons with disordered consciousness after TBI. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 35 (6). http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/HTR.0000000000000634
