Abstract: Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of single-session repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) on motor function in Parkinson's disease(PD).Methods Twenty-four PD patients were enrolled into this two-stage study with cross-over design and divided into two groups randomly.The subjects of first group underwent therapeutic rTMS(0.5 Hz,80% of resting motor threshold,1 000 pulses×2,single-session) on primary motor cortex and underwent controlled rTMS with same stimulation parameters on occipital cortex seven days later.The subjects of second group underwent controlled two sessions of rTMS in reverse sequence.The motor function was assessed by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale(UPDRS) and Visual Analogy Scales.Results The UPDRS improvement(34.2±7.5%,36.5±8.7%) of subjects after therapeutic rTMS on primary motor cortex was significant higher than that(7.2±3.1%,7.4±3.8%) after controlled rTMS on occipital cortex(P<0.01).The duration of therapeutic effect(39±12 minutes,35±11 minutes) was significant higher than that of controlled rTMS.Conclusion The single-session rTMS has therapeutic effect of short duration on motor performance in PD.

Key words: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, Parkinson's disease, therapeutic effect