Non-invasive Brain Stimulation in Pediatric Migraine: A Perspective From Evidence in Adult Migraine

Conclusions The Cochrane reviews do not provide clear conclusions regarding the effectiveness of TMS and tDCS against adult chronic pain, although small benefits appear to have been observed. However, the authors point out many biases and important heterogeneities of these studies (30). At the moment, it is not possible to establish useful guidelines on the use of TMS and tDCS in the treatment of pediatric migraine and, in general, for pediatric pain treatment. However, adult studies as well as preliminary pediatric reports show that the application of these techniques is safe, with few side effects, potentially low costs, and easy applicability. Furthermore, in adults, for some serious painful disorders, such as chronic regional pain syndrome, level A evidence has been obtained regarding the pain-relieving effects of these techniques. Preliminary reports, principally in adults but also in the pediatric population, suggest that migraine may represent an effective therapeutic target. Moreover, NBS of cortical areas as DLPFC, that has been explored in migraine, was found to be effective for treatment of other conditions, that are comorbid with disease, sharing also a stimulation target employed for migraine treatment, like DLPFC. Among these disorders, in addition to the role played by the psychiatric diseases, of particular importance is obesity which also favors the chronification of migraine (35, 36). Due to the large prevalence of the disease and the disability associated...
Source: Frontiers in Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research