BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation
Volume 2, Issue 2 , Pages 103-107 , April 2009

A preliminary study of transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of refractory chronic pelvic pain

  • Bradford W. Fenton, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Summa Health System Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Akron, Ohio
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence: Dr Bradford W. Fenton, 75 Arch St, Akron, OH 44304.
  • ,
  • Patrick A. Palmieri, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Summa Health System, Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress, Akron, Ohio
  • ,
  • Paolo Boggio, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • ,
  • James Fanning, DO

      Affiliations

    • Summa Health System Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Akron, Ohio
  • ,
  • Felipe Fregni, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Received 7 July 2008 ,Revised 22 September 2008 ,Accepted 22 September 2008.

References 

  1. Mathias SD, Kuppermann M, Liberman RF, Lipschutz RC, Steege JF. Chronic pelvic pain: prevalence, health-related quality of life, and economic correlates. Obstet Gynecol. 1996;87(3):321–327
  2. Duffy S. Chronic pelvic pain: defining the scope of the problem. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2001;74(Suppl 1):S3–S7
  3. Miller C. An individual's pain, society's pain. Obstet Gynecol News. 2007;2(1):28
  4. Howard FM. Chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol. 2003;101(3):594–611
  5. Fenton BW, Durner C, Fanning J. Frequency and distribution of multiple diagnoses in chronic pelvic pain related to previous abuse or drug-seeking behavior. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2008;65(4):247–251
  6. Fenton B, Durner C, Fanning J. Limbic associated pelvic pain (chronic pelvic allodynia) decreases response to treatment. Obstet Gynecol. 2007;109(4):25s
  7. Stones RW, Mountfield J. Interventions for treating chronic pelvic pain in women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(4):CD000387
  8. Abbott JA, Hawe J, Clayton RD, Garry R. The effects and effectiveness of laparoscopic excision of endometriosis: a prospective study with 2-5 year follow-up. Hum Reprod. 2003;18(9):1922–1927
  9. Fenton BW. Limbic associated pelvic pain: a hypothesis to explain the diagnostic relationships and features of patients with chronic pelvic pain. Med Hypotheses. 2007;69(2):282–286
  10. Flor H. Cortical reorganisation and chronic pain: implications for rehabilitation. J Rehabil Med. 2003;41s:66–72
  11. Nitsche MA, Seeber A, Frommann K, et al. Modulating parameters of excitability during and after transcranial direct current stimulation of the human motor cortex. J Physiol. 2005;568(Pt 1):291–303
  12. Nitsche MA, Doemkes S, Karakoese T, et al. Shaping the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of the human motor cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2007;24:24
  13. Nitsche MA, Paulus W. Sustained excitability elevations induced by transcranial DC motor cortex stimulation in humans. Neurology. 2001;57(10):1899–1901
  14. Fregni F, Boggio PS, Lima MC, et al. A sham-controlled, phase II trial of transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of central pain in traumatic spinal cord injury. Pain. 2006;122(1-2):197–209
  15. Fregni F, Gimenes R, Valle AC, et al. A randomized, sham-controlled, proof of principle study of transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of pain in fibromyalgia. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54(12):3988–3998
  16. ACOG. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 51. Chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;103(3):589–605
  17. Gandiga PC, Hummel FC, Cohen LG. Transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS): a tool for double-blind sham-controlled clinical studies in brain stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2006;117(4):845–850
  18. Bolton JE. Accuracy of recall of usual pain intensity in back pain patients. Pain. 1999;83(3):533–539
  19. Fenton B, Flora R, Kovacik M, Noe D, Fanning J. Chronic pelvic pain outcomes can be predicted by initial assessment scores. Obstet Gynecol. 2007;109(4):18
  20. Roland M, Morris R. A study of the natural history of back pain. Part I: development of a reliable and sensitive measure of disability in low-back pain. Spine. 1983;8(2):141–144
  21. O'Leary MP, Sant GR, Fowler FJ, Whitmore KE, Spolarich-Kroll J. The interstitial cystitis symptom index and problem index. Urology. 1997;49(5A Suppl):58–63
  22. Drossman DA. Irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterologist. 1994;2(4):315–326
  23. Wolfe F. Pain extent and diagnosis: development and validation of the regional pain scale in 12,799 patients with rheumatic disease. J Rheumatol. 2003;30(2):369–378
  24. Goldberg LR, Johnson JA, Eber HW, et al. The international personality item pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. J Res Personality. 2006;40:84–96
  25. Foa EB, Johnson KM, Feeny NC, Treadwell KR. The child PTSD Symptom Scale: a preliminary examination of its psychometric properties. J Clin Child Psychol. 2001;30(3):376–384
  26. Johns MW. Reliability and factor analysis of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep. 1992;15(4):376–381
  27. Roizenblatt S, Fregni F, Gimenez R, et al. Site-specific effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on sleep and pain in fibromyalgia: a randomized, sham-controlled study. Pain Pract. 2007;7(4):297–306
  28. Patrizi F, Freedman SD, Pascual-Leone A, Fregni F. Novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of chronic abdominal visceral pain. Scientific World J. 2006;6:472–490
  29. Garcia-Larrea L, Peyron R, Mertens P, et al. Electrical stimulation of motor cortex for pain control: a combined PET-scan and electrophysiological study. Pain. 1999;83(2):259–273

PII: S1935-861X(08)00341-0

doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2008.09.009

BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation
Volume 2, Issue 2 , Pages 103-107 , April 2009