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491 Safety and feasibility of transcranial magnetic stimulation in infants with perinatal brain injury: A step toward early clinical translation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2025

Kellie Collins
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin Madison
Cameron Casey
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin Madison
Ellen Sutter
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, WI,
Paige DeGrave
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin Madison
Danielle Gauthier
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin Madison
Ryan McAdams
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, WI,
Raghavendra Rao
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Michael Georgieff
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Bernadette Gillick
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, WI,
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Abstract

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Objectives/Goals: To determine the safety and feasibility of single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) for assessing corticospinal tract (CST) excitability and integrity in infants with perinatal brain injury, bridging foundational neuroscience to potential early diagnosis and clinical interventions during critical neuroplasticity periods. Methods/Study Population: Nineteen infants with perinatal brain injury underwent 1–3 spTMS sessions at three developmental time points: 3–6 months, 12 ± 1 month, and 18 ± 1 month. spTMS targeted the primary motor cortex to elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), recorded via electromyography (EMG) from bilateral wrist flexor muscles. Safety monitoring included heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), the Modified Behavioral Pain Scale (MBPS), and caregiver feedback. Feasibility was evaluated based on the ability to elicit MEPs, the number of trials that elicited MEPs, and procedure tolerability. Pre- and post-spTMS physiological and behavioral data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models (LMEM) to account for repeated measures within subjects. Results/Anticipated Results: Thirty-five spTMS sessions were conducted in 19 infants (mean age 8.75 ± 5.12 months) with perinatal brain injury, delivering 1936 pulses with a median inter-pulse interval of 24.7 seconds. Analysis with LMEM found no significant changes in HR (mean difference  =  0.51 bpm, p  =  0.81) or RR (mean difference  =  0.69 breaths/min, p  =  0.66). MBPS scores showed a small statistically significant increase (mean difference  =  0.57, p  =  0.046), but overall remained low (mean score change from 1.94 to 2.51 on 0–10 scale). The median change score was 0, and 18/35 sessions showed no change in MBPS, indicating low discomfort with TMS. No adverse events were reported during or after the sessions. The feasibility of eliciting MEPs in this population was confirmed, with 235 MEPs identified in 17/19 participants. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Understanding neurodevelopment after injury is crucial for early diagnosis and targeted rehabilitation. Our study demonstrates that spTMS is a safe, feasible tool for assessing motor pathways in infants with early brain injury, highlighting its potential for clinical translation in neurodevelopmental disorders, and offering a pathway to improved care.

Type
Precision Medicine/Health
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science