Marengo Asia Hospitals strengthens neurosciences programme with rTMS Therapy

As more cases of stroke and other neurological disorders occur in India, the importance of having evidence-based neurosciences treatments is gaining momentum. Stroke ranks among the most common causes of disability in India, which makes the necessity of special rehabilitation even more urgent apart from emergency medical help.

Every year, more than 1.25 million Indians suffer a new stroke, and nearly one in every ten strokes in the world now occurs in India. To meet the growing demand for Rehab therapies, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram has introduced Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), an innovative, non-invasive neuromodulation technique for the treatment of selected patients with stroke rehabilitation needs and neurologic diseases as well as certain psychological disorders.

This innovation helps to strengthen the existing comprehensive neurosciences programme of the Marengo Asia International Institute of Neuro and Spine.

The rTMS therapy is an out-patient procedure which does not require any surgery or anaesthesia and is based on using magnetic fields to stimulate the brain cells responsible for movement, speech, thinking and emotional state. It helps to boost neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to form new neural connections.

Clinical research now shows that rTMS, if combined with rehabilitation in clinically chosen patients with stroke, can help improve their motor abilities, upper limb restoration and post-stroke aphasia. This technique is also applied in selected neurological disorders like chronic neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s too.

In terms of psychiatry, rTMS has applications in treatment-resistant depression, obsessive compulsive disorders (OCDs) and certain symptoms of schizophrenia. The application of rTMS always takes place only after careful clinical assessment and does not substitute medical treatment, rehabilitation and psychological interventions.