Does a therapeutic response to rTMS predict successful VNS therapy?

Background: There are no reliable criteria to identify epilepsy patients who may be especially suitable for successful vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy Our hypothesis was that patients showing a clear positive response to unfocal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) might also benefit from VNS as an invasive stimulation method that effects seizure activity by widespread and diffuse impact on the impaired neuronal excitability network in epilepsy. Method: Patients with intractable focal epilepsies were identified who had been treated in a placebo-controlled rTMS therapy study addressing unfoca…