Thoracic spinal cord stimulation improves functional status and relieves symptoms in patients with refractory angina pectoris: the first placebo-controlled randomised study

Abstract

In this first placebo-controlled trial to apply SCS in patients with refractory angina, improvement in functional status and symptoms was revealed in phases with conventional or subthreshold stimulation, in comparison to a low-output (placebo) phase.

Spinal cord stimulation for patients with inoperable chronic critical leg ischemia

“…[14][15][16][17][18] Moreover, SCS is effective in delaying refractory angina pain onset during exercise in a short-term follow-up. [19][20] Whereas the power to detect clinically meaningful differences in ischemic pain trials is still quite inadequate. [13,[21][22][23][24][25] In recent years, research into the therapeutic effect of SCS in control of ischemic pain secondary to peripheral vascular disease particularly in inoperable CLI has become a hot topic around the world.…”

Spinal Cord Stimulation: An Update

“…65 Recently, a randomized control study demonstrated improvement in functional status and symptoms in treatment arms with conventional or subthreshold stimulation, compared with a low-output placebo treatment arm. 66 This is the first blinded study in which stimulation below the sensory threshold for paresthesia demonstrated therapeutic efficacy, thus eliminating the possibility of a placebo effect.…”

Electrical Neuromodulation and the Heart with Special Emphasis on Myocardial Ischemia

“…In one study the investigators argued no difference between paresthesia induced stimulation and subthreshold, however the authors observed a significant difference with very low stimulation. 49 In another recent study this observation could not be demonstrated in naive patients. 50 …”