Cerebellar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Improves Ataxia in Minamata Disease

Minamata disease (MD) is a form of intoxication involving the central nervous system and is caused by ingesting seafood from methylmercury-contaminated areas in Japan. In MD, cerebellar ataxia is a cardinal feature observed in approximately 80% of MD patients. Although cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has recently been used for treating cerebellar ataxia, the optimal stimulation conditions remain unclear. Here, we report the first case of cerebellar ataxia in an MD patient that was significantly improved after high-frequency cerebellar TMS. To determine the optimal stimulation conditions, we examined the excitability of the primary motor cortex (M1) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). rs-fMRI revealed M1 hyperconnectivity, which was indicative of activation of the dentato-thalamo-cortical (DTC) pathway. Thus, high-frequency cerebellar TMS was applied to inhibit the DTC pathway. Improvement of cerebellar ataxia was only observed after real TMS, not sham stimulation. As this effect was consistent with inhibition of hyperconnectivity of M1, the effectiveness of high-frequency cerebellar TMS for cerebellar ataxia was thought to be caused by inhibition of the DTC pathway. Therefore, we suggest that the evaluation of M1 excitability using rs-fMRI can be effective for determining the optimal TMS stimulation conditions for cerebellar ataxia.