Rewiring the Brain-Immune Axis for Chronic Pain Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Psoriatic Arthritis

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Conditions studied: Psoriatic Arthritis

In brief

Despite advances in immunomodulatory therapies, many Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients experience persistent pain unrelated to clinical active joint inflammation. Recent evidence suggests the Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL) serves as a neuroimmune hub linking central neural activity with peripheral immune dysregulation. In a prior feasibility study, a single L-IPL-targeted TMS session reduced pain and altered immune signalling in inflammatory arthritis by reducing STAT3 phosphorylation in circulating monocytes. This study builds on those findings by evaluating whether rTMS over 4 weeks can induce sustained immune reprogramming while providing meaningful pain relief.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07403890

Run by

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

People needed

40

Starts

2026-03-01

Expected to finish

2028-03-28

Last updated by the study team

2026-02-11

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 75. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Adults ≥ 18 years ≤ 75 years
• Diagnosis of PsA according to CASPAR (Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis).
• Low disease activity (no more than one joint with clinically active swelling) or remission
• Chronic pain for at least 3 months and VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) pain ≥30 mm
• Stable treatment ≥3 months prior to entering the study
• Able and willing to maintain medication for the duration study
• Able to undergo MRI and TMS procedures

You may not qualify if…

• Inability to provide written informed consent.
• Severe physical impairment (e.g. blindness, deafness, paraplegia) Pregnant, planning pregnancy or breast feeding.
• Severe claustrophobia precluding MRI.
• Contraindications to MRI (e.g. metal implants/ pacemaker).
• Contraindications to TMS (e.g. history of seizures).
• Serious infection including sepsis, tuberculosis and opportunistic infections such as invasive fungal infections.
• Major confounding neurological disease including Multiple
• Sclerosis, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease

Where it is running

• Queen Elizabeth University Hospital — Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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