Treatment methods

Abstract

The invention generally relates to methods for treating osteoarthritis. In certain embodiments, methods of the invention involve providing stimulation to a subject's central nervous system to modulate a signal sent to or from the subject's joint, thereby treating osteoarthritis.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating osteoarthritis pain in a subject, the method comprising:
 noninvasively placing an anode electrode over C3/C4 of a head of a subject, corresponding to a location of a motor cortex of the subject;   noninvasively placing a cathode electrode over a contralateral orbital of the head of the subject; and   noninvasively and transcranially delivering transcranial direct current stimulation via the anode electrode and the cathode electrode to the motor cortex of the subject to thereby treat osteoarthritis pain of the subject.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is osteoarthritis knee pain. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is treated by effecting a pain related signal in the motor cortex. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is treated by effecting an inflammatory related signal in the motor cortex. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is treated by effecting both a pain related signal and an inflammatory related signal in the motor cortex. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the subject is a human between the ages of 18 to 64 years old. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the subject has had osteoarthritis pain for at least six months. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the subject reports an average of at least 3 on a 0-10 VAS scale for pain intensity. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the subject is pain resistant to analgesics and medications for chronic pain. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the transcranial direct current stimulation is delivered for at least twenty minutes. 
     
     
         11 . A method for treating osteoarthritis pain in a subject, the method comprising: noninvasively and transcranially delivering transcranial direct current stimulation to a motor cortex of a subject having osteoarthritis pain via an anode electrode placed over C3/C4 of a head of the subject and corresponding to a location of the motor cortex of the subject and a cathode electrode placed over a contralateral orbital of the head of the subject to thereby treat osteoarthritis pain of the subject. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is osteoarthritis knee pain. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is treated by effecting a pain related signal in the motor cortex. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is treated by effecting an inflammatory related signal in the motor cortex. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the osteoarthritis pain is treated by effecting both a pain related signal and an inflammatory related signal in the motor cortex. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the subject is a human between the ages of 18 to 64 years old. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the subject has had osteoarthritis pain for at least six months. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the subject reports an average of at least 3 on a 0-10 VAS scale for pain intensity. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the subject is pain resistant to analgesics and medications for chronic pain. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the transcranial direct current stimulation is delivered for at least twenty minutes.