CASE REPORT article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Health and Clinical Neuroscience
This article is part of the Research TopicWomen In Brain Health and Clinical Neuroscience III: 2025View all 4 articles
Case Report: A Novel Use of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation in Refractory Restless Legs Syndrome
Provisionally accepted
- Sozo Brain Center, Nicosia, Cyprus
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Introduction: Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs. When resistant to pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments, RLS remains highly debilitating. This case study represents the first documented case of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) applied in treatment-resistant RLS, exploring its feasibility, safety tolerability, and potential clinical effects. Methods: A 56-year-old male diagnosed with RLS with severe, persistent bilateral leg restlessness and neuropathic cramping pain underwent six sessions of TPS target cortical and subcortical network hubs within the Functional Network Oriented Neuromodulation (FNON) framework. Results: At six-week follow-up, the patient reported improved sleep, a 95.2% reduction in RLS severity, a 66.7% decrease in pain/discomfort, and a 25% improvement in overall health status. Depression/Anxiety symptoms decreased by 25% while mobility and self-care remained stable at normal levels. Conclusion: In this single case, TPS was well tolerated and associated with meaningful symptomatic improvement. may represent a safe, non-invasive neuromodulatory option for refractory RLS, potentially acting by recalibrating large-scale sensory-motor-limbic networks. While no conclusions regarding safety or efficacy can be drawn from an individual observation, these findings suggest that TPS may warrant further investigation as non-invasive neuromodulatory approach for refractory RLS. This report expands the scientific literature by introducing a novel network-based neuromodulation modality to the RLS field and provides a foundation for future controlled studies to validate efficacy and optimize stimulation protocols.
Keywords: Brain Stimulation, case report, Functional Network-OrientedNeuromodulation, non-invasive brain stimulation, Restless Legs Syndrome, Transcranial Pulse Stimulation
Received: 13 Oct 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Mitsi, Kattou and Kondratev. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ellie Mitsi
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