Can deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (DTMS) be used to treat substance use disorders (SUD)? A systematic review

Table 3 Study design and SUD assessment in k = 9 studies

Study	SUD assessment	Acute (after daily DTMS) assessment	Last follow-up assessment^a	Treatment strategy^b	Study design	Study groups
Alcohol
Rapinesi et al., 2013 [17]	OCDS	Session 20	6 months	add-on	open-label (case study)	1 group: DTMS
Rapinesi et al., 2014 [19]	OCDS	Session 20	12 months	add-on	open-label (case study)	1 group: DTMS
Ceccanti et al., 2015 [20]	VAS, TLFB, blood prolactin	Session 10	2–3 months	monotherapy	RCT	2 groups (both with cue condition^c): DTMS vs. sham
Girardi et al., 2015 [21]	OCDS	Session 20	6 months	add-on	open-label	2 groups: DTMS vs. STD (no DTMS)
Rapinesi et al., 2015 [22]	OCDS	Session 20	6 months	add-on	open-label	2 groups: DTMS (MDD + AUD) vs. DTMS (MDD)
Addolorato et al., 2017 [25]	OCDS, ADS, TLFB, SPECT	Session 12	–	monotherapy	RCT	3 groups: DTMS vs. sham vs. healthy (no DTMS)
Nicotine
Dinur-Klein et al., 2014 [18]	FTND, sTCQ, urine analysis	Session 13	6 months	monotherapy	RCT	6 groups (each with or without cue condition^c): DTMS (10 Hz) vs. DTMS (1 Hz) vs. sham
Cocaine
Bolloni et al., 2016 [24]	Hair analysis	Session 12	6 months	monotherapy	RCT	2 groups: DTMS vs. sham
Rapinesi et al., 2016 [23]	VAS	Session 12	2 months	add-on	open-label	1 group: DTMS

^aThere was no maintenance DTMS treatment during the follow-up phases
^bAdd-on means that DTMS was administered in addition to concurrent pharmacotherapy
^cThe cue condition consisted of a substance-related stimulus (e.g. raising a glass filled with a favourite alcoholic drink) prior to DTMS
ADS Alcohol Dependence Scale [41], DTMS deep transcranial magnetic stimulation, FTND Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence [42], HDRS Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [43], k number of studies, OCDS Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale [44], RCT double-blind randomised controlled trial with inactive sham control group, SDT standard drug treatment, SPECT single photon emission computed tomography, sTCQ the short Tobacco Craving Questionnaire [45], SUD substance use disorder, TLFB Timeline Followback Interview (assessment of consumption) [46], VAS visual analogue scale for craving [47]

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