Skip to main content

Table 6 Acute and longer-terms effects of DTMS on SUD: synthesis of results from k = 9 studies

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

Study; na

Substance/ SUDb/ Scale

Study design/ Treatmentc

Coil/ Frequency /Intensity (%MT)

Primary outcomes

Secondary outcomes (acute & at follow-up)e

Acute (after daily DTMS)

Last follow-up (months since DTMS)d

Rapinesi et al., 2013 [17]; n = 3

Alcohol/ AUD/ OCDS

Open-label/ Add-on

H1/ 20 Hz/ 120%

Post-DTMS (20 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (6 months) vs. baseline:

↓ HDRS

↓ craving

↓ craving

Rapinesi et al., 2014 [19]; n = 1

Alcohol/ AUD/ OCDS

Open-label/ Add-on

H1/ 18 Hz/ 120%

Post-DTMS (20 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (12 months) vs. baseline:

↓ HDRS

↓ craving

↓ craving; ↑ abstinence

Ceccanti et al., 2015 [20]f; n = 9 (n = 9 sham)

Alcohol/ AUD/ VAS

RCT/ Monotherapy

H1 (+cue)/ 20 Hz/ 120% (vs. sham)

Post-DTMS vs. sham (10 sessions):

Post-DTMS vs. sham (2–3 months):

–

↓ craving, daily use/maximum use, blood cortisol (stress hormone), blood prolactin (marker of dopamine activity)

(trend) ↓ craving, daily use/maximum use

Post-DTMS (10 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (2–3 months) vs. baseline:

↓ craving, daily use/maximum use, blood cortisol and prolactin

(trend) ↓ craving, maximum use; ↓ daily use

Girardi et al., 2015 [21]; n = 10

Alcohol/ AUD/ OCDS

Open-label/ Add-on

H1/ 20 Hz/ 120%

Post-DTMS (20 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (6 months) vs. baseline:

↓ HDRS

↓ craving

↓ craving

Rapinesi et al., 2015 [22]; n = 11

Alcohol/ AUD/ OCDS

Open-label/ Add-on

H1/ 18 Hz/ 120%

Post-DTMS (20 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (6 months) vs. baseline:

↓ HDRS

↓ craving

↓ craving

Addolorato et al., 2017 [25]; n = 5 (n = 6 sham)

Alcohol/ AUD/ OCDS

RCT/ Monotherapy

H/ 10 Hz/ 100% (vs. sham)

Post-DTMS (12 sessions) vs. baseline:

–

–

↔ craving; ↓ daily use/total use, striatal dopamine transporter (SPECT); ↑ abstinence

Post-sham (12 sessions) vs. baseline:

↔ all effects (no change from baseline)

Dinur-Klein et al., 2014 [18]f; 10 Hz + cue: n = 16 (n = 15 sham); 10 Hz–cue: n = 16 (n = 16 sham); 1 Hz + cue: n = 7; 1 Hz–cue: n = 7

Nicotine/ no SUD/ sTCQ; FTND

RCT/ Monotherapy

HADD (+ or –cue)/ 10 Hz/ 120%/ vs. 1 Hz/ 120% (vs. sham)

Post-DTMS (10 Hz) vs. sham (13 sessions):

Post-DTMS (10 Hz) vs. sham (6 months):

–

(trend) ↑ efficacy +cue vs. –cue; ↔ craving; ↓ cigarettes/day, dependence, consumption (urine cotinine); ↑ abstinence (25–44% vs. 0–13% sham), response (50% ↓ in consumption); 1 Hz DTMS discontinued due to poor efficacy

↓ cigarettes/day; ↑ abstinence (23–33% vs. 0–9% sham)

Bolloni et al., 2016 [24]; n = 6 (n = 4 sham)

Cocaine/ CUD/ no scale

RCT/ Monotherapy

H1/ 10 Hz/ 100% (vs. sham)

Post-DTMS vs. sham (12 sessions):

Post-DTMS vs. sham (6 months):

–

↔ consumption (hair cocaine)

↔ consumption (hair cocaine)

Post-DTMS (12 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (6 months) vs. baseline:

↓ consumption (hair cocaine)

↓ consumption (hair cocaine)

Rapinesi et al., 2016 [23]; n = 7

Cocaine/ CUD/ VAS

Open-label/ Add-on

H1/ 15 Hz/ 100%

Post-DTMS (12 sessions) vs. baseline:

Post-DTMS (2 months) vs. baseline:

–

↓ craving

↓ craving

  1. Abbreviations: AUD alcohol use disorder, CUD cocaine use disorder, DTMS deep transcranial magnetic stimulation, FTND Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, HDRS Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, k number of studies, MT resting motor threshold, n sample size at baseline in DTMS groups, OCDS Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale, RCT double-blind randomized controlled trial with inactive sham control group, SPECT single photon emission computed tomography, sTCQ the short Tobacco Craving Questionnaire, SUD substance use disorder (dependence and/or abuse), VAS visual analogue scale for craving
  2. aCases with SUD who received DTMS; bSUD according to DSM-IV, −TR or –V; cAdd-on means DTMS with concurrent pharmacotherapy; dNo maintenance DTMS during the follow-up phases; eStudies with comorbid SUD and MDD or dysthymic disorder (DSM-IV-TR); fCue conditions were substance-related stimuli presented before DTMS
Back to article page

BMC Psychiatry

ISSN: 1471-244X

Contact us