AI Article Synopsis

  • High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) shows potential in improving cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, but results vary across studies.
  • In a study involving 120 patients, those receiving 20 Hz rTMS exhibited significant improvements in immediate memory after 8 weeks, with both 10 Hz and 20 Hz showing delayed cognitive benefits at a 6-month follow-up.
  • Improvements in cognitive scores were linked to reduced psychotic symptoms, suggesting that high-frequency rTMS could be an effective adjunct treatment for cognitive deficits in chronic schizophrenia.

Article Abstract

Accumulating studies have shown that high-frequency (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may improve cognitive dysfunction of the patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), but with inconsistent results. The present study aims to assess the efficacy of different frequencies of neuronavigated rTMS in ameliorating cognitive impairments and alleviating the psychotic symptoms. A total of 120 patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 20 Hz rTMS (n = 40), 10 Hz rTMS (n = 40), or sham stimulation (n = 40) for 8 weeks, and then followed up at week 32. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was performed to assess the cognitive functions of the patients at baseline, at the end of week 8, and week 32 follow-up. Psychotic symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and at the end of week 2, week 4, week 6, week 8, and week 32 follow-up. Our results demonstrated that 20 Hz rTMS treatment produced an effective therapeutic benefit on immediate memory of patients with chronic SCZ at week 8, but not in the 10 Hz group. Interestingly, both 10 Hz and 20 Hz rTMS treatments produced delayed effects on cognitive functions at the 6-month follow-up. Moreover, in both 10 Hz rTMS and 20 Hz rTMS, the improvements in RBANS total score were positively correlated with the reduction of PANSS positive subscore at the 6-month follow-up. Stepwise regression analysis identified that the visuospatial/constructional index, immediate memory index, and prolactin at baseline were predictors for the improvement of cognitive impairments in the patients. Our results suggest that add-on HF rTMS could be an effective treatment for cognitive impairments in patients with chronic SCZ, with a delayed effect. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier-NCT03774927.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7505170PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbaa035DOI Listing

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