Neuromodulation treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis covering efficacy, acceptability, and follow-up effects


Author: Haoning Liu1, Xinyi Wang2, Tingting Gong3, Shi Xu3, Jiachen Zhang2, Li Yan2, Yuyi Zeng2, Ming Yi3, Ying Qian4

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan North Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, PR China.

<sup>2</sup> Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, PR China.

<sup>3</sup> Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100083, PR China; Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education / National Health Commission, Peking University, Beijing 100083, PR China.

<sup>4</sup> Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan North Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, PR China. Electronic address: Qiy427@bjmu.edu.cn.
Conference/Journal: J Anxiety Disord
Date published: 2024 Jul 28
Other:
 Volume ID: 106   ,  Pages: 102912   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102912.   ,  Word Count: 207  
    Neuromodulation treatments are novel interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but their comparative effects at treatment endpoint and follow-up and the influence of moderators remain unclear. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that explored neuromodulation, both as monotherapy and in combination, for treating patients with PTSD. 21 RCTs with 981 PTSD patients were included. The neuromodulation treatment was classified into nine protocols, including subtypes of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), cervical vagal nerve stimulation (VNS), and trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS). This Bayesian network meta-analysis demonstrated that (1) dual-tDCS (SMD = -1.30), high-frequency repetitive TMS (HF-rTMS) (SMD = -0.97), intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) (SMD = -0.93), and low-frequency repetitive TMS (LF-rTMS) (SMD = -0.76) were associated with significant reductions in PTSD symptoms at the treatment endpoint, but these effects were not significant at follow-up; (2) no difference was found between any active treatment with sham controls; (3) regarding co-morbid additions, synchronized TMS (sTMS) was significantly associated with reductions of depression symptoms at treatment endpoint (SMD = -1.80) and dual-tDCS was associated with reductions in anxiety symptoms at follow-up (SMD = -1.70). Findings suggested dual-tDCS, HF-rTMS, iTBS, and LF-rTMS were effective for reducing PTSD symptoms, while their sustained efficacy was limited.



Keywords: Network meta-analysis; Neuromodulation treatments; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Systematic review.



PMID: 39094317 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102912