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Efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in alcohol dependence: a sham-controlled study
Biswa R Mishra1, S Haque Nizamie, Basudeb Das
1Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.
Objective:
To study the anticraving efficacy of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the right dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC) in patients with alcohol dependence.
Methods:
We performed a prospective, single-blind, sham-controlled study involving 45 patients with alcohol dependence syndrome (according to ICD-10 DCR), with Clinical Institute of Withdrawal Assessment in Alcohol Withdrawal (CIWA-Ar) scores
Results:
Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant reduction in the post-rTMS ACQ-NOW total score and factor scores in the group allocated active rTMS compared to the sham stimulation. The effect size for treatment with time interaction was moderate (eta(2) = 0.401).
Conclusions:
Right dorsolateral pre-frontal high-frequency rTMS was found to have significant anticraving effects in alcohol dependence. The results highlight the potential of rTMS which, combined with other anticraving drugs, can act as an effective strategy in reducing craving and subsequent relapse in alcohol dependence.
