Neuronavigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation improves depression, anxiety and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease

Shuolin Jiang; Cuijing Zhan; Peikun He; Shujun Feng; Yuyuan Gao; Jiehao Zhao; Limin Wang; Yuhu Zhang; Kun Nie; Yihui Qiu; Lijuan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18364

Neuronavigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation improves depression, anxiety and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease

Heliyon. 2023 Jul 17;9(8):e18364. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18364. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Authors

Shuolin Jiang^{1

2

3}, Cuijing Zhan^{2

3}, Peikun He^{2

1

3}, Shujun Feng^{2

3}, Yuyuan Gao^{2

3}, Jiehao Zhao^{2

3}, Limin Wang^{2

3}, Yuhu Zhang^{2

3}, Kun Nie^{2

3}, Yihui Qiu^{2

3}, Lijuan Wang^{2

1

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
² Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a potential treatment option for Parkinson's disease patients with depression (DPD), but conflicting results in previous studies have questioned its efficacy.

Method: To investigate the safety and efficacy of neuronavigated high-frequency rTMS at the left DLPFC in DPD patients, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study (NCT04707378). Sixty patients were randomly assigned to either a sham or active stimulation group and received rTMS for ten consecutive days. The primary outcome was HAMD, while secondary outcomes included HAMA, MMSE, MoCA and MDS-UPDRS-III. Assessments were performed at baseline, immediately after treatment, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks post-treatment.

Results: The GEE analysis showed that the active stimulation group had significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and motor symptoms at various time points. Specifically, there were significant time-by-group interaction effects in depression immediately after treatment (β, -4.34 [95% CI, -6.90 to -1.74; P = 0.001]), at 2 weeks post-treatment (β, -3.66 [95% CI, -6.43 to -0.90; P = 0.010]), and at 4 weeks post-treatment (β, -4.94 [95% CI, -7.60 to -2.29; P < 0.001]). Similarly, there were significant time-by-group interaction effects in anxiety at 4 weeks post-treatment (β, -2.65 [95% CI, -4.96 to -0.34; P = 0.024]) and in motor symptoms immediately after treatment (β, -5.72 [95% CI, -9.10 to -2.34; P = 0.001] and at 4 weeks post-treatment (β, -5.43 [95% CI, -10.24 to -0.61; P = 0.027]).

Conclusion: The study suggested that neuronavigated high-frequency rTMS at left DLPFC is effective for depression, anxiety, and motor symptoms in PD patients.

Keywords: Depression; Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Neuronavigation; Parkinson’s disease; Transcranial magnetic stimulation.