Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Inducing Weight Loss in Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind Controlled 4-Week Study.

OBJECTIVES: There is emerging evidence that high-frequency (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may promote weight loss in individuals with obesity in the general population. However, no study has been conducted on patients with schizophrenia (SZ). This study evaluated the efficacy of 10Hz rTMS in reducing body weight in patients with chronic SZ. METHODS: Forty-seven SZ patients were randomly assigned to two groups: 10Hz rTMS or sham stimulation over DLPFC (applied once daily) for 20 consecutive treatments. Body weight was assessed at baseline, at the end of week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4. Clinical symptoms were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and at the end of week 4. RESULTS: We found that compared with patients in the sham group, 10Hz rTMS treatment significantly reduced body weight in patients with chronic SZ after a period of 4 weeks of stimulation. Interestingly, further analysis found that from the first week (5 sessions) of treatment, there was a significant difference in body weight between active and sham groups after controlling for baseline weight. However, active rTMS treatment did not improve the psychotic symptoms compared to sham stimulation. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that add-on HF rTMS could be an effective therapeutic strategy for body weight control in patients with chronic SZ.

Neuronavigated Repetitive Transcranial Stimulation Improves Neurocognitive Functioning in Veterans with Schizophrenia: A Possible Role of BDNF Polymorphism.

It has been reported in the previous literatures that high-frequency (HF) neuronavigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may improve neurocognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Nonetheless, the heterogeneity of the research findings with regards to the effectiveness of HF-rTMS on the neurocognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia greatly hinders its clinical application. The current study was designed to determine the predictive role of BDNF variants for neurocognitive improvements after rTMS administration in veterans with schizophrenia. 109 hospitalized veterans with schizophrenia were randomly allocated to active HF-rTMS (n=63) or sham stimulation (n=46) over left DLPFC for 4 consecutive weeks. Neurocognitive functions were assessed by using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) at baseline and at the end of week 4. BDNF polymorphism was genotyped by the technicians. Compared with sham stimulation sessions, the immediate memory performance was significantly increased in active sessions after neuronavigated HF-rTMS administration. In addition, patients with the CC homozygotes demonstrated greater improvement of immediate memory after rTMS treatment, while T allele carriers showed no significant improvement in immediate memory domain relative to baseline performance of immediate memory. Our findings suggest that add-on neuronavigated HF-rTMS is beneficial on immediate memory only in patients with CC homozygotes, but not in T allele carriers. This pilot study provides further evidence for BDNF as a promise biomarker in predicting the clinical response to rTMS stimulation.

Curative effect observation among patients with alcohol dependence in rehabilitation period by grouping motivational interviewing.

Objective: To explore the effect of grouping motivational interviewing on psychological craving of patients with alcohol dependence in the rehabilitation. Methods: In this prospective study one hundred patients with convalescent alcohol dependence admitted to Hebei Province Veterans Hospital from October 2017 to June 2019 were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group and the control group, 50 cases in each. The experimental group was administrated oxazepam as a replacement therapy and the motivational interviewing. The control group was administrated oxazepam as a replacement therapy and routine health education. Both groups continued treatment for three months. Curative effect was assessed before treatment, and two weeks, four weeks and three months after treatment by using Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA). Results: PACS, HAMD and HAMA in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Grouping motivational interviewing can effectively reduce the degree of psychological dependence on alcohol and improve the symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with alcohol dependence during rehabilitation period.