Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of cocaine addiction

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this paper is to present the clinical data analysis results from a service delivering repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for people with cocaine-use disorder (CUD). Methods: The study was a retrospective investigation of routinely collected data on patients receiving rTMS between 2018 and 2019. Measures used were a cocaine craving Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) self-rated depression measures. Results: The outcome data of 10 patients with CUD were analysed. There was a statistically significant reduction and a large effect size on CUD and depression scales. Conclusions: Reductions in craving and depression indicate the potential benefits to patients and to society of rTMS in treating CUD. Further sufficiently powered RCTs are warranted with studies focusing on the optimization of rTMS treatment and exploring the underlying mechanisms.