The Effect Of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation At Different Frequencies On The Craving Of Methamphetamine Addicts

Backgrounds:In recent years,the number of methamphetamine addicts has been on the rise and is showing a trend of younger ages.At present,there is no effective drug treatment.Transcranial magnetic stimulation,as a safe,noninvasive brain technique,has potential application value in the field of drug treatment.Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS)in high-and low-frequency mode has been used to reduce the drug cravings of addicts,but there is no consistent conclusion.In order to explore the effect of high-and low-frequency rTMS on the craving of methamphetamine addicts,we compared the difference of subjects’ carving score before and after 10 Hz and 1 Hz stimulation.Methods:58 methamphetamine addicts who are in the compulsory isolated detoxification center were recruited in the present study(all males).The subjects were divided into three groups randomly,of which two groups were experimental group,receiving 10 Hz and 1 Hz stimulation;one group as the control group,was not stimulated.Visual analogue scale(VAS)was used to compare cravings among the three groups pre&post treatment and 30th day and 60th day after stimulation.Results:The carving score of high-frequency 10 Hz and low-frequency 1 Hz group decreased extremely significant(p<0.000)after stimulation and the degree of carving reduction of 10 Hz was higher than 1 Hz significantly(p<0.05).Non-stimulation group dropped insignificantly(p>0.05);The 30th and 60th tracing carving of 10 Hz group were lower than pre-test carving score(p<0.05),whereas 1 Hz group was not at the 60th day tracing test(p>0.05).By the pair comparison,we found that 10 Hz group craving score was significantly lower than 1 Hz group(p<0.05)in the post test and the 60th follow-up test but not in pre-test carving baseline.Conclusions:TMS showed a positive impact on the cravings of methamphetamine addicts,which supported it has possibly tremendous value in addiction.10 Hz protocol is more effective in reducing cravings,and the therapeutic effect of TMS can be maintained a period of time.