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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1472837
This article is part of the Research Topic Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Motor Control and Motor Rehabilitation: Current Trends and Future Directions View all 7 articles

Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation on upper limb motor function after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Shanshan Luo Shanshan Luo 1Zhu Wen Zhu Wen 1*Ying Liu Ying Liu 1*Tao Sun Tao Sun 2*Li Xu Li Xu 3*Qian Yu Qian Yu 3*
  • 1 Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 2 School of Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
  • 3 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine,University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) on upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke. Methods: We systematicly searched databases up to May 2024, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, and CBM. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the application of rTMS combined rPMS on upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke were included based on predefined inclusion criteria. We used Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool to assesse bias risk of the included RCTs. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 17.0 software. Results: A total of 9 RCTs involving 483 participants were included in this study. Compared with the control groups that used either conventional therapy or rTMS alone, the experimental group that used rTMS combined rPMS showed significant improvements in stroke patients’ upper limb motor function (MD = 3.65, 95% CI [2.75, 4.54], P < 0.05), ability of daily living (MD = 4.50, 95% CI [3.50, 5.50], P < 0.05), and spasticity (MD = -0.34, 95% CI [-0.48, -0.20], P < 0.05). Meanwhile, in terms of neurophysiological indicators, significant differences were found both for motor evoked potential latency (MD = -1.77, 95% CI [-3.19, -0.35], P < 0.05) and motor evoked potential amplitude (MD = 0.25, 95% CI [0.01, 0.49], P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study provides low-level evidence that the therapy of LF-rTMS or HF-rTMS combined with rPMS can improve the upper limb motor function and daily living ability of stroke patients. However, given that the low quality of the evidence for the evaluation results, further evidence from high-quality studies is needed to substantiate this conclusion.

    Keywords: motor function 1, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) 2, repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) 3, Stroke 4, Meta-analysis 5, randomized controlled trial 6 as "stroke, " " cerebrovascular accident, " " upper extremity

    Received: 30 Jul 2024; Accepted: 21 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Luo, Wen, Liu, Sun, Xu and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhu Wen, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
    Ying Liu, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
    Tao Sun, School of Clinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
    Li Xu, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine,University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
    Qian Yu, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine,University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China

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