Aim: To test the hypothesis that deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) reduces food craving and causes weight loss via neuromodulation. Materials and methods: This pilot study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. A total of 33 obese people (nine men, 24 women, mean age 48.1 ± 10.6 years, body mass index [BMI] 36.9 ± 4.7 kg/m 2 ) were randomized and completed the study: 13 participants underwent a 5-week treatment with high-frequency (HF) dTMS (18 Hz; HF group), 10 were treated with low-frequency (LF) dTMS (1 Hz; LF group), and 10 were sham-treated (sham group). Food craving, and metabolic and neuro-endocrine variables were evaluated at baseline, after the 5-week treatment, and at follow-up visits (1 month, 6 months, 1 year after the end of treatment). Results: The mixed-model analysis for repeated measures showed a significant interaction of time and groups for body weight (P = 0.001) and BMI (P = 0.001), with a significant body weight (−7.83 ± 2.28 kg; P = 0.0009) and BMI (−2.83 ± 0.83, P = 0.0009) decrease in the HF versus the sham group. A decreasing trend in food craving in the HF versus the LF and sham groups (P = 0.073) was observed. A significant improvement of metabolic and physical activity variables was found (P < 0.05) in the HF group. Conclusions: We demonstrated the safety and efficacy of dTMS, in addition to physical exercise and a hypocaloric diet, in reducing body weight for up to 1 year in obese people. We hypothesize that a possible mechanism of HF dTMS treatment is modulation of the dopaminergic pathway and stimulation of physical activity.

Weight loss induced by deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in obesity : a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled study / A. Ferrulli, C. Macrì, I. Terruzzi, S. Massarini, F. Ambrogi, M. Adamo, V. Milani, L. Luzi. - In: DIABETES, OBESITY AND METABOLISM. - ISSN 1462-8902. - (2019 Apr 08). [Epub ahead of print] [10.1111/dom.13741]

Weight loss induced by deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in obesity : a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled study

A. Ferrulli
Primo
;
I. Terruzzi;F. Ambrogi;L. Luzi
Ultimo
2019

Abstract

Aim: To test the hypothesis that deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) reduces food craving and causes weight loss via neuromodulation. Materials and methods: This pilot study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. A total of 33 obese people (nine men, 24 women, mean age 48.1 ± 10.6 years, body mass index [BMI] 36.9 ± 4.7 kg/m 2 ) were randomized and completed the study: 13 participants underwent a 5-week treatment with high-frequency (HF) dTMS (18 Hz; HF group), 10 were treated with low-frequency (LF) dTMS (1 Hz; LF group), and 10 were sham-treated (sham group). Food craving, and metabolic and neuro-endocrine variables were evaluated at baseline, after the 5-week treatment, and at follow-up visits (1 month, 6 months, 1 year after the end of treatment). Results: The mixed-model analysis for repeated measures showed a significant interaction of time and groups for body weight (P = 0.001) and BMI (P = 0.001), with a significant body weight (−7.83 ± 2.28 kg; P = 0.0009) and BMI (−2.83 ± 0.83, P = 0.0009) decrease in the HF versus the sham group. A decreasing trend in food craving in the HF versus the LF and sham groups (P = 0.073) was observed. A significant improvement of metabolic and physical activity variables was found (P < 0.05) in the HF group. Conclusions: We demonstrated the safety and efficacy of dTMS, in addition to physical exercise and a hypocaloric diet, in reducing body weight for up to 1 year in obese people. We hypothesize that a possible mechanism of HF dTMS treatment is modulation of the dopaminergic pathway and stimulation of physical activity.
appetite control; obesity therapy; randomised trial; weight control
Settore MED/13 - Endocrinologia
8-apr-2019
8-apr-2019
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Ferrulli_et_al-2019-Diabetes,_Obesity_and_Metabolism.pdf

Open Access dal 04/06/2021

Descrizione: Weight loss induced by deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in obesity: a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled study
Tipologia: Post-print, accepted manuscript ecc. (versione accettata dall'editore)
Dimensione 1.61 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.61 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Ferrulli_et_al-2019-Diabetes,_Obesity_and_Metabolism.pdf

accesso riservato

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 1.38 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.38 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/639477
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 12
  • Scopus 24
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 24
social impact