Tolerability and Feasibility of Accelerated Repetitive Transcranial Stimulation for Reduction of Nicotine Craving

Tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the world, leading to approximately 6 million deaths a year. A recent review estimated offering smokers a combination of individual counseling and pharmacotherapy resulted in only an 11-16% cessation rate at 6 months (1). Craving is associated with smoking relapse (2), and has been a frequent target of treatment interventions including nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, and varenicline (3). Several recent investigations reported that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) reduced craving (4), and cigarette consumption (5, 6).

Source: BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation - June 19, 2019 Category: Neurology Authors: David Friedrich, Xingbao Li, Karen J. Hartwell, E. Baron Short, Gregory L. Sahlem, Mark S. George Source Type: research