"Significant effect"

This therapy reduces cravings for alcohol

(Bild: APA/dpa/Alexander Heinl)

A series of sessions involving the application of pulsed magnetic fields to the head to influence the brain can apparently significantly reduce the craving for alcohol in addicts. This has now been shown in a meta-analysis of the scientific literature on this topic carried out by experts from Vienna and Greece. The corresponding procedure is already established in other countries such as the UK.

"Our aim was to investigate the immediate and up to three-month lasting effect of repeated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on alcohol craving in alcohol use disorder (AUD; note)," wrote Michael Treiber from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at MedUni Vienna (AKH) and his co-authors (Journal of Addiction Medicine, DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001416).

Skull is "irradiated"
The procedure of such repetitive magnetic field therapy with a corresponding device that "irradiates" the skull in certain regions from the outside has already been recognized by the National Institute for Excellence in Medicine and Care (NICE) in the UK, for example.

"Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) uses pulsed magnetic fields to dampen or activate regions of the brain associated with medical or psychiatric disorders. The treatment is non-invasive and is mostly used on an outpatient basis," wrote Oxford Health, the regional arm of the UK's National Health Service (NHS), for example. Severe depression and anxiety disorders are exemplary areas of application.

Significant effect
The authors of the meta-analysis once again examined randomized (random allocation of test subjects to study groups) and placebo-controlled studies, each with at least ten rTMS sessions for alcohol addicts. The results were in favor of magnetic therapy. "Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria and included 475 participants from treatment and control groups. rTMS reduced alcohol craving compared to sham stimulation immediately after treatment. Regarding a maintenance effect, our meta-analysis showed a moderate effect for active rTMS in reducing alcohol craving according to the three-month follow-up," the experts wrote.

For the immediate effect, the statistical value of a standardized mean difference of minus 0.79 was calculated. This indicates a fairly strong effect. After three months, this value was minus 0.44, which should correspond to a medium effect. The treatment is likely to be most effective when it targets part of the so-called frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex.

Distinction from alternative methods
This form of magnetic therapy has nothing to do with dubious "alternative" methods. The German national portal of scientific medicine (AWMF) stated the following about the procedure: "Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a relatively new treatment method. It is one of the so-called neurostimulatory procedures. In these procedures, nerve cells in the brain are stimulated, i.e. excited." The magnetic fields should stimulate the plasticity of the brain and thus help to balance out communication processes in the organ that are out of balance.