NON-INVASIVE BRAIN STIMULATION IN PSYCHIATRY: THE CASE OF TMS

Typology: LEE (Live Educational Event – Course)
Event Dates: September 22^nd, 23^rd 2022
City: Rome, Italy
Venue: Hotel Barceló Aran Mantegna, Via Andrea Mantegna 130, 00147
Target audience:  Psychiatric specialists
Official language: English

Event agenda: read
Scientific Director: Prof. Stefano Pallanti
Faculty’s COI: read

An application has been made to the UEMS EACCME for CME accreditation of this event

SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques represent widely used physical therapies in neurology and psychiatry. Among the most widely adopted are those based on the use of magnetic fields (TMS, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) or electromagnetic fields (tDCS, transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) applied to the scalp. In both cases, brain activity is modulated in discrete areas below the site of delivery through activation or inhibition of the excitability threshold or neuronal discharge.

Both TMS and tDCS have few contraindications, few side effects and validated efficacy across a wide range of disorders (depression, OCD, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, motor stroke, addiction, etc.): for these disorders the efficacy level is very high (level A) and where this is not reached there are still measures of approvals from regulatory bodies (FDA, NICE, etc.). For depression and OCD, TMS therapy is approved for drug-resistant disorders, but this does not mean that TMS is an alternative to pharmacological treatment; if anything, in many cases it represents an excellent support to improve the outcomes in combination with pharmacological therapy. Regarding schizophrenia, the most recent international guidelines identify NIBS with different levels of efficacy on the negative symptoms and auditory hallucinations present in this disorder: in particular, the level of recommendation is C for TMS (probable efficacy) and B for tDCS (possible efficacy).

As such, guidelines take a long time to be published, and therefore refer to studies conducted in the years prior to their publication or revision. However, the most recent publications confirm the efficacy of these techniques while also supporting the favourable association with concomitant pharmacological treatments. Both technologies involve a series of therapeutic sessions, the number and frequency of which depend on the protocols applied, but while TMS treatments are outpatient, for tDCS, remotely controlled systems allowing home treatment are available.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

After attending the event participants will be able to:

– analyse and evaluate the latest evidence, guidelines and protocols on NIBS techiniques, particularly TMS for the treatment of conditions like schizophrenia, depression, OCD, chronic pain, Parkison’s disease, motor stroke, addiction;

– manage advanced skills on the use of NIBS techniques, particularly the TMS terapy, in the treatment of a wide range of disorders (schizophrenia, depression, OCD, chronic pain, Parkison’s disease, motor stroke, addiction);

– develop and apply an interdisciplinary clinical approach to the treatment of conditions like schizophrenia, depression, OCD, chronic pain, Parkinson’s desease, motor stroke, addiction, using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, particularly TMS terapy, with concomitant pharmacological treatments.