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rTMS can reduce aggression in subjects with alcohol and substance use disorder

Fri, September 8, 9:30 to 10:45am, Educatorio Fuligno, Floor: first floor, Fuligno 11

Abstract

Introduction
Aggression is a common issue in subjects suffering from alcohol and substance use disorder. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a neuromodulation technique that has been recently been applied to the treatment of addiction disorders with promising results. The aim of the present study is to evaluate if rTMS can have a beneficial effect also in reducing aggression.
Methods
129 inpatients, hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for the treatment of substance or alcohol use disorder were treated with rTMS. Stimulation was performed at 100% of motor threshold in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which was localized with neuronavigation. Sessions lasted 13 minutes and were composed of 15 Hz stimulation trains lasting 4 s alternating with 15 s intertrain pause. Patients received totally 2400 pulses per session. Aggression was extimated through the hostility subscale of SCL-90 scale that was administered before the treatment was initiated and after its interruption. Wilkoxon signed rank test was performed for the comparison of hostility scores.
Results
Sample was composed of 24 females and 105 males. Mean age was 38.28 (±9.45) years. Subjects received on average 12.04 (±3.05) rTMS sessions. Mean SCL-90 hostility score was 0.89 (±0.80) at baseline and 0.39 (±0.61) after the treatment, with a significant reduction (W=5376.00; p<0.001).
Discussion
rTMS is a potentially useful treatment in reducing aggression in subjects suffering from alcohol and substance use disorder. Our results need caution in their interpretation due to the observational nature of our study. Controlled trials are needed to confirm our findings.

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