TY - JOUR
T1 - Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Alcohol Use Disorder Patients
T2 - Effects on Dopamine Transporter Availability and Alcohol Intake
AU - Addolorato, Giovanni
AU - Antonelli, Mariangela
AU - Cocciolillo, Fabrizio
AU - Vassallo, Gabriele A.
AU - Tarli, Claudia
AU - Sestito, Luisa
AU - Mirijello, Antonio
AU - Ferrulli, Anna
AU - Pizzuto, Daniele A.
AU - Camardese, Giovanni
AU - Miceli, Antonio
AU - Diana, Marco
AU - Giordano, Alessandro
AU - Gasbarrini, Antonio
AU - Di Giuda, Daniela
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may affect neuro-adaptations associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), potentially influencing craving and alcohol intake. We investigated alcohol intake and dopamine transporter (DAT) availability by Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in the striatum of AUD patients before and after deep rTMS. Fourteen patients underwent baseline clinical and SPECT assessment. Eleven out of fourteen patients were randomized into two groups for the REAL (n.5) or SHAM (n.6) treatment. Clinical and SPECT evaluations were then carried out after four weeks of rTMS sessions (T1). At baseline, AUD patients showed higher striatal DAT availability than healthy control subjects (HC). Patients receiving the REAL stimulation revealed a reduction in DAT availability at T1, whereas the SHAM-treated group did not. In addition, patients receiving the REAL stimulation had a decrease in alcohol intake. The results of this longitudinal pilot study may suggest a modulatory effect of deep rTMS on dopaminergic terminals and a potential clinical efficacy in reducing alcohol intake in AUD patients. Further investigations are required to confirm these preliminary data.
AB - Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may affect neuro-adaptations associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), potentially influencing craving and alcohol intake. We investigated alcohol intake and dopamine transporter (DAT) availability by Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in the striatum of AUD patients before and after deep rTMS. Fourteen patients underwent baseline clinical and SPECT assessment. Eleven out of fourteen patients were randomized into two groups for the REAL (n.5) or SHAM (n.6) treatment. Clinical and SPECT evaluations were then carried out after four weeks of rTMS sessions (T1). At baseline, AUD patients showed higher striatal DAT availability than healthy control subjects (HC). Patients receiving the REAL stimulation revealed a reduction in DAT availability at T1, whereas the SHAM-treated group did not. In addition, patients receiving the REAL stimulation had a decrease in alcohol intake. The results of this longitudinal pilot study may suggest a modulatory effect of deep rTMS on dopaminergic terminals and a potential clinical efficacy in reducing alcohol intake in AUD patients. Further investigations are required to confirm these preliminary data.
KW - I-FP-CIT
KW - Alcohol dependence
KW - Dopamine transporter
KW - Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
KW - Single photon emission computed tomography
KW - Transcranial magnetic stimulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85017181435&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85017181435&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.03.008
DO - 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.03.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85017181435
VL - 27
SP - 450
EP - 461
JO - European Neuropsychopharmacology
JF - European Neuropsychopharmacology
SN - 0924-977X
IS - 5
ER -