Noninvasive brain stimulation may help obese patients lose weight, Study finds

The study is published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Noninvasive brain stimulation refers to a set of technologies and techniques with which to modulate the excitability of the brain via transcranial stimulation. Two major modalities of noninvasive brain stimulation are transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial current stimulation.

Obesity has recently been recognized as a neurocognitive disorder involving circuits associated with the reward system and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been proposed as a strategy for the management of obesity. However, the results have been inconclusive.

Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of different noninvasive brain stimulation modalities for weight reduction in participants with obesity.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining noninvasive brain stimulation interventions in patients with obesity were analyzed using the frequentist model of network meta-analysis. The coprimary outcome was change in body mass index (BMI) and acceptability, which was calculated using the dropout rate.

It was observed that overall, the current network meta-analysis, consisting of eight randomized controlled trials, revealed that the high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was ranked to be associated with the second-largest decrease in body mass index and the largest decrease in total energy intake and craving severity, whereas the high-frequency deep transcranial magnetic stimulation over bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula was ranked to be associated with the largest decrease in body mass index.

As a result, the authors concluded that this pilot study provided a "signal" for the design of more methodologically robust and larger randomized controlled trials based on the findings of the potentially beneficial effect on weight reduction in participants with obesity by different noninvasive brain stimulation interventions.

doi: 10.1038/s41366-021-00833-2. Epub 2021 May 10